By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 71)
Taped July 25, 2019 in New York, New York at Melrose Ballroom
Aired August 17, 2019 on beIN Sports
Mance Warner stood backstage and spoke briefly drinking beer and then cutting down “that Cuban tree” Ricky Martinez. Warner picked up his chainsaw… The MLW TV opening aired… The broadcast team of Rich Bocchini and Tony Schiavone served as the broadcast team, and Tim Barr was the ring announcer. Bocchini touted various segments for this episode…
1. Mance Warner vs. Ricky Martinez (w/Salina de la Renta). Salina introduced Martinez as the greatest wrestler in the history of Cuban sports. Bocchini said that line was clearly a jab at Konnan. Martinez threw a couple of early kicks at Warner and then caught him with a Cutter, which led to a one count.
Warner encouraged Martinez to hit him a couple times and then laughed. Martinez caught him with a Codebreaker style move for a two count. Warner came back and did his knee pad up, knee pad down bit. Warner blasted Martinez with a running knee and then followed up with a lariat for the win.
Mance Warner beat Ricky Martinez.
After the match, Salina entered the ring and got in Warner’s face, slapped him, and spat at him. Warner tried to spit beer at Salina, who moved, and Martinez took the beer to the face. Warner hit Martinez with the can for good measure…
Powell’s POV: A solid opener. Warner continues to be fun and it’s a good idea to keep his matches brief.
The latest Lifestyle of the Rich & Dynastic segment aired. Richard Holliday stood in a Las Vegas hotel next to the window where the Wynn hotel could be seen in the background. Holliday spoke about living like a star. He spoke to someone off camera and said he thought he said she could wait a second. Then he said the woman looked good and started to remove his robe…
An MLW merch ad aired… Footage aired of Alex Hammerstone hitting his Nightmare Pendulum on Savio Vega last week. Vega’s legs buckled from the move and Bocchini tried to say that Hammerstone intentionally tried to “cripple” Vega. Bocchini said league officials were meeting to determine the legality of the maneuver…
Powell’s POV: MLW is using the botched spot to make Hammerstone’s finisher seem more dangerous. I like the idea. I just hope they don’t make it seem like the botched version is more dangerous than the actual move, as the last thing they should want is for viewers to think he’s taking it easy on opponents by hitting them with his actual finisher.
Marshall Von Erich spoke “live from Hawaii.” Marshall wore shades to sell his blinded gimmick and said it will take a lot more than red mist to keep him out of the ring. Marshall said he’ll be at War Chamber and “The General” Kevin Von Erich will be coming with him to the December 7 show…
Powell’s POV: I’ve been wondering if Kevin would make the trip from Hawaii to Texas. As someone who grew up watching the Von Erich hysteria on World Class Championship Wrestling television, Kevin’s latest homecoming is pretty cool.
Bocchini interviewed Salina from backstage. Salina was upset. Konnan entered the ring and taunted her with her phone and teased ordering food with her credit card. Konnan said she would grant his three non-negotiable demands…
Powell’s POV: It feels like we should be seeing the members of Promociones Dorado trying to get her phone back even if it leads to Konnan somehow escaping with it.
The latest H2 video aired. Brian Pillman Jr. wore Alex Hammerstone’s jacket while Teddy Hart took verbal shots at the members of Dynasty. Pillman eventually took off the jacket and pissed on it…
2. Austin Aries vs. Ace Austin. The broadcast team had some fun with it being Austin vs. Austin. There was a weird spot with Ace going for a legdrop from the ropes even though Aries was already standing right next to him in the corner. Later, Aries hit a discus five-arm and followed it up with a neckbreaker on the ropes. Aries fired up the crowd before performing a suicide dive.
Back in the ring, Austin caught Aries with a low blow while the referee was distracted and then rolled him up for a two count. Aries came right back with a brainbuster for the win.
Austin Aries defeated Ace Austin.
Aries delivered a post match promo. He said it was a little controversial when he last left the venue. Aries said people have been talking about him for 20 years. He said some of it’s true, but a lot of it is complete bullshit. He said the next chapter of his career is called The Reveal. He said if the fans were about to know the real guy in the ring. Aries said if he expects people to listen to him then he needs gold. Aries said he’s going after Teddy Hart’s MLW Middleweight Championship…
Powell’s POV: The fans were flat early on. It may have been a lull in a long night of tapings, but it was probably because Aries had only one previous match in modern MLW and there were no angles or promos to set up this match. That said, Aries did a good job of working up the live crowd down the stretch. By the way, the controversy that Aries mentioned was in reference to his final match with Impact Wrestling at last year’s Bound For Glory, which was held in the same venue.
A cameraman caught up with Dynasty at an outdoor setting and asked Alex Hammerstone about his jacket. He said the Hart Foundation are proving they are criminals. Aria Blake showed up with the jacket and told Hammerstone that someone left it for him at the front desk. Hammerstone smelled the jacket and determined that it smelled like cat piss. Hammerstone threw the jacet down while MJF said it touched his face and he needed to wash it…
A video package touted the 2009 Opera Cup and upcoming events…
Bocchini noted that Douglas James signed with MLW and will debut in Dallas. Bocchini added that MLW has partnered with some type of medical research service…
The War Chamber event was spotlighted by Bocchini, who read through the rules of the War Chamber match.
3. LA Park vs. Jimmy Havoc in a Street Fight. Park hit Havoc from behind with a chair. Bocchini said the fact that Park and Havoc are associates does not matter to Park, who simply sees Havoc as an opponent.
Powell’s POV: I guess we just have to accept that as the explanation for why Park and Havoc didn’t do a finger poke of doom style finish. It’s still a bigger logic gap that Konnan let them off the hook by booking them in a standard street fight when this is all a play off of Salina forcing Mance Warner and Sami Callihan to have a loser leaves MLW match. Perhaps one of Konnan’s other demands will be that Callihan is allowed to return? I don’t even know if that’s possible contractually and there’s no storyline history between Konnan and Callihan, so probably not.
Park and Havoc took the fight to ringside early on and hit one another with weapons and then chops. Park slammed a trashcan over the head of Havoc and then rolled him into the ring. Havoc placed Park on top of a door board and placed a chair over him, then double stomped the chair and covered him for a two count. Park rallied and tied up tree of woe, then placed a door board in front of him and dropkicked it.
Park set up a couple of chairs on the floor and then pulled out another door board, which he leaned on the chairs. Park put another chair at the other end to prop up the board, then placed Havoc on it. Park went to the top rope and went for a double stomp, but Havoc rolled out of the way and Park crashed through the boards. Havoc picked up a piece of broken board and hit Park with it. Havoc pulled out a staple gun and used it on Park a couple times.
Park came back by powerslamming Havoc onto a couple of chars that were set up in the corner and covered him for a two count. Park followed up with a corkscrew moonsault, then speared Havoc onto the chairs in the corner and pinned him.
LA Park defeated Jimmy Havoc in a Street Fight.
After the match Salina entered the ring and tried to get her men back on the same page. Bocchini hyped Teddy Hart vs. MJF for the MLW Middleweight Championship for next week’s show. In the ring, Havoc offered his hand. Salina verbally nudged Park, who then shook Havoc’s hand and raised his arm. Salina said Promociones Dorado won’t let people take them down.
Mance Warner’s entrance music played. Warner came out from a side entrance carrying a chainsaw. Warner toyed with the Promociones Dorado trio by scaring them away with the chainsaw…
Powell’s POV: So Mance is a modern day Chainsaw Charlie? Anyway, I get the idea of Konnan forcing Salina to make her men fight one another, but it left the crowd in a place where they simply cheered big spots rather than one wrestler over the other. And they did cheer. I just wish this had meant a little more. After all, Havoc is new to Promociones Dorado so this just wasn’t a dream matchup between two longtime stablemates.
Overall, it was a solid hour of television in that there were few dull moments. I wish they had spent some time building up next week’s MLW Middleweight Championship match. There’s obviously history between the Hart Foundation and Dynasty, but the focus was more on Pillman pissing on Hammerstone’s jacket than on setting up Hart vs. MJF. So while it was an entertaining hour of television, it felt a little disjointed at times. We’ll see if John Moore feels differently when he checks in with his weekly Dot Net Members’ exclusive audio review.
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