By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 75)
Taped September 7, 2019 in Dallas, Texas at NYTEX Sports Centre
Aired September 14, 2019 on beIN Sports
Fusion opened with a video package that focused on the War Chamber match and the history between the two teams… Rich Bocchini and Tony Schiavone were on commentary…
1. Leo Brien vs. (?) Banks. Brien spoke briefly in a pre-taped promo. The broadcast team said Brien made a lot of money as a bounty hunter, but he missed in-ring competition. Brien won with an Oklahoma Stampede.
Leo Brien won a squash match.
After Brien left the ring, LA Park and Salina de la Renta came to the ring. Park roughed up Banks. Salina took the mic and said LA Park is the greatest luchador in lucha libre. Salina told the fans to stand up and applaud him. LA Park did his dance to a decent reaction.
Salina announced that LA Park will be cashing in the golden ticket he won by winning Battle Riot at the MLW Saturday SuperFight pay-per-view on November 2. A graphic showed Jacob Fatu vs. LA Park for the MLW Championship for the pay-per-view… [C]
Powell’s POV: Fatu vs. Park is a bit of an odd match in that both men work as heels in MLW. Meanwhile, it looks like
A recap of Salina’s announcement aired… Footage aired from “months ago” of the Hart Foundation stealing MJF’s rental car…
Teddy Hart checked in from an arena in Calgary. He said hockey is the best sport because you can drop the gloves and beat up “some pussy.” He said he was referring to a cat, then wondered if he’d be bleeped out like he normally is. Hart spoke about the sports he played. After Hart finished rambling, Bocchini hyped the MLW Tag Title match with Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. MJF and Richard Holliday… The crew was shown setting up the War Chamber cage… [C]
Powell’s POV: You can’t call a man a pussy, but you won’t be censored if you make reference to beating up a cat? Welcome to 2019.
Kevin Von Erich, Ross Von Erich, and Marshall Von Erich were shown standing where the Sportatorium venue once stood. Ross and Marshall said they’d never been to the location because they didn’t want to go there without their father. Kevin took his shoes off and walked barefoot while talking about how he felt static electricity. Kevin said he forgot his boots one night and it felt so good to wrestle barefoot that he never put the boots back on. Ross and Marshall picked up stones from the ground and said they would keep them…
Ring announcer Tim Barr set up the War Chamber match by reading through the rules.
2. “Contra Unit” Jacob Fatu, Josef Samael, Ikuro Kwon, and Simon Gotch vs. Ross Von Erich, Marshall Von Erich, Low Ki, and Tom Lawlor (w/Kevin Von Erich) in a War Chamber match. The heels won the coin toss to gain the man advantage throughout the match. There was barbwire wrapped around the top of the cage rather than a roof. The first entrants were Simon Gotch and Marshall Von Erich. Marshall jumped out to a quick start with a dropkick and a cannonball in the corner.
Five minutes into the match, Samael entered as the second entrant for Contra Unit. The heels worked over Marshall. A couple minutes later, Lawlor was the next entrant for his team to even the sides. Bocchini noted that the match would not officially start until all eight men were in the ring.
The third entrant for Contra Unit was MLW Champion Jacob Fatu, who performed a handspring kick on Lawlor and then performed a standing moonsault on Marshall. The third entrant for the babyface team was Low Ki. Samael tried to cut him off before he could enter the cage, but Low Ki slammed the cage door onto his head and entered the cage.
Ikuro Kwon was the final entrant for Contra Unit. Kwon worked over Low Ki. Bocchini said Ross Von Erich was suffering from food poisoning. He noted that he was dehydrated and it was 102 degrees in Dallas. The final entrant was Ross Von Erich, who came out to a strong reaction (the Von Erichs were over big). Samael was bleeding heavily from the forehead.
Bocchini noted that the match was officially underway. Contra Unit dominated the offense for a stretch of time. Samael jawed at Kevin through the cage. Marshall got fired up and worked over Samael. Fatu caught Ross on his shoulders. Marshall put the Iron Claw on Fatu, who then swung the legs of Ross into Marshall to break it up. Fatu performed a Samoan Drop on Ross.
A masked man dressed in black attempted to climb the cage to enter the ring. Schiavone assumed it was a Contra Unit street soldier. Kevin caught the masked man and put him in the Iron Claw for a pop. Lawlor caught Samael in a rear naked choke while everyone else was down. Samael was able to break it, then Kwon sprayed mist into the eyes of Lawlor, and Fatu hit him with a superkick. Fatu performed a springboard moonsault on Lawlor and had him beat, but Low Ki broke up the pin.
Gotch set up Ross for a spike piledriver, but Marshall broke it up. Marshall broke it up by putting the Iron Claw on Gotch. Ross put Gotch on his shoulders. Marshall went to the ropes and leapt off while driving Gotch down while holding onto the Iron Claw. Marshall covered Gotch and scored the pin.
Ross Von Erich, Marshall Von Erich, Low Ki, and Tom Lawlor defeated Jacob Fatu, Josef Samael, Ikuro Kwon, and Simon Gotch in a War Chamber match.
Kevin entered the ring and celebrated the win with his sons, Lawlor, and Low Ki to close the show…
Powell’s POV: I love a good WarGames match and this was fun. One of the keys to WarGames is actually what happens leading up to the match. MLW did a great job of establishing Contra Unit even with the late arrival of Kwon, and they did a good job of building up to Low Ki as the fourth man on the babyface side. As a fan, if you’re into the feud between the two sides then the match typically works, and that was the case here even though there’s usually a lot of battle royal style punching and kicking in this type of match.
It also helped that the match was positioned as if it developed organically from a storyline standpoint. It wasn’t an annual event that fans saw coming a mile away and I really hope that MLW keeps it that way. I’m all for War Chamber occurring once a year if it makes sense, but I really hope they will avoid locking it in for the same month each year. That’s when fans spot the booking a mile away and when promotions tend to force the feuds. On a side note, It was really fun to see the Von Erichs in Dallas again and I loved the footage of the family at the location where the legendary Sportatorium once stood. Dot Net Members can look forward to John Moore’s weekly review of MLW Fusion.
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