By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling TV (Episode 39)
Taped December 14, 2018 in Miami, Florida at Scottish Rite Temple
Aired January 11, 2019 on beIN Sports
The show opened with a shot of Tom Lawlor backstage of Salina de la Renta’s locker room. Tony Schiavone, who was joined on commentary, noted that it sounded like Salina was demanding that Sami Callihan take out Lawlor. “Come with me,” Lawlor told the cameraman… The Fusion opening video aired… Schiavone and Bocchini ran through the show’s lineup…
Low K delivered a backstage promo and said he will someday ride off into the sunset as the greatest MLW Champion…
1. Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann. Swann did some early dancing and got some boos. Lee was the favorite and posed by lying down in the ring after sending Swann to the floor. Swann rushed back to the ring and attacked Lee while he was down. Swann made a play for Lee’s mask. The broadcast team spoke about Swann having a new edge.
Lee came back with a reverse huracanrana, then stood up and ate a superkick from Swann before both men fell to the mat. Later, Swann went for a Phoenix splash only to have Lee roll out of the way. Lee came back with a Dragon Driver powerbomb and scored the clean pin. After the match, Swann raised the arm of Lee and they hugged.
Dragon Lee defeated Rich Swann.
Powell’s POV: I like the idea of a heel Swann. He’s taken the fun loving dancing guy bit about as far as you can, whereas there’s more room for him to grow as a heel. The post match scene made it seem like he was back in babyface mode, so I guess we’ll see where it goes. Meanwhile, while the match was entertaining, Lee has yet to show in MLW what he’s capable of.
Backstage, Callihan, who had a hammer in his hand, asked Ace Romero if he’d seen Lawlor. Romero said he hadn’t seen him. Callihan asked a random guy backstage if he’d seen him but no luck…
A Brian Pillman Jr. promo aired. Pillman tapped his cane against a wall and said that’s the sound it made when he hit it against the head of Kevin Sullivan and put him out of his misery. Pillman said he’s tired of guys like Tommy Dreamer holding onto old and archaic ways. Pillman said he’s not afraid of Dreamer or utilizing a cane. Pillman said Dreamer is nothing more than a phony. He said he would be bringing out his “old reliable” cane…
An MLW SuperFight ad aired…
2. Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr. in a Singapore Cane match. Schiavone noted that Pillman wore layers of clothes to the ring to protect himself from the kendo sticks. Dreamer removed his jacket while Pillman protested. They went to ringside where Dreamer took a sip from a fan’s drink and spat it on Pillman, then dumped multiple drinks on Pillman.
Dreamer removed a button-up shirt that Pillman was wearing and he had a t-shirt underneath. Pillman ducked a chop from Dreamer, who then hit the ring post. Pillman went on the offensive for the first time. Dreamer eventually removed all of Pillman’s shirts. Pillman avoided a Death Valley Driver and caught Dreamer with a low blow with the kendo stick and then followed up with a neckbreaker for the win…
Brian Pillman Jr. defeated Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane match.
Powell’s POV: Dreamer was over, but Pillman getting the win didn’t get a reaction from the crowd.
Callihan continued his search for Lawlor and was pointed to his location… A Mance Warner teaser video aired and noted that he is coming soon to MLW… A Battle Riot II ad aired… Schiavone announced LAX vs. Hart Foundation for the MLW Tag Titles at the SuperFight event…
Striker hosted an MLW SuperFight control center segment and hyped Simon Gotch vs. Ace Romero, Rey Horus vs. Aerostar, Mance Warner’s debut, Low Ki vs. Tom Lawlor for the MLW Championship, and the MLW Tag Title match…
3. Low Ki (w/Salina de la Renta) vs. Fred Yehi for the MLW Championship. Yehi picked up a near fall. Low Ki came right back and performed a double stomp from the top rope onto the back of Yehi and scored the clean pin…
Low Ki defeated Fred Yehi to retain the MLW Championship.
Backstage, Callihan continued to search for Lawlor. He entered a room inside a kitchen and a lot of commotion could be heard. Lawlor emerged from the room with the hammer and licked it to close the show…
Powell’s POV: There was no drama here regarding the outcome of the match. Yehi is in “little buddy” mode for Lawlor and hasn’t been on television much lately. So this was all about putting more heat on Low Ki than it was about delivering a hot title match. I’m surprised there wasn’t a post match attack or something done by Low Ki to add even more heat, though I suppose it could have come off as overkill given the recent attack on Konnan.
The Lawlor and Callihan angle left something to be desired. I mentioned recently that there are times when I like segments like this where you don’t see the attack and it’s left up to the imagination of the viewer, but in this case it felt like after the show long setup we should have seen them fight. Overall, a decent show that inched ahead the top storyline and continued the Pillman vs. Dreamer feud.
Check below for a recent Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Konnan, who discusses his return to the ring for MLW and shares the crazy story of how he started in pro wrestling.
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