Matt Cardona Faces Loser Leaves MLW Stipulation At Fightland

Matt Cardona will battle Mance Warner in a Loser Leaves MLW match at the Fightland event on November 18, the company announced Wednesday. Cardona was previously banned from entering the 2300 Arena (aka ECW Arena) — the destination of MLW Fightland — after suffering a loss to ECW legend Bully Ray at Battleground Championship Wrestling's "Legends Never Die" event on July 1. However, Cardona found a loophole in the stipulation, noting that his ban only applied to Battleground Championship Wrestling's events, and does not preclude him from attending events promoted by MLW.

Cardona had previously defeated Warner in a "Kiss My Foot" match at MLW Fury Road on September 3, which ended with a series of gruesome events. After Cardona's manager, Mister Saint Laurent, helped him score the victory, they invited Warner to kiss the victor's feet as part of the stipulation. Instead, Warner bit the feet of Laurent and took out Cardona with a chair shot to the head. The sequence of events led to Cardona and Warner agreeing to the high-stakes match at Fightland. According to a press release issued by MLW, Laurent will be in Cardona's corner for the upcoming rubber match. 

Other matches confirmed for Fightland include MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane defending his title against Jacob Fatu, and a tag team match pitting NJPW's Rocky Romero and CMLL's Barbro Cavenario against NJPW's Mascara Dorado and MLW's Ichiban. The latter match is the first of many inter-promotional bouts expected to take place as part of the landmark agreement between MLW, NJPW, and CMLL.