MLW Fusion #102
March 21st, 2020
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
By: Davie Portman
Commentary Rich Bocchini and AJ Kirsch
The show opens with a recap of last week’s main event between “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and Killer Kross, which ended in a Disqualification when Team Filthy interfered. This set up tonight’s Main Event, an 8-Man Tag Match between Team Filthy and The Von Erichs, Davey Boy Smith Jr and Killer Kross.
It is announced that after last week’s show went off the air Mance Warner was attacked by The Dynasty at the pay window. MJF attacked Warner with the barricade and is therefore banned from the building for tonight’s edition of Fusion.
Zenshi vs El Lindaman
The first match of the evening is a singles match between Zenshi and El Lindaman. The match starts with some chain wrestling and Zenshi going for two early pinning combinations. Zenshi gets a slight advantage early on and offers his hand to El Lindaman as a sign of respect. They both run the ropes and Zenshi uses his speed to change directions, grounds El Lindaman and follows up with a Standing Moonsault. Both performers now show off their speed as Zenshi jumps to the apron to hit a slingshot into the ring however, Lindaman slides to the outside. Zenshi jumps back into the ring and launches himself to the outside but lands on his feet as Lindaman is already back in the ring. Lindaman completes the sequence with a Tope Con Hilo onto Zenshi and runs up to the top of the ramp to pose. Zenshi is rolled back into the ring and El Lindaman starts to target his right arm. There is a really impressive Slingshot Corkscrew Senton from Zenshi followed by a Slingshot Neckbreaker for a two count. El Lindaman catches Zenshi with the Cross Armbreaker but Zenshi makes it to the ropes. EL Lindaman hits a deadly looking Northern Lights Suplex into the corner followed by a German Suplex for a two count. Zenshi tries to make a comeback by hitting a backflip kick and follows up with a flurry of kicks. He goes for the Ace Crusher but gets caught with the Blue Thunder Bomb. El Lindaman follows this up with the Tiger Suplex for the win.
El Lindaman defeats Zenshi via Pinfall in 8mins9secs
Davie’s Thoughts: I really enjoyed this opener. El Lindaman was one of the OWE talents that impressed me in AEW during the 6-Man Tag against SCU. He only weighs 154lbs, however, he has this strength that reminds me of Tyler Bate. His combination of speed and strength makes for some very exciting wrestling to watch. Zenshi was impressive too and I think both men worked together well. My favorite moment of the match was the sequence where Zenshi kept going for a plancha however, Lindaman was too quick and kept getting out of the way and ended up hitting the Tope Con Hilo. These are two wrestlers I look forward to seeing more of in AEW.
Von Erichs with Davey Boy Smith Jr and Killer Kross Backstage
The Von Erichs say that their Dad told them to choose their friends wisely and they are nowhere with two of the best in the business. Davey Boy says that he has the Von Erich’s back as Stu Hart trained their Grandfather and therefore considers them family. He threatens Dominic Garrini saying “I will stick your head so far up your ass you won’t know if it’s Friday or Tuesday.” Killer Kross finishes the promo by telling Team Filthy that they picked a fight with the wrong group of people and finishes by calling out Tom Lawlor.
I thought all four men sounded great here. They were intense, seemed united as a team and also had some funny insults in there as well. I think they did a pretty good job of setting up the main event of the evening.
Mance Warner Selfie Promo
Mance Warner is drinking some light beers and says that he has challenged Richard Holliday to a “Mystery Man Match” and that he will be in the corner of Holiday’s opponent. He finishes the promo by saying he has something special in store for MJF.
Richard Holliday Interview
Alicia Atout interviews Richard Holliday backstage asking him how he prepares for a Mystery Man Match and if he has any predictions on who the man could be. Holliday says that it could be a drunken bartender, could be a garbage truck driver or could be the ghost of Carlos Colon (who is still alive). Holliday promises that his opponent will be breathing in his “rarified air” and that they won’t have a chance at touching his Caribbean Championship.
Contra Unit Video
Josef Samael has released another video on behalf of the Contra Unit. He says that there have been whispers of Contra unit’s next attack and tells us to prepare for the upcoming war. He tells us that “the infiltration of the infidels is underway”. During this video, there are images from Kathmandu, Siberian armies, men in bull masks. There is a lot of imagery here and the message is pretty vague however, it manages to get the Contra Unit across as a scary formidable force within MLW.
Pagano Vignette
There is a replay of last week’s vignette hyping up the debut of Pagano.
Richard Holliday Selfie Promo
Richard Holliday says that he doesn’t think he should be in this Mystery Man Match and that his lawyer/father is not happy about it. They have found a sub-clause in his contract that says he shouldn’t be justified to a match chosen by an intoxicated performer. He is worried for his safety but believes that The Dynasty will win one way or another.
I’ve enjoyed this feud between Richard Holliday and Mance Warner. I feel both men are very capable of cutting good promos and as their characters are polar opposites it allows for some fun chemistry between the two.
Next week King Mo vs Low Ki
Next week Brian Pillman Jr vs Jordan Oliver
- Pillman attacked from behind whilst training by Injustice
Richard Holliday vs Mystery Opponent
Mance Warner comes out with a 24 case of Bud Light. He says that his “Mystery Man” has a history of being in a group, a history of being extreme. He introduces…The Blue Meanie!
Richard Holliday vs The Blue Meanie
With this show being in Philly, the crowd is obviously very happy to see this ECW Original and chant “E C DUB” loudly in support of The Blue Meanie. Holliday attempts to do the Meanie Dance and the crowd boo him loudly. Meanie then dances to loud cheers. Holliday says that this is actually a big moment for him and wants Meanie to teach him. Meanie starts to teach him the dance, however, he is attacked from behind by Holliday. Holliday hits some stiff looking elbows and clotheslines and gets a two count. Meanie fires back with some jabs followed by a right hand. Holliday leaves the ring and approaches Warner, takes one of his beers and pours it out on the ground. As he goes back to the ring Warner spits beer in his face, which causes Holliday to get counted out.
The Blue Meanie defeats Richard Holliday via Countout in 5mins22secs
Davie’s Thoughts: This was more of a segment than a match. The Blue Meanie got a nice reaction from the arena and there were some fun moments, however, personally I feel that when there are only three matches on the card you shouldn’t waste one with a five-minute comedy segment.
Injustice Interview
Injustice is backstage and is asked about their “beef” with AAA. They say that they don’t have any beef with AAA but do have an issue with MLW management bringing people from different countries to be superstars when they already have superstars here in MLW. They then shift their attention to Brian Pillman Jr and call him a loose cannon and hopefully next week when he faces Jordan Oliver “no injustice happens”.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 10 Contenders For The MLW Championship
10. King Mo
9. Low Ki
8. Mance Warner
7. MJF
6. Richard Holliday
5. Brian Pillman Jr.
4. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
3. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
2. Myron Reed
1. Alexander Hammerstone
World Heavyweight Champion – Jacob Fatu
Low Ki Backstage
Low Ki talks about his upcoming match with King Mo. He praises King Mo, saying that he has a hell of a reputation and has fought some of the best of all time but says he is just a Pro Fighter going into Pro Wrestling. Low Ki says that King Mo knows nothing about him but still wants to run his mouth. He says that Mo appears “punchdrunk” and that by the time he is done with him he will be “kicked s**tfaced”.
I really enjoyed this promo from Low Ki. This feels similar to what they did with Killer Kross and Tom Lawlor last week where they are building this up as some sort of dream match. This felt more like an MMA promo to me rather than a Pro Wrestling promo as there was more realism in it.
King Mo
King Mo is backstage and says that he thinks Low Ki is a low key fraud. He looked him up on YouTube and all he saw was a “midget get bodyslammed”. He demands that Low Ki has a cornerman to throw in the towel when Mo gets his hands on him.
I liked the contrast here between the two promos. Low Ki was a lot more respectful however insulted by the new guy running his mouth thinking that he knows everything there is to know about Pro Wrestling. Low Ki has had a long, successful career in Pro Wrestling and I feel his ability is respected by a lot of fans. Having King Mo disrespect him like this makes him an instant heel and I think it was effective.
LA Park Cooks
Yes…you read that right. The next segment is LA Park with his son, Hijo, cooking sausages and eggs.
He says that if he cooks a champions meal, one day he will be a champion in MLW. As he explains how to cook sausages and eggs he also explains how he is going to win. He will defeat his opponents by kicking them in the “huevos”. He tells all those “gringo wrestlers” to eat these eggs. He keeps on repeating that his strategy will defeat their opponents and that they will be future champions. LA Park admits that he wants a cutting board next time as he had difficulty cutting the sausages in the pan. He ends the segment by saying that his sausages and eggs don’t need salt and that it looks incredibly yummy.
I’m not sure what I just watched here. LA Park literally just spent five minutes on TV cooking sausages and eggs…and I think…I loved it?! This was very off the wall and didn’t really make any sense. He didn’t even scramble the eggs very well. This wasn’t used to promote any upcoming feud. I shouldn’t even really find this funny, however, for some reason, it worked for me and I think I want to see more cooking segments with LA Park and Hijo. Maybe next week LA Park can bake a cake? Have I lost my mind?
Mance Warner challenges MJF to a loser leaves MLW empty arena match
Team Filthy vs The Von Erichs, Davey Boy Smith Jr and Killer Kross
Before the bell rings Tom Lawlor cuts a promo running down the city of Philadelphia. He calls them all Smart Marks and tells them to take a selfie then throw their phone off the Walt Whitman bridge so that they don’t have to look at their face.
The team of The Von Erichs, Davey Boy Smith Jr and Killer Kross come out and all eight men start brawling straight away all around the ring. In the ring, Erick Stevens and Dominik Garrini make quick tags back and forth as they take it in turns to stomp down on Ross Von Erich. Killer Kross comes in and takes everyone out with Suplexes and calls in Tom Lawlor. Lawlor enters the match and takes out Kross with a Spinning Heel Kick. As Lawlor poses, Kross gets back up and hits an awesome looking Suplex, dumping Lawlor on his head. Kross then knocks the ref down by accident and Kit Osbourne low blows Davey Boy and gets out the steel chair. Marshall Von Erich stops him with The Claw and slams him to the mat. He then follows up with a beautiful Moonsault and the referee counts the three.
The Von Erichs, Davey Boy Smith Jr and Killer Kross defeat Team Filthy ins 7mins50secs
After the match, Kross and Davie Boy put a wooden board in the corner and powerbomb Kid Ospbourne through it as Team Filthy are attacking the Von Erich’s with Kendo Sticks. The brawl continues to the backstage area where King Mo appears and smashes a Kendo Stick across the back of Killer Kross.
Davie’s Thoughts: This main event was a bit of a let down to me. The match never really got going and was mainly just brawling. The finish didn’t make too much sense to me either as it looked like the heels were going to capitalize by cheating with a fallen ref, however, that didn’t lead to anything. I like the introduction of King Mo to Team Filthy and I wonder if Killer Kross’s team is going to find someone else to balance the teams.
My main criticism this week was that there wasn’t enough wrestling. I really enjoyed the opening match however, apart from that, we had one five minute comedy match that was nothing more than a segment and a seven-minute main event that never got going. I still praise MLW for their character work, video packages, and backstage interviews but I would have liked a better balance between that and actual ring time.
5 LA Park Eggs Out of 10!