Opera Cup (2026)
| Opera Cup (2026) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The 2026 winner Austin Aries | |
| Venue | First Round: Melrose Ballroom (June 11) 2300 Arena (June 12) Quarterfinals: 2300 Arena (June 12–13) Semifinals: 2300 Arena (June 13) Finals: Festival Hall (September 12) |
| Location | First Round: Queens, New York (June 11) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (June 12) Quarterfinals: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (June 12–13) Semifinals: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (June 13) Finals: Charleston, South Carolina (September 12) |
| Start date | June 11, 2026 |
| End date | September 12, 2026 |
| Competitors | |
| Champion | |
| Austin Aries | |
Opera Cup (2026) was the sixth Opera Cup professional wrestling tournament produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first round began on June 11, 2026, at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York. The final first round match, as well as the quarterfinals and semifinals, continued the following two days between June 12–13, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tournament concluded with the finals on September 12, at Festival Hall in Charleston, South Carolina. The tournament would air on tape delay on MLW's weekly series, MLW Fusion, on Tubi and YouTube.
Production
Background
The Opera House Cup was annually held as a professional wrestling tournament for nearly fifty years in various cities in the United States until its discontinuation in 1948. Stu Hart won the final tournament and kept possession of the Opera Cup trophy since then. On July 21, 2019, Major League Wrestling announced that it would be holding an event on December 5 at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York City, New York which would be a set of television tapings of MLW's television program Fusion. On July 24, it was reported that Stu Hart's grandson and MLW wrestler Teddy Hart would be donating an inherited "family heirloom" to MLW. On July 30, MLW.com announced that the family heirloom was Stu Hart's Opera Cup trophy and MLW would be bringing back the Opera Cup tournament on the December 5 supercard, naming it Opera Cup.
Storylines
The tournament consists of matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by MLW's writers. Storylines were played out on MLW's weekly television program Fusion, and MLW's social media channels.
Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LaBron Kozone defeated Joe Coffey (with Wolfgang and Mark Coffey) by pinfall | Singles match | 8:16 |
| 2 | Diego Hill defeated Anthony Greene by pinfall | Singles match | 6:34 |
| 3 | Austin Aries defeated Tracy Williams by pinfall | Singles match | 8:35 |
| 4 | Oddyssey defeated Okumura (with Ikuro Kwon) by pinfall | Singles match | 2:44 |
| 5 | Trevor Lee defeated Místico by countout | Singles match | 14:52 |
| 6 | Ikuro Kwon (with Josef Samael) defeated Andrew Everett by pinfall | Singles match | 7:07 |
| 7 | Big Damo (with Josef Samael) defeated Wolfgang by pinfall | Singles match | 6:09 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Riddle defeated Mark Coffey (with Joe Coffey and Wolfgang) by pinfall | Singles match | 7:45 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Aries defeated Trevor Lee by pinfall | Singles match | 12:35 |
| 2 | LaBron Kozone defeated Diego Hill by pinfall | Singles match | 6:51 |
| 3 | Big Damo (with Josef Samael) defeated Oddyssey by countout | Singles match | 9:19 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Riddle defeated Ikuro Kwon by pinfall | Singles match | 4:22 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Aries defeated LaBron Kozone by pinfall | Singles match |
| 2 | Matt Riddle defeated Big Damo by pinfall | Singles match |
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Aries defeated Matt Riddle by pinfall | Singles match |
Tournament brackets
| First round Fusion (June 11) Summer of the Beasts (June 12) | Quarterfinals Summer of the Beasts (June 12) Fusion (June 13) | Semifinals Fusion (June 13) | Final Fightland (September 12) | ||||||||||||
| Matt Riddle | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Mark Coffey | 7:45 | ||||||||||||||
| Matt Riddle | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ikuro Kwon | 4:22 | ||||||||||||||
| Ikuro Kwon | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Andrew Everett | 7:07 | ||||||||||||||
| Matt Riddle | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Big Damo | |||||||||||||||
| Big Damo | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Wolfgang | 6:09 | ||||||||||||||
| Big Damo | Countout | ||||||||||||||
| Oddyssey | 9:19 | ||||||||||||||
| Oddyssey | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Okumura | 2:44 | ||||||||||||||
| Matt Riddle | |||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Tracy Williams | 8:35 | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Trevor Lee | 12:35 | ||||||||||||||
| Místico | 14:52 | ||||||||||||||
| Trevor Lee | Countout | ||||||||||||||
| Austin Aries | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| LaBron Kozone | |||||||||||||||
| LaBron Kozone | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Joe Coffey | 8:16 | ||||||||||||||
| LaBron Kozone | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Diego Hill | 6:51 | ||||||||||||||
| Diego Hill | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Anthony Greene | 6:34 | ||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ "MLW SETS RETURN TO NYC LATER THIS YEAR". Major League Wrestling. July 21, 2019.
- ↑ "TEDDY HART DONATES FAMILY HEIRLOOM TO MLW". Major League Wrestling. July 24, 2019.
- ↑ "NYC TO HOST FIRST OPERA CUP IN OVER 70 YEARS". Major League Wrestling. July 30, 2019.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- 1 2 3 Vetter, Chris (September 12, 2026). "MLW Fusion results (9/12): Vetter's review of Matt Riddle vs. Brick Savage, plus LaBron Kozone vs. Joe Coffey, and Diego Hill vs. Anthony Greene in Opera Cup matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Vetter, Chris (September 18, 2026). "MLW Fusion results (9/17): Vetter's review of Mistico vs. Trevor Lee, Oddyssey (f/k/a Odyssey Jones) vs. Okumura, and Austin Aries vs. Tracy Williams in Opera Cup tournament matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Vetter, Chris (October 8, 2026). "MLW Fusion results (10/8): Vetter's review of Killer Kross and Matt Riddle vs. The Skyscrapers, plus Big Damo vs. Wolfgang and Ikuro Kwon vs. Andrew Everett in Opera Cup matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 7, 2026.
- 1 2 Vetter, Chris (October 15, 2026). "MLW Fusion results (10/15): Vetter's review of Shotzi Blackheart vs. Rina for the MLW Featherweight Title, Matt Riddle vs. Mark Coffey in an Opera Cup tournament match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 7, 2026.
- 1 2 Vetter, Chris (October 22, 2026). "MLW Fusion results (10/22): Vetter's review of Trevor Lee vs. Austin Aries in an Opera Cup tournament quarterfinal match, Saya Kamitani vs. Lady Frost, Tessa Blanchard's message". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Vetter, Chris (October 29, 2026). "MLW Fusion results (10/29): Vetter's review of LaBron Kozone vs. Diego Hill and Ikuro Kwon vs. Matt Riddle in Opera Cup quarterfinal matches, Wolfgang vs. Beastman". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- 1 2 Vetter, Chris (November 5, 2026). "MLW Fusion results (11/5): Vetter's review of the MLW SuperFight go-home show featuring Killer Kross vs. Donovan Dijak for the MLW Championship, Big Damo vs. Oddyssey in an Opera Cup match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Lambert, Jeremy (June 14, 2026). "MLW Fightland Spoilers (Taped On 9/12): New Champion Crowned". Fightful. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- 1 2 Lambert, Jeremy (September 13, 2026). "MLW Fightland Spoilers (Taped On 9/12): New Champion Crowned". Fightful. Retrieved November 8, 2026.