MLW Kings of Colosseum Preview: Kross Defends Title vs. Bishop in No-DQ Fight

Major League Wrestling heads to a sold-out crowd in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Kings of Colosseum, which is scheduled for Saturday, September 5, and the show is built around a genuinely dangerous main event: Killer Kross defends the MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Josh Bishop in a No Holds Barred fight.

Bishop has quickly emerged as the newest weapon inside The Skyscrapers, the towering faction that has already made its presence felt in the tag division and now has its sights set on the promotion’s top prize. With no disqualifications and no rules to hide behind, the match doubles as a referendum on how far the group is willing to go to add championship gold to its resume — and how much punishment Kross is willing to eat to keep hold of his title.

The card also marks the start of a new era in the middleweight division, as Templario makes his first defense of the MLW World Middleweight Championship against Diego Hill. Templario won the belt from KUSHIDA in Mexico, and he now brings CMLL pedigree into a fight against Hill, a protégé of lucha libre legend Blue Panther. It’s a clash of styles with international flavor, and an early opportunity for Hill to make his name at the title’s expense.

Elsewhere on the card, the women’s division continues to heat up as Lady Frost takes on Corinne Joy. Joy has been building buzz alongside Jazzy Yang, and both have signaled designs on the title picture, giving this matchup real stakes beyond bragging rights. In another notable pairing, Big Damo battles Andrew Everett with CONTRA Unit’s Josef Samael in his corner — a combination of size and manipulation against speed and unpredictability.

Beyond the in-ring action, Kings of Colosseum carries significant implications for MLW’s calendar. The brackets for the 2026 Opera Cup, the promotion’s longest-running tournament, will be unveiled, giving fans their first look at the road toward one of wrestling’s more historic prizes. MLW will also reveal the main event for its upcoming FIGHTLAND event in Charleston, adding another marquee matchup to the horizon.

The show doubles as a checkpoint for several ongoing stories. The Skyscrapers’ direction is very much in question following the fall of Bishop Dyer, with Donovan Dijak still a factor and Bishop now thrust into the title picture — a sign the group may be consolidating power rather than fracturing. Meanwhile, new MLW World Tag Team Champions Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows continue their globetrotting run with the belts, and Matt Riddle, who has been circling the heavyweight title scene amid the chaos surrounding The Skyscrapers, is expected to have plenty to say.

With a title defense stripped of rules, a new champion’s first test, and major tournament and future-event reveals all on one card, Kings of Colosseum looks positioned to shape MLW’s next chapter. The show streams on YouTube at 6:05 p.m. ET and VEEPS at 9:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, with an NJPW World airing to follow at 12:00 p.m. JST the following Monday.