MLW Fusion #113 – “2020 Opera Cup Semi-Finals Begin”
December 9th, 2020
GILT Nightclub – Orlando, FL
Commentary: Rich Bocchini & Jared St. Laurent
The Valley of the Serpents
Josef Samael interrupts at the start of the show; “Beyond the mountains of Kathmandu, past the crooked roads that lead to peace on peak, and into the valley of the serpents. Here I am, far from the Mahogany wood and marbled halls of MLW’s palatial headquarters. You think you’ve taken back MLW? No, Contra has accomplished everything that we set forth to do. We will strike when you least expect it and we will bring your mightiest to their knees. We will win this war, right now I am in the mountains and I am readying a new wave of soldiers. So, if you think that Contra is on the run, you’re dead wrong. Davey Boy Smith was never the same after Fatu broke his spirit and his back. And the mighty Hammerstone is not so mighty anymore. Thanks to Mads Krugger and tonight we will take out and destroy another grand legacy of this sport, the Von Erichs. The World Heavyweight Champion, Jacob Fatu, and Simon Gotch are coming for you infidels and they will take the World Tag Team Championship. Hail Contra!”
Zenshi vs. Calvin Tankman
Zenshi comes out to an instrumental version of Wu-Tang Clan’s “Shame” and you can even hear Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s ad-libs, so I am loving that. Zenshi tries his speed to try and knock down Tankman with kicks but fails repeatedly. Tankman tries to stomp out Zenshi with his Bowser-like movement but eventually uses a dropkick instead followed by a hard spinebuster. Tankman continues to toy with Zenshi who comes back with a couple of kicks but still fails to take Tankman down. Tankman smacks Zenshi with a back fist like he’s swatting a fly as Zenshi jumps off the top rope, followed by the Tankman Driver for the win.
Winner: Calvin Tankman by pinfall at 3:44
Tankman after the match says we got a taste of what Heavyweight Hustle is, he came to MLW to test himself against the best. It doesn’t matter who they put in front of him, he never gives up, he’s bringing money home to feed his babies. He’s here, so come test him.
Siino Vision: Strong showing and promo from Tankman, and I’m intrigued for him to get his first real test and he can show off his full arsenal.
A Thousand Deaths Are Coming
We go to Salina de La Renta at the Aztec Ruins in Mexico; “Revenge has taken me here. Deep within the darkest corners of Mexico. Where in the Aztec Ruins; a man roams. A man who has said to endure pain and been reborn a thousand times unleashes the purist vengeance in the world.” We then see an old vintage video of destruction with the narration; “In 1985, he was only 7. When one of the worst earthquakes in the history of the world destroyed Mexico City. He lost everything, but so great was his hate for the world that stealing all he loved. That the devil could not subdue him. And so, he returned. Back to earth called back by a great Bruja. He rose to the throne of greatness until his temple fell. And then he wandered around the Earth with an unquenchable desire for revenge. Until now, Pascual Mendoza. I summon you.” As she licks a dagger.
Siino Vision: Great callback to an old Lucha Underground storyline and character, with this being the back story of Mil Muertes and with the reference to Catrina as well. Intrigued to where this goes and if more Lucha Underground characters will come into the fold, they did mention that Salina’s executive produced episode originally slated for January 6th has been moved.
Sorry, Not Sorry
Dan Lambert from American Top Team HQ questions if he’s living in an alternative universe since Low Ki moved along in the Opera Cup while King Mo is sidelined as an alternate. The only thing that should be advancing in Low Ki is the CTE from his knockout at the hands of King Mo. He doesn’t understand how the medical team allows him to continue when he’s showing signs of brain damage. Since his attorneys failed to deliver the message, King Mo will go deliver it himself. Warning, when he does and Low Ki doesn’t wake up from the next knockout, do not come whining to them.
Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) w/ Filthy Tom Lawlor vs. Jason Dugan & Robert Martyr
They show a clip from their YouTube shorts Pulp Fusion with Team Filthy where they introduce Kevin Ku who said he is coming straight from winning the Amazon Jungle Fights. Ku says he believes in 3 things; Team Filthy, cookies & cream, and violence, something MLW is missing and they will be bringing back. Garrini starts off by throwing Dugan around and taking him down. Ku and Martyr tag in, as Ku lands a couple of chops and a suplex before tagging Garrini back in as they double team on Martyr. Dugan tags himself in and gets double teamed as well, which ends with Garrini hitting a suplex while Ku lands a kick to the back of Dugan’s head and gets the pin.
Winners: Violence is Forever by pinfall at 1:54
Siino Vision: Dominant showing from Violence is Forever as they make quick work of their opponents and make Team Filthy seem stronger. I have been following Garrini for a while, and Ku is something I have heard about but haven’t had a chance to see much of, this position they are in is beneficial for all parties involved.
Bravado Lungs & Rarified Air
Low Ki in his dark room says his strategy for Holliday will be simple, as he will knock those AirPods off his head clean, his prediction of the match is he has a variety of ways to put him down and we will have to watch to see which one. Holliday instead is hanging by his pool in the Caribbean where he is still talking about Gino Medina trying to weasel himself in, but now his sights are set on Low Ki and he hopes Low Ki’s bravado lungs can handle his rarified air.
The Man of the Hour’s Debut Date
Lio Rush is sitting in his $100,000 car on his way to his studio, but before he does, he will cut this video since Court Bauer asked him to. He has some things to get off his chest, even though he respects Myron Reed putting his title on the line against him, Reed doesn’t call the shots or decide when or where. Reed’s date of December 23rd isn’t happening because Rush is busy that day. Rush says January 6th is the date instead and tells Reed to train harder than he’s ever tried before because that championship is coming to a real Middleweight.
Hammerstone Update
Alicia Atout from Toronto on the call with Alexander Hammerstone from Phoenix with an update from his November 18th attack. Hammerstone gets right down to it to talk about Mads Krugger, Alicia asks what his reaction is to him. Hammerstone says it was an impressive debut and says he doesn’t think he’s ever been hit as hard as when Krugger hit him with the chair. He’s just happy he has a name now, so he knows what to put on his tombstone. Atout also says the main reason is that Hammerstone has some huge news. Hammerstone says his breaking news is he’s cleared to return to the ring next week and says at Kings of Colosseum he wants Mad Krugger, and says he has eyes on everybody else from Contra Unit as well. Krugger interrupts and says he has something planned for Hammerstone at Kings of Colosseum.
2020 Opera Cup Semi-Finals Match: Richard Holliday vs. Low Ki
Holliday leaves his AirPods right by the Opera Cup on his way out, who Low Ki knocks off on his way out. They said right before Holliday came out, he got into it with Gino Medina, and Medina had to get escorted out of the building. Fast and hard-hitting starts with Holliday going at Low Ki in the corners. Low Ki comes back but a quick stop when Holliday drops him face first into the turnbuckle. Holliday keeps Low Ki downed with suplexes and pinfall attempts until Low Ki reverses into a roll and double stomp. The back and forth continues from both until Low Ki latches on to the back of Holliday with a choke until Holliday grabs the ropes. They both seem down and out until Low Ki gets a burst of energy that gets stopped by a powerbomb by Holliday, followed by a spinebuster for a two count. Holliday struggles to try and hit a suplex, Low Ki counters with a missile dropkick and the Warrior’s Wrath for the pin
Winner: Low Ki advances by pinfall at 9:19
Siino Vision: Exceptionally good showing from both here, and Holliday looked strong in defeat. After the match Low Ki grabbed the Caribbean title, commentary noting he has family in Puerto Rico before throwing it over to Holliday. Low Ki will face the winner of next week’s semi-final between ACH and Filthy Tom Lawlor.
They announce it’s been made official for MLW Kings of Colosseum; the World Middleweight Title will be defended by Myron Reed as he faces off against Lio Rush. The show will be aired in the same spots Fusion would take on January 6th at 7pm. Reed says the contract has been signed and there’s no running now to see who the best Middleweight is, and Rush will not take that title away from him.
MLW World Tag Team Championship: The Von Erichs (c) (Marshall & Ross Von Erich) vs. Contra Unit (Jacob Fatu & Simon Gotch)
All four men start brawling before the bell even rings, as the Von Erichs music plays throughout ala New Jack. Marshall and Fatu take it to the bar area as Gotch and Ross even to get the match finally started. Fatu and Gotch keep tagging in and out and double-teaming Ross in the corner. Ross keeps reaching out to his brother before taking Fatu down with kicks but failing to reach for the tag. Four minutes in of the Contra Unit beating down on Ross as Gotch slows Ross down even more with a Crossface in the middle of the ring. Fatu comes in and continues the beat down before running the ropes and Ross ducks to get Fatu to the outside. As Ross crawls for the tag, Gotch comes in to try and stop it but fails as Marshall finally comes in full of fire. Marshall hits a pair of clotheslines and spinebuster on Gotch before Ross comes in taking Fatu out of the ring with a Hurricanrana. On the outside, we see Marshall put Gotch through a ring board with a Claw slam. At this point, Team Filthy comes out and attacks the Von Erichs, and the commentators mention Jordan Oliver coming out and attacking Simon Gotch but we do not see that as the show suddenly just goes off the air.
Winners: The match ends at a no contest at 7:23
Siino Vision: Just when I was getting into the match, it just ended out of nowhere with that chaotic mess at the end. I did enjoy how it was mostly Ross trying to fight off and get his brother in, this rematch is something that definitely needs to happen again as it was just starting to get into its groove.
The awkward ending of the main event made this a pretty lackluster show. The Opera Cup match was solid and we got two squash showings from Calvin Tankman and Violence is Forever, but the highlight to me was the tease of Mil Muertes from Salina, from the music to the graphics brought back good memories of Lucha Underground and I am highly intrigued on where this may lead, Also, something seemed a little off with the commentary tonight that I haven’t noticed in the previous episodes where it felt like Bocchini was there but St. Laurent in a separate location, just a minor gripe but not something I noticed before.
6 dagger licks out of 10
