By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 109)
Taped March 13, 2020 in Tijuana, Mexico at Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez
Aired May 9, 2020 on beIN Sports and MLW’s YouTube Page
Psycho Clown delivered a subtitled backstage promo and said there would be a lot of clowns when he faced LA Park later and shut him up. Psycho Clown said he would be the judge and executioner… The Fusion opening aired… Rich Bocchini and AJ Kirsch were on commentary and hyped a Mance Warner promo, Davey Boy Smith Jr. appearing, and the show’s main event…
Los Park delivered a backstage promo about the main event that was subtitled…
Alicia Atout interviewed Konnan backstage. Konnan spoke about how happy he is with MLW vs. AAA and said it doesn’t end now. “We go back to MLW,” Konnan said. “The ball is in your court, MLW, boom”…
Bocchini said Dan Lambert of American Top Team and Team Filthy filed a lawsuit against MLW and Low Ki demanding that Low Ki undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Bocchini said Court Bauer called the lawsuit frivolous and Low Ki had no comment…
Bocchini also hyped next week’s MLW Anthology series premiere and said it was originally planned for a 2021 release. He said it will feature supplemental content, behind the scenes footage, and lost footage from 2002 through 2004… An MLW merch ad aired…
A subtitled Pagano promo aired. He spoke about bringing a a new style of lucha. He said some call him hardcore, but he just wants to put a smile on your face. He spoke English and said you like Mexican burritos and added, “No party, no clown”…
The latest Lifestyles of the Rich and Dynastic aired. Richard Holliday and Gino Medina were in Bucksnort, Tennessee. Medina brought up the Meth Gator and said they had to leave. Medina questioned where Alex Hammerstone was at. They spotted him in the distance and he yelled, “There’s raccoons over there.” Holliday called for him, saying they had to get out of there…
The PWI Top Ten rankings for the MLW heavyweight contenders to the title held by Jacob Fatu were listed (updated since they were last shown on Fusion).
10. Dominic Garrini
9. Low Ki
8. Mance Warner
7. King Mo
6. Richard Holliday
5. Tom Lawlor
4. Brian Pillman Jr.
3. Myron Reed (MLW Middleweight Champion)
2. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
1. Alexander Hammerstone (MLW National Openweight Champion)
Powell’s POV: I enjoy the rankings. When things get back to normal, I hope they will be updated more often and the company will dedicate a bit more time to discussing the changes along with the storyline explanations.
A recap aired of Richard Holliday telling Alex Hammerstone that he acquired Savio Vega’s childhood home, which Vega’s mother still lived in…
A Mance Warner video aired from YouTube. Warner spoke about how he starts drinking and then starts thinking. Warner said he’s going to climb the ladder and take all the gold. He said he wasn’t talking about a ladder match, but there would be ladders involved. Warner spoke about teaming with Vega to face Dynasty. Warner told Hammerstone to bring the MLW National Openweight Championship, then told Holliday to bring the Caribbean Title that he stole from Vega, and said Medina could bring his gold watch.
Warner called for a Triple Tower of Doom match with three levels of cages. Warner said he would beat them up a little at the ground level, cut them wide open with light tubes and barbwire in the second cage, and then he wanted all the gold hanging above the third cage. Warner said he came to MLW to hit the pay window. He spoke about it happening next week. Warner said he would keep the Openweight Title, Vega would get his Caribbean Championship, and then maybe they’d pawn the watch. Warner said it could be two on three or maybe he’d call Big Sexy, Glacier, PN News, or someone else…
Powell’s POV: The match won’t be taking place in the near future because MLW promoter Court Bauer has stated that they won’t be doing any empty venue shows. It also shouldn’t take place without Dynasty demanding that Warner’s team put something on the line. Why would they agree to put their titles (even one stolen one) on the line when Warner isn’t offering anything?
Bocchini recapped the MLW-AAA Super Series while footage aired from past shows. With MLW leading 4-3, the main event will determine whether MLW wins or the series ends in a tie…
Ring entrances for the main event took place…
Powell’s POV: Props for Psicosis coming out to Rob Zombie’s “Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy).” I have no idea if they pay music royalties in Mexico, but I dig it. For that matter, I don’t know the name of LA Park’s entrance theme, but I like it.
1. “Los Parks” LA Park, LA Park Jr., and El Hijo de LA Park vs. Psycho Clown, Psicosis, and Niño Hamburguesa. The match quickly turned into a hardcore brawl with tables and chairs used as weapons nearly from the word go. Hamburguesa was powerbomed from the ropes and onto a bar style round table. Ouch. Hamburguesa continued to take abuse from Los Parks until his partners returned to the ring with weapons. There were plenty of ball shots with chairs and the broadcast team labeled it was free vasectomies for all.
Bocchini said LA Park is a beloved figure in Mexico, but the fans seemed to be taking exception to him representing MLW in the series and were therefore rallying behind Psycho Clown’s team. There was a comedic spot where all three members of Los Parks were down and Psycho Clown and Psicosis kept splashing them before Hamburguesa could. Eventually, Hamburguesa delivered his big splash for a pop. Psicosis performed a bronco buster the Los Parks trio in the corner, then Hamburguesa performed a cannonball onto them.
Bocchini sang the praises of the venue and encouraged fans to make the trip if they ever get the chance. He spoke about the great atmosphere and how loud and fun it is. Kirsch echoed his sentiments. In an added audio clip, Kirsch touted the Davey Boy Smith Jr. interview as coming up after the match and said he feared that Smith bit off more than he can chew with Contra Unit.
Late in the match, the wrestlers took turns performing various dives to the outside. Back inside the ring, Los Parks had Psicosis pinned, but the referee did the slow count bit again. Pagano ran out with a chair. The same referee took the chair from Pagano, which led to LA Park punching him. LA Park speared and pinned Psicosis to win the match…
LA Park, LA Park Jr., and El Hijo de LA Park defeated Psycho Clown, Psicosis, and Nino Hamburguesa. MLW wins the Super Series 5-3.
After the match, Kirsch said AAA was already asking MLW for another super series to occur in the United States. He said there were promoters from around the world who are interested.
The Contra Unit graphic interrupted and there was some computer code shown on the screen. A brief shot showed Davey Boy Smith Jr. laid out in a stairwell with the Contra flag over him. The video cut to Josef Samael recalling that he told viewers that a war was coming. He said he prophesied a reckoning for over a year and it was ignored. He said it now comes to fruition with a lesson. Samael said Contra is striking from New York to Mexico and is paralyzing MLW at every level. He said a hostile takeover of MLW Headquarters is underway. Footage was mixed in of Smith being attacked. Samael said the days of MLW Fusion are over. He said that if you try to rise up, Contra’s soldiers will be waiting. Samael said MLW will be rebuilt. He said it will be painful and the darkness will take hold. “A new season of violence and terror begins tonight,” Samael concluded…
Powell’s POV: I’m not sure what that final video means aside from that Contra took out Smith. As far as the talk of taking over MLW, it could be a while before we see where that leads. I guess it’s a way to wrap things up for now and leave a bit of a cliffhanger. The main event was a hardcore train wreck. It wasn’t pretty, but the live crowd seemed to love it. I enjoyed the MLW-AAA series more than I expected to and not just because there were actually fans in attendance. It was refreshing to see an actual winner rather than the assumed stalemate, and I’m pleasantly surprised that AAA agreed to take the loss. It’s nice when egos don’t get in the way of doing what’s right for business. If the companies truly intend to do this again once the world gets back to normal, I hope that MLW will continue to educate those of us in the dark regarding the lucha talent in some way during the MLW Anthology series. The more we know about these wrestlers, the more the company’s alliance with AAA will mean to us. And, yes, watching AAA is an option, but not everyone has the time or desire to fit even more pro wrestling into their entertainment schedule, and the language barrier is also an issue for many.
With only one match on the show, this episode felt like MLW stretched out their footage from this taping to create one more episode than they originally envisioned, which is totally understandable and even appreciated if that’s the case. Unfortunately, that’s it for the first-run matches from MLW until things get back to normal or Court Bauer changes his stance on running shows in empty venues. I don’t see Bauer flinching in the near future because MLW makes the bulk of its money from the live gate and merchandise sales at the live shows. Without a big money television deal, it would presumably be a big money loser if they taped at an empty venue taping.
I am looking forward to seeing the MLW Anthology series and hopefully it will include some first-run promos and segments from the current MLW crew (I need my Lifestyles of the Rich & Dynastic fix). I also can’t help but wonder who will actually be on the MLW roster by the time the company runs shows again. One can only assume that some contracts will be expiring between now and whenever that is, and while MLW has some revenue from its various television deals, merch sales, etc., I can’t imagine they will be big spenders in this economy. I’m not trying to be gloomy, but rather realistic about where things stand. On a lighter note, John Moore will be by with his audio review of this episode for Dot Net Members.
Update: MLW CEO Court Bauer reached to note that MLW actually makes the bulk of its money from television rights deals, not from live events and the merchandise sold at those events. He added that only a couple of talent contracts are set to expire within the next 20 months. On a side note, I have praised MLW for continuing to add overseas television deals, as they are new streams of revenue. My above commentary was not intended to create a bleak outlook for MLW, but rather to note the uncertainty, which Bauer helped clear up.
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