| Contra Unit | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Stable | |
| Members | See below |
| Name | Contra Unit |
| Debut | February 2, 2019 |
Contra Unit is avillainousprofessional wrestlingstable, currently performing inMajor League Wrestling (MLW). It consists of leaderMads Krule Krügger,Ikuro Kwon,Minoru Suzuki,Babathunder, and the Sentai Death Squad.[1][2]
The stable was formed at theSuperFightevent on February 2, 2019 whenJacob Fatu andJosef Samael made their MLW debut and formed their alliance withSimon Gotch by attacking his opponentAce Romero.[3] The group made its televised debut atIntimidation Games and dominated MLW roster throughout the year, becoming the top villainous group of the company.[4] The group cemented its dominance over MLW when Fatu won the World Heavyweight Championship atKings of Colosseum on July 6, 2019.[5] Ikuro Kwon was added to the group as its fourth member in August.
Following a storyline where Contra took over and shut down MLW in May 2020 and were subsequently ousted from power in October of the same year, they were joined by a masked man known as The Black Hand of Contra on November 18, who was then renamed "Mads Krügger" on the December 2 episode of Fusion. The group would then addDaivari to their ranks at the2021 Kings of Colosseum. The group would lose Gotch and Daivari and then seem to disband at War Chamber 2021 after losing Fatu and Samael, with Kwon announcing his renouncement from the group.
At SuperFight on January 3, 2024, Krügger made his return to MLW, along with Contra Unit's Sentai Death Squad, attacking Jacob Fatu after his match withYuji Nagata and then hit Fatu with a Baklei bottle. AtWar Chamber on March 29, 2024, Ikuro Kwon returned to MLW and assisted Contra Unit in attacking The Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) and CozyMax (Shigeo Okumura andSatoshi Kojima).[6] The group later addedMinoru Suzuki andBabathunder as members.
Jacob Fatu andThe Almighty Sheik were previously a part of astable called the "Warbeast" withBrody King andKevin Sullivan and competed on theindependent circuit winning many tag team titles in various promotions.[7] In January 2019, Warbeast members Fatu and Sheik signed a contract withMajor League Wrestling and MLW announced on its website that Jacob Fatu would make his MLW debut atSuperFight.[8][9] Sheik was repackaged as Josef Samael and he and Fatu made their MLW debut in anon-televised match by defeatinglocal wrestlers Chico Adams and Kwame Nas at SuperFight. Later at the event, the duo allied themselves withSimon Gotch by destroying his opponentAce Romero, during which Gotch proclaimed that the group as "global merchants of violence" and named it "Contra" and waved a self-designated Contra flag.[10] The pair made its televised debut atIntimidation Games by destroyingTom Lawlor after he retained theMLW World Heavyweight Championship againstLow Ki in asteel cage match.[11] Contra Unit led another attack on Ace Romero during Romero's match against Simon Gotch on the March 9 episode ofFusion.[12] The next week, onFusion, Fatu and Samael had their first televised match in MLW against Chico Adams and Vertigo Rivera, where they got themselves disqualified after Samael brutalized them with his spike.[13] Fatu entered thetitular match at theBattle Riot II on April 5, where Contra poured gas on various participants, which led to them being disqualified from the match. Later that night, Contra attacked Tom Lawlor again during a post-event press conference.[14]
Contra Unit planned a hostile takeover of MLW,[15] continuing its dominance and rise as Fatu ended Barrington Hughes' undefeated streak in MLW in aquick match on the May 11 episode ofFusion.[16] Fatu and Samael would go on to defeat Hughes and Romero in a tag team match on the May 25 episode ofFusion. Later at that episode, Contra Unit destroyedLow Ki as well as Tom Lawlor for the third time after Lawlor's successful title defense against Avalanche.[17]
Lawlor enlisted the help ofMarshall and Ross Von Erich for a rivalry with Contra Unit, as the team of Lawlor and Von Erichs defeated Contra Unit in asix-man tag team match.[18] The rivalry between Lawlor and Contra Unit intensified, which set up a match between Fatu and Lawlor for the World Heavyweight Championship atKings of Colosseum on July 6, which Fatu won, thus capturing the title and cementing Contra Unit's dominance over MLW.[19][20]
The rivalry continued between Contra Unit and the team of Lawlor and Von Erichs, leading up to aWar Chamber match at thenamesake event.[21] Contra Unit introduced a fourth member Ikuro Kwon on the August 3 episode ofFusion, who spit mist into Marshall Von Erich's eyes.[22] Low Ki would soon join Lawlor and Von Erichs in the rivalry by helping them fend off and destroyed by Contra Unit after Fatu successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Lawlor in a rematch on the August 31 episode ofFusion.[23] Contra Unit would lose to Low Ki, Lawlor and Von Erichs in the titular match at War Chamber to settle the rivalry.[24][25]
Contra Unit's next rival was againstSalina de la Renta's stable Promociones Dorado, which began afterLA Park decided to cash in his Golden Ticket opportunity by winning the Battle Riot against Jacob Fatu for the World Heavyweight Championship at MLW's first-everpay-per-viewSaturday Night SuperFight on November 2.[26] In the warm-up to the match, Promociones Dorado members LA Park,Bestia 666 andMecha Wolf defeated Kwon, Gotch and Samael in a six-man tag team match on the final episode ofFusion before the pay-per-view.[27] However, Fatu retained the title against Park at Saturday Night SuperFight.[28]
Contra would plant the seeds of a potential rivalry withThe Hart Foundation after Josef Samael threw a fireball onTeddy Hart, thus costing the latter, theWorld Middleweight Championship againstMyron Reed on the November 11 episode ofFusion. Hart would subsequently depart MLW while Contra would then resume their feud with the Von Erichs as Fatu issued a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity to Marshall Von Erich. However, Marshall was mysteriously destroyed and his brother Ross Von Erich challenged Fatu instead but was defeated after Tom Lawlor betrayed Ross. Contra would wreak havoc in Japan in November, leading to a six-man tag team match on the January 1, 2020 episode ofFusion, in which Fatu, Kwon and Gotch defeated Strong Hearts (Cima,El Lindaman andShigehiro Irie). The rival with the Strong Hearts would conclude with Fatu retaining the World Heavyweight Championship against Cima on the March 7 episode ofFusion.
Hart Foundation would begin feuding with Contra to avenge Contra's destroy on Teddy Hart, which led toDavey Boy Smith, Jr. defeating Gotch in aNo Holds Barred match on the February 1 episode ofFusion and Fatu retained the World Heavyweight Championship againstBrian Pillman Jr. on the February 8 episode ofFusion. On the May 10 episode ofFusion, Contra destroyed several MLW wrestlers in the backstage area and took over MLW's headquarters, thus taking over the promotion and "shutting it down" (storyline explanation for MLW's hiatus due to theCOVID-19 pandemic).Injustice member Kotto Brazil was one of the wrestlers injured in the assault which ended his MLW career as an explanation for hislegitimate departure from the promotion.
Contra was ousted from power in October and MLW resumed events on the November 18 episode ofFusion, where Fatu retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Davey Boy Smith, Jr.Alexander Hammerstone confronted Fatu after the match and was attacked by the debuting The Black Hand of Contra, who was later revealed to beMads Krügger. On the December 9 episode ofFusion, Fatu and Gotch challenged The Von Erichs for theWorld Tag Team Championship and the match ended in a no contest after Injustice member Jordan Oliver and Violence is Forever interfered in the match and attacked all the competitors. Oliver would soon begin challenging Gotch to a match to avenge the attack on Kotto Brazil in May, setting up a match between Gotch and Oliver atKings of Colosseum on January 6, 2021. However, Gotch faked injury and the match was cancelled. However, later at the event, Contra attacked Injustice afterMyron Reed lost theWorld Middleweight Championship toLio Rush. The debutingDaivari would get involved in the attack thus becoming the newest member of Contra Unit. Krügger would challenge Hammerstone for theNational Openweight Championship at the event and the match ended in a double count-out.
Gotch and Oliver had a match on the January 20 episode ofFusion, which Gotch won via referee stoppage. On the February 3 episode ofFusion, Hammerstone defended the National Openweight Championship against Krügger in a Baklei Brawl, which Hammerstone won to retain but it was revealed to be a fake Krügger as the real Krügger attacked Hammerstone after the match. Fatu retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Oliver on the March 3 episode ofFusion and Contra attacked Injustice after the match but Calvin Tankman made the save and challenged Fatu to a match for the title. In the meanwhile, Daivari and Gotch competed against Los Parks and Injustice in a three-way match for the World Tag Team Championship on the March 17 episode ofFusion, where Los Parks retained the titles. AtNever Say Never, Gotch lost to Oliver and Daivari lost to Reed while Fatu retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Tankman due to outside interference by Daivari. On October 2 atFightland Fatu lost the world title to Alexander Hammerstone, ending his record setting reign at 819 days. The stable would seemingly dissolve atWar Chamber after losing the titular match to the Hammerheads.[29] This was also heavily implied to be the case by MLW's YouTube channel,[30] which stated Kwon had renounced Contra and left, Fatu going on his own way and Krügger vowing revenge, along with Josef Samael being released and removed from MLW's Roster page on MLW.com. This would be ignored, however in future episodes of Fusion, which would have Kwon providing backup for Krügger, both men having Contra logos in their entrance videos and commentators referring to Contra in the present tense along with referencing Krügger and Kwon looking for new members.[31]
On May 6, 2022, Krügger competed at SHW39 for Southern Honor Wrestling (where he is known as “The Heathen” Krule). He faced Dylan James (aka Sunny Daze) in a Chain Match with the stipulation being that if Krule won, Dylan would lose his job as booker of the company and would be replaced by Krule’s wife, Brooklyn. However, if Dylan won, Brooklyn would be fired from SHW. With the Chain Match being no disqualification, Krule ended up defeating Dylan James with the assistance of “The Black Cloud” Joe Black. Thus, giving Brooklyn control of SHW. Later in the show, there would be a Triple Threat Match for the Southern Honor Championship, with the champion Owen Knight defending against Cyrus The Destroyer and “The Priest of Punishment” Judas (aka Judais from the NWA). During the match after taking out Owen Knight, the two big men, Cyrus and Judas, would fight their way through the crowd and towards the backstage area. Meanwhile, with Knight still down in the ring, Brooklyn would appear on stage with Krule and Joe Black by her side, and with her first order of business as SHW’s new booker, she would immediately turn the championship match into a Fatal Four-Way Match. Krule then entered the ring and finished off Owen Knight with his finishing maneuver, Scorched Earth, to win and become the new Southern Honor Champion. This made Krule a two-time SHW Champion (having previously won the title in 2019, then known as Logan Creed). After Krule won the match, Brooklyn and Joe Black would enter the ring holding up a Contra flag and then draping it over Owen Knight, who was still laid out in the middle of the ring. The show would end with Krule attacking multiple members of the SHW staff working at ringside before posing on stage with the SHW Championship belt alongside Brooklyn and Black with the Contra flag
AtSuperFight on January 3, 2024, Krügger made his return to MLW, along with Contra Unit's Sentai Death Squad, attackingJacob Fatu after his match withYuji Nagata and hitting him with a Baklei bottle.[32] AtWar Chamber on March 29, 2024, Ikuro Kwon returned to MLW and assisted Contra Unit in attacking The Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) and CozyMax (Shigeo Okumura andSatoshi Kojima).[33] On May 18, 2024, atFury Road, Janai Kai was revealed to have joined Contra Unit. On June 1, 2024, atBattle Riot VI, Suzuki joined the Contra Unit teaming with Krügger and Kwon to defeatSatoshi Kojima,Matt Riddle, andAkira in asix-man tag team match.[34]
Suzuki and Kwon would then defeat CozyMax to win the MLW World Tag Team Championships atSummer of the Beasts on August 29.[35] AtOne Shot on December 5, 2024, Kwon and Suzuki lost the MLW World Tag Team Championship to CozyMax and at the same event, Krügger defeated the debutingBabathunder. After the match, Krügger invited Babathunder to join Contra Unit, which he accepted.[36]
On January 11, 2025 atKings of Colosseum, Krügger defeatedMatthew Justice, Mr. Thomas, Brett Ryan Gosselin andAkira to win the Gravity Gramble contract for a future MLW World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing.[37] On April 5 atBattle Riot VII, Kwon and Krügger entered theBattle Riot match but were eliminated byAlex Hammerstone andRob Van Dam and eventual winnerMatt Riddle respectively, thus failing to win the MLW World Heavyweight Championship in the process.[38] On May 20, Kai left MLW and thus was silently removed from Contra Unit.[39] AtWar Chamber on June 9, Krügger and Babathunder defeated Filthy Bros (Matt Riddle andTom Lawlor) in aChicago Street Fight.[40] On August 9 atBlood and Thunder, Kwon was knocked out of theOpera Cup in the first round byMístico.[41] AtFightland on September 14, Kwon failed to win the MLW World Middleweight Championship againstTemplario while Krügger defeated previous champion Riddle andDonovan Dijak to win the MLW World Heavyweight Championship after cashing his Gravity Gramble contract.[42]
| * | Founding member(s) |
|---|---|
| I-II | Leader(s) |
| Member | Joined |
|---|---|
| Mads Krule Krügger(II) | November 18, 2020 |
| Sentai Death Squad | July 10, 2021 |
| Ikuro Kwon | August 3, 2019 –December 14, 2021 March 29, 2024 |
| Minoru Suzuki | June 1, 2024 |
| Babathunder | December 5, 2024 |
| Member | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Jacob Fatu (I) | February 2, 2019* –November 6, 2021 |
| Josef Samael | February 2, 2019* –November 6, 2021 |
| Simon Gotch | February 2, 2019* –January 31, 2021 |
| Daivari | January 6, 2021 –June 12, 2021 |
| Janai Kai | May 18, 2024 –May 20, 2025 |
| Group | Members | Tenure | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warbeast | Jacob Fatu Josef Samael | 2019–2021 | Tag team |
