Tag: mlw fusion

The Big Takeaways:

Alex Hammerstone and Mads Krugger’s feud will continue following their inconclusive Baklei Brawl while Los Parks retained the tag titles against TJP and Bu Ku Dao. 

Show Recap:

Jordan Oliver defeated Sentai Death Squad (1:25)

It was two weeks ago that Oliver and Myron Reed posed as Sentai Death Squad members in order to attack CONTRA Unit after MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu defeated ACH. The attack was revenge for CONTRA jumping Injustice at Kings of Colosseum after Reed had lost his Middleweight title.

Injustice also challenged CONTRA to a tag match next week and with Oliver’s performance this week, they should be quietly confident. Oliver put the Sentai member away easily after a springboard cutter.

— Salina de la Renta said the new owners of Promociones Dorado, associates from Azteca Underground, have made an offer to acquire IWA Puerto Rico. Of course, she got in a few shots on Savio Vega for losing his strap match last week. Later in the night, we were told the associates were in the building and watching the action from the executive suites.

— Speaking of the strap match, after Tim Donaghy’s controversial officiating last week during the Vega vs. Richard Holliday match, we learned MLW is investigating the scandal. There were some changes to the referees’ assigned matches last week and a lot of betting money changed hands right before the match.

MLW Tag Team Champions Los Parks (LA Park and El Hijo de LA Park) defeated TJP and Bu Ku Dao to retain (8:20)

TJP and Dao won their right to challenge for the titles last week when they defeated Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku. Los Parks were accompanied by De la Renta and a man in a suit who was described as “an advisor from the new owners of Promociones Dorado.”

LA Park jumped TJP before the bell and did what they wanted with regards to the tag team rules. LA entered the ring when he wanted, broke up pins and submissions, aided Hijo in double teams, ignored the referee, and basically used the Mexican tornado rules regardless of whether they were in effect or not.

TJP and Dao hit stereo pescado dives on the Parks on the outside as the tide started to turn. They locked in duelling submissions, but LA broke them up by carrying TJP, while still in the hold, and dropping him on top of Dao.

There was a near fall for Dao after a spinning face first slam, but moments later, De La Renta distracted the referee with a fistful of cash. The advisor then lifted the ring apron and LA Park Jr came out, switched places with Hijo and quickly dropped Dao with a shoulderbreaker to pick up the win.

After the match, TJP piefaced Dao and walked off disgruntled with his protege. 

— While in his car, Middleweight Champion Lio Rush challenged AAA Cruiserweight Champion Laredo Kid to an interpromotional title match next week.

— Tom Lawlor hyped up his Filthy Island special in two weeks. All the sponsors pulled out so the show is in jeopardy, but Lawlor didn’t let that stop the hype train as King Mo vs. Low Ki was announced for the show as well as very special appearances from Lawlor, Garrini and Ku. 

Gino Medina defeated Gringo Loco (5:28)

While Holliday defeated Vega and is trying his best to calm down the scandal surrounding he and Donaghy, a feud with Gino Medina is simmering after Holliday kicked Medina out of the Dynasty. Or, did Medina quit? Either way, these two are destined to clash and settle their differences very soon.

Medina got the win over Loco but not before Loco hit a twisting moonsault for a near fall. Medina got the feet up on a second moonsault attempt and reversed a victory roll to pick up the win. In his post-match interview, Medina was jumped by Loco and they brawled to the back.

National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defeated Mads Krugger in a Baklei Brawl

Baklei is Afrikaans for fighting. Hammerstone was given the coordinates to the location of “the pit” (an industrial area with stacks of pallets around) and brought a referee with him. This was filmed outside in the dark single camera style.

Krugger emerged from behind a dumpster before they brawled around the pallets. Hammerstone whipped Krugger into another dumpster later on and while the camera focused on the Openweight champ, Krugger switched places with a smaller but identically dressed double who was picked up by Hammerstone, thrown head first into the dumpster and pinned. Hammerstone then realized CONTRA’s trick.

The cameraman started to freak out and yell that he was leaving and going home. Hammerstone turned around and was met with a stiff right hand from Krugger who was lurking in the shadows. Another right followed as Hammerstone fell to the ground as Krugger told him “CONTRA has big plans for you”. Krugger turned to the camera and yelled “Hail CONTRA” as Fusion went off the air. 

Next week:

• MLW Middleweight champion Lio Rush vs. AAA Cruiserweight champion Laredo Kid
• Simon Gotch and Daivari vs Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver
• Calvin Tankman in action

In two weeks:

• Tom Lawlor’s Filthy Island presents King Mo vs Low Ki 

March 24:

• MLW Never Say Never

The Big Takeaways:

Richard Holliday retained the Caribbean title against Savio Vega in a Caribbean strap match aided by a former crooked NBA referee, Laredo Kid retained the AAA Cruiserweight title against Zenshi and TJP and Bu Ku Dao earned an MLW Tag Team Title match with Los Parks next week. 

Show Recap:

AAA Cruiserweight Champion Laredo Kid defeated Zenshi (10:01)

With some hype, this match could have felt like so much more. But with no build and a challenger coming from nowhere, it lacked a story that could have helped it be something special. Don’t get me wrong: the action was great as you would expect. Unfortunately, Zenshi’s challenge couldn’t be taken too seriously since he had lost in recent weeks to both Calvin Tankman and Daivari.

However, Zenshi did his best to convince viewers he could win by hitting a nice delayed tiger feint kick while Kid was on the outside, quickly followed up by a running, standing shooting star press from the apron. Zenshi hit his usual mix of excellent athletic slingshots and handstands and showed why he is one of the most underrated wrestlers around at the moment.

They hyped up a future match between Kid and new MLW Middleweight champion Lio Rush and when it was Kid’s time to shine, he showed why he is held in such high regard in Mexico. After a missed moonsault and landing on his feet, he hit a Michinoku driver on the floor followed up with a 450 splash off the apron.

After weathering a storm of Kid offense, Zenshi hit his own 450 inside the ring, landing perfectly on Kid’s shoulders to knock him down. Kid eventually regained the momentum and hit a destroyer out of nowhere, but Zenshi got his foot on the bottom rope. Kid eventually got the win after a Spanish fly off the top rope, calling himself the best cruiserweight in the world afterward and challenging Rush to a match.

— The Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 10 contenders for Jacob Fatu’s MLW World title for the week: ACH dropped another place to 10; Daivari debuted at 9; Myron Reed was unchanged at 8; Mil Muertes debuted at 7; 6 was still Richard Holliday; climbing the rankings at 5 was Mads Krugger; Middleweight champion Lio Rush was still 4. Low Ki was 3, Tom Lawlor was 2, and National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone was 1 as the top three remained unchanged. 

— The Von Erichs told us that “Filthy” Tom Lawlor was in Hawaii and causing trouble with the locals, but later in the night, we were told that Lawlor’s Filthy Island is having some financial troubles after the allegations that Lawlor attacked ACH last week. Lawlor dismissed the claims and said he had nothing to do with ACH being attacked.

— Los Parks revealed the new owners of Promociones Dorado was a “he” as they thanked him for getting them their Tag Team Title shot two weeks ago where they defeated the Von Erichs to win the belts. 

TJP and Bu Ku Dao defeated Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku) to earn a Tag Team Title shot (10:03)

They hyped up that Lawlor’s Filthy Island could be a big celebration if VIF won tonight and then won the titles next week. VIF eventually singled out Dao but after a crucifix, TJP got the hot tag and ran wild with a big tilt-a-whirl DDT on Ku and a tilt-a-whirl arm drag head scissors takedown on both.

TJP slipped out of VIF’s finisher before splashing Ku from the top rope which allowed Dao pick up the win. 

— King Mo, or Muhammad Lawal as he referred to himself, starred in a mock touching video where he pleaded with MLW to stop booking Low Ki because of the head injury he caused him the last time they wrestled. This feud has been going on since before lockdown so it seems they will meet once more sometime soon.

Richard Holliday defeated Savio Vega in a Caribbean Strap match to retain possession of the IWA Puerto Rican Caribbean title (8:57)

Gino Medina promised to watch this match in preparation for an eventual match with Holliday, but tonight was all about Holliday and disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy who was jailed for betting on games he officiated.

Holliday told Vega they were meeting on his terms, but he had studied Vega’s strap match with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and guaranteed that Vega would not outsmart him. However, Holliday definitely outsmarted Vega by conspiring to have Donaghy referee his first MLW match tonight.

This was held under traditional strap match rules where the winner had to touch four corners in succession. Holliday immediately ran trying to quickly get the match won, but Vega stopped him and choked him out. Both tried to touch all four corners multiple times, choked each other with the strap, and whipped each other across the back.

The finish looked as though it would follow a lot of past strap matches where one wrestler would start hitting each turnbuckle while their opponent sneaks behind them and touches them too, unbeknownst to the one in the lead. But as they both made their way to the fourth and final corner, Donaghy stood in Vega’s way and stopped him from hitting the buckle. Holliday then used the strap to pull Vega out the way. Donaghy pulled Vega to the side to let Holliday jump in, touch the final corner, and win the match. 

Afterward, Alicia Atout questioned Donaghy about what had just happened but he said he called it right down the middle just like in 2007 when the Lakers played the Kings. Vega then ran in and chased them both off as Fusion went off the air. 

Next week:

• National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger in a Baklei Brawl (bare knuckle anything goes)
• MLW Tag Team Champions Los Parks vs. TJP and Bu Ku Dao

The Big Takeaway:

Jacob Fatu successfully defended the MLW World title against ACH, but Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed had the last laugh of the night by attacking Fatu and Daivari. 

Show Review:

We opened with the news that broke mid-week regarding ACH being attacked outside of his gym with rumors flying that Tom Lawlor and Team Filthy were responsible. Last week, Lawlor complained that ACH was getting a title shot ahead of him after Lawlor had won the 2020 Opera Cup. Later in the show, Lawlor blew off the allegation and hyped up his Filthy Island launch coming up on February 17th. However, ACH was able to identify Dominic Garrini’s voice during the attack.

Daivari defeated Zenshi (6:11)

Poor Zenshi has joined the Ricochet ranks by being one of the most talented athletes on the roster that is used to put newer faces over. The latest MLW newbie needing a win was CONTRA’s latest recruit, Daivari.

The former Great Khali mouthpiece looked shredded. He was revealed as the newest addition two weeks ago when he and the gang attacked Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed during a promo segment.

Daivari worked over Zenshi’s left arm for the heat, including a hammerlock slam on the ring apron. However, Zenshi must have either forgot about the arm assaults or Daivari’s attacks must not have affected him as Zenshi was able to make an impressive comeback including springboards, slingshots and flips all with two perfectly functioning arms.

Zenshi missed a 450 splash off the bottom rope and was on the receiving end of a hammerlock short-arm clothesline to give Daivari the win.

— Speaking of CONTRA, Myron Reed had words for Daviari, Simon Gotch and Jacob Fatu, calling out Daivari for ripping up his chest protector during the aforementioned attack.

— Savio Vega responded to Caribbean Champion Richard Holliday’s challenge from last week. He accepted, but demanded an IWA Puerto Rican-style Caribbean strap match with the same strap he and Steve Austin used in their 1996 WWE match. Bruce Prichard would be disappointed as a contract signing was set for next week to make it official, but Holliday confirmed later in the night that the match was on. So, no contract signing required after all.

Simon Gotch defeated Jordan Oliver (7:28)

This match was brewing all summer throughout lockdown as Oliver constantly called out Gotch until the one sided war of words became physical when Oliver was choked out by Gotch during an episode of Pulp Fusion. This match was originally scheduled to take place at Kings of Colosseum two weeks ago, but Gotch was missing, only for he and CONTRA to jump Oliver and Reed backstage later in the night.

Both made up for lost time by flying out of the gate, exchanging in a striking battle before finally slowing down as Gotch took control after an elbow drop from the apron down to the floor.

This was Oliver’s first in-ring outing as a babyface in MLW, a turn that happened by standing up to CONTRA and their bullying tactics. He showed a “never say die” attitude by fighting out of numerous submission holds and even flipped Gotch off as he escaped them. Oliver was convincing in garnering sympathy before firing up with a shining wizard and a big boot.

Gotch caught Oliver coming off a springboard from the middle rope and locked him in a sleeper hold to pick up the win. Gotch turned him over and hit him with a Gotch piledriver after the bell and started putting the boots to him. Myron Reed made the save but it was too late as the damage was done.

— In a Skype interview, Salina de la Renta wouldn’t answer Alicia Atout when questioned over who has bought Promociones Dorado. She instead said she wanted better competition for Mil Muertes and stormed off before Alicia promised to get to the bottom of who Salina is working for.

MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu (w/ Daivari) defeated ACH to retain the title (9:52)

ACH sold his ribs throughout the match after the mystery attack and having Fatu slam him back first into the ringpost and drop him on the apron ribs first certainly did not help. ACH tried to slam Fatu, but succumbed to the pain and ended up having Fatu land on top of his already injured midsection.

ACH got an opening when Fatu landed groin first on the middle turnbuckle. He went to work striking the champion, eventually chopping him down by dropkicking the leg before valiantly punting him from the apron and hitting a springboard cutter back into the ring.

ACH reversed a pop-up powerbomb with a hurricanrana. An enzuigiri followed, but he again tried to lift the bigger and heavier Fatu only for his ribs to give out once more. A pop-up Samoan drop and his triple jump moonsault followed for the champion who got the pin to retain his title.

After being attacked two weeks ago and earlier in the night, Reed and Oliver got the last laugh. Fatu and Daivari cut a post-match promo on the stage when the CONTRA flag bearers who had been there the whole match suddenly smacked them with the flag poles. They unmasked revealing themselves as Oliver and Reed before escaping as Gotch and Mads Krugger ran out.

The CONTRA vs. Injustice feud is in full swing with the possibility of Alex Hammerstone joining in, possibly leading to an interesting set of multi-man matches on the horizon.

Next week:

• Savio Vega vs. Carribean Champion Richard Holliday in a Caribbean strap match

In two weeks:

• National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger in a Baklei Brawl (bare knuckle, anything goes)

In three weeks:

• Tom Lawlor’s Filthy Island

The Big Takeaways:

Los Parks defeated The Von Erichs to win the MLW Tag Team Titles with more than a little help from special referee “Filthy” Tom Lawlor while Mil Muertes made his promotional debut.

Show Review:

Salina de la Renta was executive producer for this episode and was heavily featured throughout. She seems to be building a new stable after Promociones Dorado crumbled towards the end of 2019 when LA Park lost his Battle Riot-earned title shot to Jacob Fatu.

Low Ki defeated Budd Heavy (:08)

Ki looked to bounce back after his Opera Cup final loss to Tom Lawlor and did he ever. As the bell sounded, he ran and slammed Heavy with a swinging right arm, knocking him clean out for the quick knockout win. Ki called out King Mo afterward and told he and Dan Lambert that the medical attention Ki needed after Mo’s last attack has not been forgotten.

— While his single “Do You Remember?” played in the background, Lio Rush said that his newly won MLW Middleweight title proves that he is the right man in the right place at the right time. Former champion Myron Reed seems to have his next feud lined up already as he and Jordan Oliver called out CONTRA after they jumped them backstage last week at Kings of Colosseum as Reed was coming to terms after his loss.

— Rich Bocchini and Jared St. Laurent were supposed to be joined by Konnan but said they couldn’t find him. De La Renta came in and called for the tapes to roll where she insinuated he was dead and blamed him for making her unleash Muertes on the world. She threatened vengeance on everyone in MLW who has ever wronged her.

— Mads Krugger challenged Alex Hammerstone to another match for the National Openweight title, but this time “in the deep CONTRA underground.” Hammerstone later responded by saying he was in a marathon with the World heavyweight title being at the finish line. He called Krugger a hurdle in the marathon that he was going to jump over or kick it down.

Mil Muertes (w/ Salina de la Renta) defeated Brian Pillman Jr. (3:26)

This was Salina’s first in-ring appearance of the restart era and her storyline seems to be centered around building a new revised Promociones Dorado faction with Muertes as a central focus. She summoned Muertes from the Aztec ruins and the commentary team told us Muertes has so much hate for the world that De La Renta loves having him under her control.

One of Muertes’ tactics is to repeatedly strike a body part again and again and after clubbing Pillman with dozens of blows to the chest and neck, he finished him with a downward spiral called Straight to Hell.

This was Pillman’s first appearance since his unsuccessful Middleweight title challenge against then-champion Myron Reed. With his loss here, no ongoing storyline in MLW and his AEW team with Griff Garrison, it doesn’t take an expert to put 2+2 together regarding his future.

— A reminder of MLW’s partnership with IWA: Puerto Rico aired before Richard Holliday was back to calling out Savio Vega, calling him “Fraudeo Vega” and challenging him to a match for the IWA Caribbean title he holds.

— The Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 10 MLW contenders this week: Laredo Kid dropped two places to 10; ACH dropped two places to 9 even though he has a title shot lined up next week; Myron Reed dropped three spots to 8; Mads Krugger is up three to 7; 6 is Richard Holliday; 5 is the new Middleweight champion Lio Rush while LA Park (4), Low Ki (3), Tom Lawlor (2) and Alex Hammerstone (1) remain unchanged to round off the top 10. 

Bocchini broke the news to De La Renta that Promociones Dorado had been acquired which she had no idea about. She swore and stormed off.

Los Parks (LA Park & Hijo de LA Park w/ Salina de la Renta) defeated MLW Tag Team Champions The Von Erichs (Marshall and Ross) to win the titles (10:36)

Tom Lawlor’s Filthy Island is coming to MLW on February 17th, but the leader of Team Filthy had official business to take care of tonight as he officiated this tag title match featuring his fierce rivals, the Von Erichs.

The commentary team played up the odds being stacked against the Von Erichs. The match was under tornado tag rules and no disqualification. If anyone had any doubts over Lawlor calling things right down the middle, he deliberately got in the way and blatantly blocked the champions’ view as Los Parks jumped them before the bell even rang.

The tornado style brawling action continued as Lawlor tried to play up all the favorite heel referee traits, but the no disqualification rules hindered that slightly.

However, he was able to stall Marshall Von Erich as he rallied back against LA Park, which of course let LA recover, catch his breath, and fight back. He then brought out the slow cadence for the attempted pins for the Von Erichs and super fast counts for Los Parks. Lawlor even faked a cramp to stop counting to three for the champions.

The exchanges between Ross Von Erich and Hijo were brilliant while they lasted, and when Lawlor took a tumble out the ring toward the end of the match, he had the match won with a visual pinfall after a Claw slam.

De La Renta interfered and sprayed mace in Ross’ eyes and LA speared both Von Erichs. LA Park Jr (who was dressed identically to LA Park) got involved too and Lawlor was right there to roll in the ring and make the fast three count to give Los Parks the win and the titles.

Next Week:

• MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu defends against ACH

The Big Takeaways:

Team Filthy ruined the Von Erichs/CONTRA Tag Team Title match in the main event as a chaotic brawl closed the show and Low Ki advanced to the finals of the 2020 Opera Cup.

Show Recap:

Calvin Tankman defeated Zenshi (3:44)

On paper, this was the classic big man vs. little man contest with Zenshi weighing in at 172 and Tankman a huge 355. But, in execution, it was more than that as Tankman showed off his own heavyweight high flying with a leapfrog and dropkick early on.

Zenshi may be one of the most agile wrestlers out there today and he showed that off with a handspring Pele kick and a top rope tiger feint kick. When he tried a 720 off the top rope, Tankman caught him with a spinning back fist as he landed and finished him off with the Tankman driver. He then called out everyone in the MLW locker room after the match, saying they can line up and test themselves but they won’t like the outcome.

— Salina de la Renta was in Mexico summoning her latest acquisition, Pascal Mendoza. She talked about him losing everything at seven years old and hating the world ever since. He has been reborn a thousand times and will unleash the purest vengeance to the world. Her executive producer episode on January 6th has been postponed as Kings of Colosseum will take place that night instead.

Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku) (w/ Filthy Tom Lawlor) defeated Jason Dugan and Robert Martyr (1:54)

This was a brief showcase for the debuting Team Filthy team as commentary talked both them and the depth of the tag division up. Ku got the pinfall after a combination brainbuster and kick to the back of Dugan’s head. It looks like they will be in the tag title picture and inserted into the ongoing Team Filthy vs. Von Erichs feud.

— In what should be an excellent match, Lio Rush arrogantly played hardball while he flaunted his wealth and countered Myron Reed’s challenge to a Middleweight title fight in December. Instead, he challenged him for Kings of Colosseum on January 6th, made official later in the show.

— Another match may be made for Kings of Colosseum as National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone challenged Mads Krugger. Hammerstone has his eyes set on Jacob Fatu and the MLW World title, but he wants to do it right and what better way to build up to a huge title fight than having the challenger work his way through the stablemates of his enemy, especially the seven-foot monster who attacked him with a chair three weeks ago.

Opera Cup Semifinals: Low Ki defeated Richard Holliday (9:19)

Hints were dropped that both King Mo and Gino Medina might make their presence known as Dan Lambert was still protesting earlier in the night that Mo should have taken Ki’s place in the tournament. As Holliday was making his entrance, we were told that Medina had to be escorted from the building after having an altercation with Holliday moments before he stepped through the curtain. Neither ended up showing up which just added to the tension and the build to their eventual clash.

Ki gave a pre-match prediction saying that he will knock Holliday’s earbuds off in a variety of different ways, but Holliday retaliated by hoping that Ki’s bravado in his lungs can handle Holliday’s rarefied air. Holliday was gasping for that rarefied air at the five minute mark as Ki locked in the same electric chair chokehold that led to the finish of hs win over Davey Boy Smith Jr., but Holliday broke it up by getting to the ropes.

Holliday twice came close to winning, first with a big pop-up sit-out powerbomb after he dodged Ki’s kick to the back of the head and then moments later with a big spinebuster. But it was Ki who picked up the win with the Warrior’s Wrath double foot stomp from the top rope. After looking at the title for a few seconds, Ki tossed the IWA Caribbean title to Holliday after the match, hinting at a potential future rematch between the two.

MLW Tag Team Champions Marshall and Ross Von Erich defeated MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu and Simon Gotch by DQ to retain (7:18)

The opportunity for Fatu to become the first-ever MLW double champion was played up here, but this really was just a high profile match that was used to set up future matches stemming from storylines that started before lockdown. From the start, they harkened back to the previous fights between these two teams as they brawled around ringside while the Von Erichs theme played.

Once in the ring, Gotch took the fight to the mat and Fatu used his power to keep Ross away from his brother until a low bridge unleashed Marshall for a barrage of attacks. Fatu broke up a pin with a huge running senton but was sent to the outside after a hurricanrana by Ross. Marshall claw slammed Gotch through a table at ringside as Team Filthy ran in and attacked the Von Erichs causing the disqualification. Jordan Oliver was also out there attacking Gotch, a nod to the feuds they kept going during the lockdown Pulp Fusion episodes which might be fulfilled in the coming weeks.

Next Week:

• National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone vs. TBA 
• “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. ACH in an Opera Cup semifinal match