By Jon
COMMENTATORS: Rich Bocchini & Saint Laurent
VIEWING METHOD: BeIN Sports
Salina de la Renta is in control of this week’s Fusion as Executive Producer, and she has the two highest profile matches of the night: the MLW debut of Mil Muertes and a Tornado Tag Team Match as her clients Los Parks challenge The Von Erich Brothers for the World Tag Team Championship with Tom Lawlor as the Special (Filthy) Guest Referee. No shenanigans to be had, don’t worry. Okay worry a little.
CHAMPIONS
- MLW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Jacob Fatu
- MLW NATIONAL OPENWEIGHT CHAMPION: Alexander Hammerstone
- MLW WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Man of the Hour” Lio Rush
- MLW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall Von Erich)
LINEUP
- Low-Ki vs. Budd Heavy (NR)
- Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Mil Muertes (*)
- TORNADO TAG TEAM MATCH: The Von Erichs [c] vs. Los Parks for the MLW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP [w/ Tom Lawlor as Special Guest Referee] (*3/4)
*****
-Naturally the usual opening MLW Fusion video is peppered with clips of Salina de la Renta and Promociones Dorado.
–Salina de la Renta opens the show alongside Bocchini & Laurent, mocking the former for being too ugly for TV and hyping the big Tornado Tag Team match scheduled for the main event.
Low-Ki defeated Budd Heavy via knockout (0:08)
Heavy barely got his shirt off before Ki knocked him out with a running lariat.
- Poor Budd Heavy, I was looking forward to seeing him beat Ki with a 630 Splash. Ki dropped that weird bodysuit he was wearing for the Opera Cup, thankfully. (NR)
Ki called out King Mo and Dan Lambert of American Top Team, saying their beef is not over.
- Could it be over though? Please?
-KINGS OF COLOSSEUM CLIP: Lio Rush defeats Myron Reed to win the World Middleweight Championship. MLW had time to kill after Low-Ki won his match in short order so they started this one at the 7 minute mark and let it play through. MLW officials really thought BUDD HEAVY was going to last in the ring with Low-Ki? Pfft.
–Lio Rush commented on his win from his recording studio, and plugged his newest single now available wherever you stream music. It sounded fine.
-Bocchini & Laurent are concerned about Konnan, who was supposed to join them on commentary this week. Salina de la Renta waltzed in and took it to a pre-recorded video from San Diego. Salina, adorned in a black hood and with a lit candle, wondered if Konnan thought of her when she unleashed Mil Muertes, and vowed to get revenge on everyone in MLW who has wronged her.
–Mads Krugger hacked into the KINGS OF COLOSSEUM footage of his battle with Hammerstone last week, challenging him to bring his National Openweight Championship to the dark underground of CONTRA.
Mil Muertes [Presented by Salina de la Renta] defeated Brian Pillman Jr. via pinfall (3:26)
Pillman tried to avoid Muertes in the beginning, using his speed to avoid his clutches and repeatedly bailing to the floor. Muertes caught up to him however and dominated the match, absorbing Pillman’s attempts at offense and finishing him off with a Flatliner (which he calls Straight to Hell) for the win.
- Pillman didn’t even get a televised entrance for this one and was 100% treated like a jobber who had never wrestled in MLW before. That was…odd. Yeah he’s leaving the company (or already left) for AEW and should be losing matches, but he was a pretty prominent star for a lot of Fusion’s time on air and to see him get the Budd Heavy treatment didn’t sit right with me. Muertes dominated as expected but he didn’t come off quite as intimidating as he used to on Lucha Underground. I think it boils down to presentation though; Lucha Underground made use of lighting and such while here he was just a burly dude wrestling in a very well-lit room. I’m still excited to see him in MLW and that Lucha Underground is apparently getting a second lease on life in storyline on MLW TV, but I don’t know. My expectations based on memory were soaring pretty high. (*)
-After a video hyping the MLW/IWA Puerto Rico partnership, the show went “live” to Caribbean Champion Richard Holliday from his obsessively clean kitchen. Holliday took offense that no one is taking him and his title seriously and called Savio Vega out, challenging him for any place at any time to prove he’s a fighting champion.
-Clips played highlighting the long feud between Tom Lawlor & The Von Erichs, then we got some comments from Lawlor who is not only offended that people don’t think he’s going to call the main event down the middle, but also the fact ACH is getting a World Title shot before him even though he won the Opera Cup and beat ACH on the way to doing so.
- Honestly he has a point.
-KOC CLIP: CONTRA, including new member Daivari, attack Myron Reed & Jordan Oliver after Reed’s loss to Lio Rush.
-Promo from Injustice (Myron Reed & Jordan Oliver). Reed called the attack “sucker shit”, Oliver said they want to fight any member of CONTRA who wants to step up because he hasn’t forgotten that they took out their friend (Kotto Brazil, who didn’t re-sign with MLW).
-Salina asked Bocchini & Laurent if they were liking the show. Bocchini got some breaking news and asked Salina about the fact that Promociones Dorado had been bought out. Salina told them to excuse her and stormed off angrily.
–Alexander Hammerstone responded to Mads Krugger’s challenge from earlier, saying that he isn’t afraid of him and will meet him on CONTRA turf.
-This week’s Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 10 was presented by Saint Laurent:
- 10. Laredo Kid (what did he do to fall down the list?)
- 09. ACH (he’s getting a World Title shot next week, so I doubt he’s mad about this)
- 08. Myron Reed
- 07. Mads Krugger
- 06. Richard Holliday
- 05. Lio Rush
- 04. LA Park (still confused why he’s so high on the list when he hasn’t done anything big in singles since losing to Fatu at the PPV)
- 03. Low-Ki
- 02. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
- 01. Alexander Hammerstone
- WORLD CHAMP: Jacob Fatu
TORNADO TAG TEAM MATCH W/ TOM LAWLOR AS SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE
Los Parks (LA Park & Hijo de LA Park) [Presented by Salina de la Renta] defeated The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall Von Erich) [c] via pinfall to win the MLW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (13:10)
Los Parks attacked The Von Erichs right at the bell, Lawlor hilariously held up the World Tag Team Titles like a ref does while the brawl went on. Hijo and LA used their weight belt to choke and whip their opponents, LA brought in a metal stool and used it as a weapon, Lawlor letting it fly (which I think he should have, because I thought Tornado rules were No DQ) while Bocchini LOST HIS MIND on commentary. Ross & Marshall fought back with stereo dropkicks and stereo tope suicidas. Ross connected with a Falcon Arrow on Hijo and Lawlor SLOWLY counted the two. Hijo connected with a sunset bomb and Lawlor QUICK counted but Ross managed to kick out in time anyway. Lawlor’s arm “cramped up” during another Von Erich pinning attempt but got better during a Los Parks pinning attempt but neither resulted in a victory. Lawlor charged in to attack and got sent to the floor, Ross got the Claw on Hijo and slammed him to the mat, getting the visual pin but not the actual one. Salina got involved and maced Ross in the eyes, then LA Park Jr. showed up to assist in the attack. LA Park speared Ross, Lawlor recovered and countered the VERY QUICK three and new champions were crowned.
- Lawlor was fun as a special guest referee, blatantly not calling things down the middle and messing with the Von Erichs the whole time. Besides that though this was pretty low-energy as far as tornado matches go. It had a few chaotic moments I guess but I was hoping for more. Not a huge fan of the finish either but it made sense. All in all not great, Bob. (*1/2)
Los Parks celebrated with their newly-won World Tag Team Titles, LA Park relieved to not have to retire now that he’s holding some gold. Before the show signed off we got a quick graphic stating that Promociones Dorado was now a subsidiary of “Azteca Underground” which had a very familiar-looking logo…
- Okay MLW if you get Dario F*CKING CUETO on this show I will give you guys some socially-distanced high fives.
*****
FINAL THOUGHTS: This week’s Fusion featured a big debut and a big title change but to be honest I wasn’t really feeling the episode. The in-ring action was just so…empty-feeling, it’s hard to place. Nothing stood out there or was actively bad. But I’m still down to stick with it I need to see Hammerstone finally win the World Title and the tease of more Lucha Underground invading MLW is something I can get behind. Enough here to keep my interest but I hope Fusion gets a little better than what I saw this week.
- MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Low-Ki vs. Budd Heavy
- MOMENT OF THE NIGHT: The end graphic teasing more Lucha Underground involvement to come.
