Team Filthy

Before his match with Jeff Cobb during MLW's One Shot event, Lawlor came to the ring with two unnamed figures dressed in the same tracksuit as him. These cornermen aided Lawlor in his victory by giving him a substance to blind Cobb.[1][2] The cornermen interfered on Lawlor's behalf again at Never Say Never during his match with Matt Riddle.[3] While still being accompanied by unknown cornermen, Lawlor would add Seth Petruzelli and Simon Gotch to his group, formally being named Team Filthy with the latter's inclusion.[4][5]

The group would come into conflict with rival heel stables, Promociones Dorado, and the Stud Stable for opportunities at the World Heavyweight Championship and dominant control of the company. Around this time, Fred Yehi was recruited into Team Filthy by Lawlor and Gotch after they saved him from a confrontation with the Stud Stable.[6] Lawlor earned a World Heavyweight Championship match by winning the inaugural Battle Riot. Petruzelli would be attacked by the Stud Stable's Dirty Blondes and would eventually be quietly removed from Team Filthy and written off MLW television.[7] Tom Lawlor would go on to beat the Stud Stable's Jake Hager to eliminate the group as a threat to Team Filthy.[8] After Lawlor defeated Shane Strickland for the honorary title of being "The Ace of MLW", he challenged the champion Low Ki, for a World Heavyweight Championship title match at the 2019 SuperFight, turning into a fan favorite.[9] As Yehi had temporarily left MLW to do an excursion to several European promotions, specifically in Germany,[10][11] Lawlor feuded with Sami Callihan who was hired by Promociones Dorado to attack Lawlor ahead of his match with Low Ki. Lawlor defeated Callihan in a Chicago Street Fight but was betrayed by Gotch who had led Lawlor into an ambush by Promociones Dorado after the match.[12] It was revealed that Gotch too was paid off by Promociones Dorado's founder and promoter Salina de la Renta.[13]

As the feud between Lawlor and Low Ki heated up, Low Ki, along with fellow Promociones Dorado members, Ricky Martinez and El Hijo de L.A. Park, attacked a recently returned Fred Yehi and new Team Filthy member, Ariel Dominguez.[14] Lawlor would avenge his betrayal at the hands of Gotch, defeating him in a No Holds Bard Match. After the match, Lawlor reiterated his challenge to Low Ki for the MLW Championship.[15] Yehi would go on to unsuccessfully challenge Low Ki for the MLW Championship as Lawlor would stay one step ahead of Promociones Dorado and Sami Callihan.[16] Sometime after his match with Ricky Martinez, Fred Yehi would leave MLW and be quietly removed from Team Filthy. Lawlor would finally defeat Low Ki for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship. While Team Filthy would still exist at this point, Lawlor would spend the first half of 2019 defending the MLW Championship and feuding with Gotch's new stable, Contra Unit. Dominguez would be the only other active member of Team Filthy until he left MLW after his match with Dominic Garrini.[17]

Lawlor would go on to lose the MLW Championship to Contra's Jacob Fatu at Kings of Colosseum. Aligning himself with Low Ki and Marshall and Ross Von Erich, Lawlor would defeat Contra at War Chamber. Lawlor became irate at the Von Erichs feeling that the attention they received superseded his feud with Contra and his opportunity to regain the MLW Championship.[18] On the 2019 MLW Thanksgiving special, Lawler attacked Ross Von Erich with a chair costing him the World title match with Jacob Fatu and reverting into a villain.[19] It was also heavily implied that Lawlor attacked Marshall Von Erich with a pipe a week prior, injuring his leg. Commentator Rich Bocchini made a point to note that the members of Contra Unit were not seen in the vicinity during the attack.[20] With Lawyer's true colors exposed, his feud with the Von Erichs began. He also stated that he was thinking about reforming Team Filthy, which was dormant during Lawlor's championship reign and seemingly ceased when Dominguez left MLW.[18]

Lawlor took the first steps to reform Team Filthy bringing an unnamed cornerman in a Team Filthy tracksuit on the first MLW in 2020. On that episode, Lawlor challenged the “Greatest Von Erich”, Rip Von Erich, to a match. Allegedly the son of the “late” Lance Von Erich (himself only a Von Erich in kayfabe and was still alive during that episode's airing), Rip Von Erich was defeated by Lawlor in a squash match meant to provoke Ross and Marshall. Lawlor goaded the brothers further after the match leading the Von Erichs to confront him. As they entered the ring, Ross and Marshall were attacked from behind by Kenny Doane and Mike Mondo of the Spirit Squad with Lawlor and the cornerman joined in on the assault.[21] Renaming Doane and Mondo the Filthy Squad, Lawlor formerly acknowledged that Team Filthy was not only back, but the pair were accepted into the group. Trading in their whistles and green cheerleader gear for black karate gis, the Filthy Squad fell in a losing effort to Ross and Mashall Von Erich. After the match, Doane and Rip Von Erich failed in retaliation against the Von Erichs.[22] After their loss, the Filthy Squad were not seen again on MLW, with Bocchini speculating that they were just Lawlor's patsies used to attack the Von Erichs.[23]

In the next episode, Lawlor would recruit Dominic Garrini into Team Filthy. At the end of his debut episode, Erick Stevens would aid Lawlor and Garrini brutalizing the Von Eric's. On MLW's 100th episode, it was formally revealed that Rip Von Erich is Kit Osbourne and is Team Filthy's cornerman. Stevens lost a match to Davey Boy Smith Jr. drawing the Smith into the feud between Team Filthy and Von Erichs.[24] Team Filthy would involve themselves in Lawlor's match with Killer Kross which causes Smith and the Von Erichs to intervene. Forcing Team Filthy to retreat, Smith challenged Lawlor, Garrini, Stevens, and Osbourne to an 8-Man Tag Match.[25] The match would end when Osborne was pinned by Mashall Von Erich and put through a table by Smith. From there the battle between the raining members of Team Filthy and their opponents would devolve into a chaotic brawl. Before the episode ended, King Mo attacked Kross with a baseball bat.[26] Team Filthy revealed that King Mo and his manager, American Top Team Founder, Dan Lambert, became members of the group. King Mo defeated Low Ki in a singles match, assisted by an umbrella shot by Lawlor.[27]

Due to the real-world effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, MLW stopped running shows after their MLW Super Series shows with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and Promociones EMW for eight months. As revealed in the Pulp FUSION shorts in the interim, Team Filthy continued to cut promos on and plot against their enemies. Once MLW Fusion returned to air, Erick Stevens had retired from professional wrestling.[28] In his place, Garrini recruited Kevin Ku, who had been signed by MLW, into Team Filthy. Lawlor and Stevens agreed with Stevens (in kayfabe) sponsoring Ku with his Kookies and Kream Sarasota business because it was a tax write off.[29] Garrini and Ku re-formed their tag team from the independent circuit, Violence is Forever.

Currently, Lawlor is in the main event scene after winning the Opera Cup, and Violence is Forever is putting its focus on the MLW World Tag Team Championships. King Mo, Dan Lambert, and Kit Osbourne have yet to rejoin Team Filthy as a group.

Making his New Japan debut at Lion’s Break Collision,[30] Lawlor was spotted on NJPW Strong by Kevin Kelly watching the match between Jeff Cobb and Rocky Romero vs. JR Kratos and Rust Taylor.[31] Before Lawlor's match with Fred Rosser, it was confirmed that he aligned himself with Kratos and Taylor to form the New Japan version of Team Filthy.[32] Lawlor stated that he teamed up with Kratos and Taylor because he was looking for a fight team that would be the strongest ever seen.[33] Just one week after their formation, Danny Limelight would turn on Romero and join Team Filthy.[34] Together, Team Filthy was victorious against Cobb, Romero, Rosser, and PJ Black in an eight-man tag team match.[35] The next time Team Filthy appeared however, they were defeated by their four opponents in three separate matches.[36] It was Taylor's "white belt performance" against Cobb, however, that caused Lawlor to fire him from the group. Wasting no time, Lawlor recruited Chris Dickinson in his place.

Timeline

• Major League Wrestling
  • MLW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) - Lawlor
  • Battle Riot (2018) - Lawlor
  • Opera Cup (2020) - Lawlor
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked Lawlor No. 111 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2020[37]
  • Ranked Yehi No. 237 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2019[38]
  • Ranked Stevens No. 279 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2020[37]
  • Ranked Garrini No. 331 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2020[37]
  • Ranked Gotch No. 372 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018[39]