MLW Fusion #107 – MLW AAA Super Series
April 25th, 2020
Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez
Tijuana, Mexico
By: Davie Portman
Commentary Rich Bocchini and AJ Kirsch
Caribbean Championship
No DQ
Richard Holliday vs Chessman
Richard Holliday opens the show carrying the Caribbean Championship that he stole from Savio Vega. He cuts a promo in Spanish to the Mexican fans and insults them in English as he removes his AirPods, saying that they can’t afford them. He reminds them all that “when Richard Holliday is in the building, you are all breathing in rarified air.”
Richard Holliday refuses to let the referee present the Championship before the match starts and therefore presents it himself. He then proceeds to put on hand sanitizer before shoving Chessman in the face.
Chessman Dropkicks Holliday to the outside and goes for a Tope Suicida but gets hit in the head with a steel chair. They continue to brawl on the outside before heading back to the ring. Holliday goes for a cover and the referee takes a long time to get into position to make the count. Chessman comes back with a kick to the side of the head, sending Holliday to the outside and this time successfully follows up with the Tope Suicida. Chessman follows up with a chair shot to the ribs. Back in the ring, they both dodge each other’s kicks and both hit each other with a Clothesline. They both land on top of each other and the referee counts a double pin for a two count. Holliday hits 2008 and the referee makes a very slow two count. Chessman comes back with a kick to the side of Holliday’s head followed by a second rope Moonsault for a two count. He then climbs to the top and goes fort a Corkscrew Splash but Holliday moves out the way. Holliday picks him up and hits the Market Crash Gutwrench Powerbomb for the win.
Richard Holliday defeats Chessman via Pinfall in 6mins25secs
Davie’s Thoughts: This match was pretty basic and I didn’t particularly understand why the No Disqualification stipulation was added. The only No DQ elements were two chair shots and that didn’t add anything to the story of the match. Richard Holliday is very good at getting heat from the crowd but hasn’t shown too much to impress me with his ring work, yet.
Mance Warner Interview
We get a recap from last week’s episode of Fusion where Mance Warner attacked Alexander Hammerstone and threw him into Alicia Atout’s Birthday cake.
Alicia Atout interviews Mance Warner and he apologizes for ruining her Birthday party last week. She thanks him for getting MJF out of MLW and suggests that he should now take out Alexander Hammerstone. Warner says that he is now looking for gold and has his eyes on Alexander Hammerstone’s National Openweight Championship. Mance and Alicia then leave to go and drink more beers.
Douglas James Update
We get a medical update on Douglas James following his knockout loss to Averno last week. We learn that he has a transient disorder of brain function without long-term sequels and has been evaluated for a subdural hematoma. He is currently barred from contact for 180 days unless cleared by a neurologist.
Pillow Talk with LA Park
We are promised that next week we will get a new episode of “LA Park en la cocina pendejos!”, which is his cooking show that I thoroughly enjoy. This week, however, we are getting an episode of “Pillow Talk”, which wasn’t anywhere near as entertaining. LA Park is in bed (still in his mask) with his wife. His wife is annoyed that LA Park is asleep and didn’t say “Goodnight”. Park says that they are in debt because of the current virus and once it is all over he will be able to make money again. LA Park then farts and the segment ends.
Team Filthy/American Top Team Press Conference Update
We are informed that Team Filthy and American Top Team are preparing for their press conference and journalists such as Ariel Helwani and our very own John Pollock are in attendance, ready with questions.
We then learn that the press conference has been delayed for unknown reasons.
Pagano Promo
Pagano is backstage somewhere cutting a promo claiming to be an “extreme wrestler” from a “dangerous city”. He says that he is ready to invade a new land and “start the massacre”. The promo ends with Pagano saying that “it ain’t no party unless there’s a clown at the party!”
We have been seeing vignettes for Pagano for weeks now on MLW TV and I feel this promo is to confirm that he is going to be full time in MLW moving forward.
Alexander Hammerstone Video Promo
Alexander Hammerstone calls Mance Warner his one real enemy in all of pro wrestling. He says that people take pride in mediocrity and that is the reason why people like Mance Warner because he is an overweight alcoholic just like them. He is insulted that Warner believes the Openweight Championship should belong to him and the people as Hammerstone has been the Champion ever since the title was created. Hammerstone finishes the promo by saying that “If we wrestle for my championship, I will wreck you.”
Update on Colonel Robert Parker
A few weeks ago we learned that Colonel Robert Parker is building up a roster and will be promoting in MLW soon. However, due to the pandemic, he has been unable to promote any matches in MLW. Allegations have been made of him promoting unsanctioned wrestling contests on barges just off Tampa Bay. These events were shut down by the US Coast Guard. Parker has denied any involvement with the outlaw barge shows.
Von Erich’s Promo
We get a very brief promo from the Von Erich’s who are at a waterfall somewhere in Hawaii. They are excited by the news that Team Filthy is entering the tag division as they can’t wait to face them. They then both jump into the waterfall.
AAA Referee Controversy
A video is then played bringing to attention all the controversial calls the AAA referees have made against MLW performers during Super Series. We see highlights of all the slow counts, missed tags, removing a table from the ring when Mance Warner is making a pin attempt. It is said that MLW officials are working with AAA officials to make sure that it won’t happen again.
Low Ki Promo
Rich Bocchini gives us an update on the Team Filthy/American Top Team Press Conference claiming that Low Ki interrupted and took a shot at Dan Lambert causing it to end prematurely. We then catch up with Low Ki outside the venue who says that he couldn’t let them get away with that they did to him in Philadelphia. He says that they have started a war and he could make a phone call to “the King or maybe to the God” and that the “party is not over”.
Los Mercinarios vs Hart Foundation
Before the match starts Los Mercenarios cut a promo in Spanish.
Brian Pillman Jr and Texano Jr start the match. Pillman teases a running dropkick in the corner but instead slaps Texano in the face. Whilst the referee is focussing on Davey Boy Smith Jr on the apron both Texano Jr and Rey Escorpion double team Pillman. Davey Boy gets the tag and hits an impressive Stalling Suplex and goes for the cover, however, the referee makes a really slow count. Injustice is shown in the front row holding up signs, continuing their feud with Brian Pillman Jr. Pillman is back in the match and the referee is distracted again as Los Mercenarios hit more double team moves and pull at his hair. Davey Boy is getting increasingly worked up on the apron and Texano now uses a bull rope across the knee of Pillman. Pillman eventually makes the tag to Davey Boy, however, the referee “didn’t see it’. As the referee is getting Davey Boy out of the ring Los Mercenarios hit even more double team moves. Pillman eventually hits a Crossbody to both of them and makes the tag. Davey Boy fires up and hits a Back Body Drop to Escorpion on to Texano. He Clotheslines them both out of the ring and Pillman hits a Tope Con Hilo. The Hart Foundation then hit Air Pillman (a Springboard Hart Attack) followed by a Jackknife Pin for the win.
Hart Foundation win via pinfall in 10mins17 secs
MLW is currently leading in the Super Series 4-2
The show ends with the same Contra Unit video we have seen over the last few weeks.
Davie’s Thoughts: Like the opening match, this didn’t do too much for me. Both felt a little on the short side. Only 16minutes of wrestling in an hour-long show isn’t enough for my liking. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with the match but it just felt a little on the basic side.
I am enjoying the storytelling with the biased refereeing and expect this to come to a head in the next few weeks.
As always with MLW, all the promos were very solid and the character work was strong. As much as I enjoyed the cooking segment with LA Park a few weeks ago, “Pillow Talk” was nowhere near as good and was the weakest thing on the show
Overall, this show was on the weaker side compared to previous week’s but still an easy and enjoyable hour of tv to watch.
Five LA Park Farts Out of Ten!