Background Intimidation Games is a reoccurring event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that was first held on May 3, 2018, as a television taping for
MLW Fusion. The
second event was broadcast live on March 2, 2019, as a special episode of
Fusion. On December 18, 2023, MLW announced that the fourth edition of Intimidation Games would take place on February 29, 2024, at the Melrose Ballroom in
Queens, New York. As part of MLW's partnership with
Triller TV to produce live specials for TrillerTV+ subscribers, the 2024 edition will also be the second to air live.
Storylines The card consisted of matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed
villains,
heroes, or
less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by MLW's writers. Storylines were played out across MLW's social media platforms. Per MLW's "Open Door Policy," several free agents would be announced for the event, including the MLW return of
Bobby Fish. and the debut of former
WWE wrestler
A. J. Franci$. On December 27, 2023, MLW announced on their website that
Matt Riddle will be in action at Intimidation Games. During
The Burning Crush, which aired on February 17, 2024, Riddle in vignette challenged anyone from
New Japan Pro-Wrestling to meet him at the event. Later, it was announced that
Bad Dude Tito of
TMDK would be Riddle's opponent. Several days later on Night 1 of NJPW
The New Beginning in Sapporo, Riddle defeated
Hiroshi Tanahashi to capture the
NJPW World Television Championship, with MLW announcing that his match with Tito at Intimidation Games will be for the title. During the
Reload special on January 20, 2024,
Minoru Suzuki was announced to be returning to MLW at Intimidation Games. His opponent would be revealed as
Satoshi Kojima at
SuperFight. Later in the night, Kojima would defeat
Alex Kane to win the
MLW World Heavyweight Championship, thus making his match with Suzuki at Intimidation Games a world title match. When
Místico was announced to debut in MLW at SuperFight, Promociones Dorado promoter
Salina de la Renta was confused as she had not authorized the deal. As her stable was the main pipeline for Latin American wrestlers to MLW, she was suspicious. As such, de la Renta would accompany Místico's rival
Averno for their match at SuperFight. Over the next several weeks, several signs began pointing to
Cesar Duran, former MLW matchmaker and owner of
Azteca Underground – which had previously purchased Promociones Dorado in 2020 – returning to the company. Duran had been kidnapped and reported missing since the summer of 2023, though his masked Azteca henchmen would still maintain a presence. It was eventually revealed that de la Renta orchestrated Duran's disappearance after he held her captive back in 2021. At SuperFight, Duran fully returned to announce Místico for his match, where he beat Averno. ==Results==