By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 78)
Taped September 7, 2019 in Dallas, Texas at NYTEX Sports Centre
Aired October 5, 2019 on beIN Sports
The show opened with Tim Barr conducting ring entrances for the opening tag match. Meanwhile, the broadcast team of Rich Bocchini and Tony Schiavone checked in…
1. LA Park and Hijo de LA Park (w/Salina de la Renta) vs. Magnus and Septimo Dragon. Bocchini noted that the match would be fought under lucha tag rules. Salina was shown holding up the Golden Ticket that LA Park earned by winning Battle Riot, which gives him the show at the MLW Championship at the MLW Saturday Night Super Fight event. The Contra Unit logo flashed briefly.
The teams started with handshakes, but Los Parks attacked their opponents and took them to ringside. Park slammed a chair over Dragon’s back. Park took his belt off and whipped Dragon, then brought him to the ring and continued working him over with the belt. Magnus and Dragon rallied with some nice springboard dives onto Los Parks on the floor.
Later, Los Parks performed top rope dives onto their opponents on opposite sides of the ring, which drew a big pop from the crowd. Back inside the ring, Park and Magnus traded near falls. Park had another pin, but Dragon performed a double stomp onto his back to break it up.
Hijo and Dragon squared off. Dragon got the better of it and got a near fall. Dragon performed a split legged moonsault, but Hijo put his knees up. Hijo performed a wicked Canadian Destroyer for a near fall. Park checked in was nearly pinned by Magnus, but Salina or Hijo pulled the referee out of the ring.
Later, the referee pulled Magnus off of Park, then Park kicked Magnus onto the referee. Park went to the middle rope and performed a splash, but Magnus moved and Park landed on the referee. Salina entered the ring and low blowed Magnus, then Park rolled him up and pinned him. The Contra Unit logo flashed a several times while Los Parks celebrated their win with Salina…
LA Park and Hijo de LA Park beat Magnus and Septimo Dragon.
Powell’s POV: So the guy who is challenging for the MLW Championship at the pay-per-view needed Salina’s interference to beat a wrestler who hasn’t appeared in MLW before? Strange. It’s worth nothing that MLW officials are high enough on Septimo Dragon that they signed him to a multi-year deal coming out of this show. And for the Spanish impaired (like me), Septimo means Seventh in English. Is it too late to file a trademark on Octavo Dragon?
A Contra Unit video played. Josef Samael said Salina likes to run her mouth about being a promoter and a businesswoman. He said Contra Unit is a cause and this is war. Jacob Fatu said it’s no business transaction and they are entering “my goddamn kingdom.” Fatu said it will be a Day of the Dead for LA Park…
Powell’s POV: A good promo from two of the four Contra Unit members. Samael is a good talker and Fatu is fun and believable in small doses.
A video hyped the November 9 MLW Fusion taping in Orlando, Florida at GILT Nightclub…
After a break, Bocchini recapped Austin Aries attacking Teddy Hart. Bocchini said Hart went to his own doctor and received medical clearance because he wanted to be in the building for the Aries vs. Brian Pillman Jr. match…
A brief Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich promo aired…
MJF and Richard Holliday said that his lawyer (his father) declined the contract that MLW presented them with for a tag title defense against the Von Erichs. MJF said they’re not going to Mexico (for the show with The Crash)…
Bocchini hosted the Saturday Night Super Fight control center segment. Tom Lawlor vs. Timothy Thatcher and Alex Hammerstone vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. for the MLW National Openweight Championship were added to the November 2 pay-per-view lineup… [C]
2. Dominic Garrini vs. Ariel Dominguez. Garrini worked the match wearing a judo gi. Bocchini said he spoke with Garrini about the gi giving opponents something to grab onto, but Garrini said that’s not the case. Garrini tossed Dominguez around a couple times and applied a cross arm breaker for a quick submission win.
Dominic Garrini defeated Ariel Dominguez.
After the match, Kaci Lennox interviewed Garrini in the ring. Garrini said it was just the start. He called for all the top fighters and grapplers such as Tom Lawlor and Timothy Thatcher so that he could take them down and tap them out…
Powell’s POV: A nice debut for Garrini and a quick but solid promo. It’s hard to tell where Garrini is at in his development as a wrestler since this was a squash that required no selling, but he came off well.
Footage aired from last week of Timothy Thatcher challenging Tom Lawlor to a match… Bocchini said Lawlor blew off an MLW media event…
Footage aired of a cameraman approaching Lawlor in a parking lot and informing him of Thatcher’s challenge. Lawlor said he thought Thatcher was a mute. Lawlor said that he’ll make sure that the one tooth that Thatcher is missing isn’t the only one because he’ll knock the rest of them down his throat…
Bocchini announced that Jimmy Havoc will be the executive producer of the October 19 Halloween themed “Slaughterhouse” edition of MLW Fusion…
A social media photo was shown of Mance Warner wearing a bloody hospital gown. The caption noted that doctors removed a tube from his lung…
Powell’s POV: Warner legitimately suffered a punctured lung during what I believe was an independent wrestling match, which MLW is using to play up injuries suffered during his wild brawl with Havoc in last week’s Bunkhouse Brawl.
A teaser aired for the Slaughterhouse edition of Fusion… Bocchini hyped the main event going into a break..
Bocchini noted that Samu Anoai underwent a 13-hour liver transplant. Bocchini listed HelpSamu.com as a Go Fund Me page to help the family with his medical costs…
A teaser vignette aired with graphics that read “This Fall the next generation of greatness arrives and the world will be his. El Intocable. The Untouchable Gino Medina. Coming soon”…
Footage aired of the Injustice trio of Myron Reed, Kotto Brazil, and Jordan Oliver attacking a referee. MLW officials ruled that the result of the match they were upset over stands because they took actions into their own hands…
An Injustice promo aired. Brazil was upset because he wasn’t the legal man pinned in their match against Gringo Loco and Air Wolf. Reed complained about the referees. Oliver said they don’t want Injustice to succeed. Oliver said they will get their justice no matter what happens…
Ring entrances for the main event took place. Aries made his entrance while the broadcast team recapped Aries performing a brainbuster on Teddy Hart on the ring apron during an MLW Tag Titles match. Pillman ran out and slapped hands and played to the crowd. Bocchini said he was told that Hart was being held back backstage to prevent him from going after Aries…
Powell’s POV: Pillman’s entrance contradicted with the storyline that he’s out for revenge on Aries over what he did to Hart. This is one time when Pillman should have charged the ring and went right after Aries rather than playing to the crowd as if this was just a regular match.
3. Austin Aries vs. Brian Pillman Jr. Aries slapped Pillman across the face. Pillman invited him to do it again. Pillman blocked the second slap and shoved Aries’ hand into his own face. Pillman was the early aggressor until Aries caught him going for a springboard move and pushed him to ringside. Aries followed up with a suicide dive. Aries went to the top rope and performed a missile dropkick that led to a one count.
Pillman came back and hit a powerslam. Aries broke up the pin by boxing the ears of Pillman. Aries performed a suplex into a pin for a two count, then rolled over into a Last Chancery. Pillman reached out and grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold.
Aries brought Pillman to the apron and went for a brainbuster. Pillman slipped away and superkicked Aries to the floor. Pillman went for a dive, but Aries cut him off with a shot from the floor. Back inside the ring, Aries performed a running dropkick in the corner and followed up with a brainbuster, which led to a clean pin.
Austin Aries defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
After the match, Aries took the mic and said he’s destroyed his opponents and repeatedly challenges Hart to a title match. Aries said Hart put all of his lackeys in front of him. Aries called out Hart to answer his challenge. Schiavone said Pillman is not a lackey.
Teddy Hart walked to the ring. Aries stomped Hart as he tried to enter the ring, then they traded punches in the ring. “It looks like we’ve got another super fight,” Bocchini said. Hart and Aries brawled, and the Contra Unit logo flashed as the show went off the air…
Powell’s POV: A good main event with the right outcome as they build up Aries for the showdown match with Teddy Hart for the MLW Middleweight Championship at Super Fight. The post match brawl was brief and that was the right call in that it left viewers wanting more. Hart vs. Aries is the match that appeals to me most of the early lineup for Super Fight.
Overall, the opening match going so long and being so competitive didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but it was entertaining for what it was, while the rest of the show was good. It was another quality episode of Fusion and I’m looking forward to seeing how they fill out the remainder of the Super Fight card. John Moore will be by with his audio review of this episode for Dot Net Members.
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