By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 114)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at GILT Nightclub
Aired December 16, 2020 on Fubo Sports, Pluto TV, and MLW’s YouTube Page
Fusion opened with Alicia Atout standing outside the building awaiting the return of Alex Hammerstone. Richard Holliday and Hammerstone arrived in a car together. Holliday asked if he could get a moment away from Atout. Hammerstone said they were just talking about Atout. Holliday claimed they were talking about a different Alicia Atout.
Three masked men attacked Holiday and Hammerstone. The Dynasty duo fought off the masked men quickly. Hammerstone was going to slam one of their heads onto the car, but Holliday stopped him and said the car was in his name…
The Fusion opening aired… The broadcast team of Rich Bocchini and Jared St. Laurent checked in and hyped the upcoming matches. St. Laurent once again sounded like he was doing commentary from a different location…
1. Bu Ku Dao (w/TJP) vs. LA Park Jr. (w/LA Park, Hijo de LA Park). A Dao pre-tape aired while he made his entrance. He spoke about how excited he was. Bocchini noted that Dao is barely five feet tall, and St. Laurent pointed out that Park Jr. was six foot, two inches. Dao was sent to ringside where LA Park put the boots to him and ran him into the ring post while Jr. distracted the referee.
Park Jr. caught Dao with a kick that Bocchini felt might have been below the belt. As Dao was trying to shake it off at ringside, Park Jr. hit him with a suicide dive. Hijo took a shot at Dao while the referee was distracted, then rolled Dao back inside the ring where Park Jr. covered him for just a one count.
Dao rallied and performed a top rope cross body block for a two count. Park Jr. cut him off with a kick and then got a two count of his own. Park Jr. followed up with an Alabama Slam for another near fall. Dao hit a DDT style move and covered Park Jr. for a two count. Park Jr. caught Dao in a hold that appeared to be a set up for a move, but Dao caught him in an inside cradle and scored the pin, which the broadcast team labeled an upset…
Bu Ku Dao beat LA Park Jr. in 4:42.
Powell’s POV: A solid opener. For as much as the broadcast team spoke about the size difference between the wrestlers, it really didn’t look as dramatic as they made it out to be.
The broadcast team hyped Salina de la Renta appearing… Footage aired of Low Ki beating Richard Holliday to advance to the finals of the Opera Cup tournament…
A video aired with ACH and Tom Lawlor discussing their Opera Cup semifinal match. Lawlor pointed out that he won in their previous MLW match. ACH spoke at a separate location about how he’s changed his game a lot since their previous match. Lawlor said he is a better fighter. ACH said Lawlor could probably knock him out at any point. Lawlor put over ACH’s strength, but he said ACH doesn’t have his brain. He said he would ground ACH and slow him down. ACH said he wasn’t worried about Team Filthy’s involvement or Lawlor… [C]
Powell’s POV: I always enjoy a good sports-like pre-match video. Well done.
A Stephen P New attorney ad aired specifically for the MLW audience… Bocchini narrated highlights of Simon Gotch attacking Jordan Oliver in a recent edition of Pulp Fusion. In the process, Bocchini said Gotch ended the career of Kotto Brazil…
A Jordan Oliver promo aired. Jordan spoke about facing Simon Gotch at the Kings of Colosseum show. He said Gotch might beat him up, but he won’t be able to outlast him…
Bocchini said there was a wall of security backstage with the goal of keeping Mads Krugger and Alex Hammerstone apart from one another…
2. Mads Krugger vs. Budd Heavy and Daniel Starling in a handicap match. Heavy’s name was listed as “Ben Heavy” on the graphic, but he was called Budd Heavy by St. Laurent (and listed as Budd in the official preview). Krugger destroyed both men and ended up performing a Full Nelson Slam on Starling while slamming him onto Heavy in the process. Krugger put his foot on the back of Starling, who was pinning Heavy…
Mads Krugger beat Budd Heavy and Daniel Starling in 0:58 in a handicap match.
After the match, the Sentai Death Squad of Contra Unit came out and put Heavy and Starling in bodybags, then Krugger draped Contra flags over them…
Powell’s POV: This is exactly what it should have been with Krugger destroying the enhancement wrestlers. I think MLW has found the right role Krugger after a couple of other attempts.
The PWI Top 10 rankings for the MLW Championship held by Jacob Fatu were unveiled:
10. Mads Krugger
9. Calvin Tankman
8. Richard Holliday
7. Laredo Kid
6. ACH
5. Myron Reed (MLW Middleweight Champion)
4. LA Park
3. Tom Lawlor
2. Low Ki
1. Alex Hammerstone (MLW National Openweight Champion)
St. Laurent started to promote the return of Hammerstone. There were sounds of commotion while St. Laurent said that Hammerstone and Krugger were fighting despite security trying to stop them… [C] MLW merchandise ads aired…
St. Laurent said that security had locked down the building and they were unsure where Hammerstone and Krugger were located…
Alicia Atout checked in with the MLW Kings of Colosseum control center. She played into the chaos by asking someone off-mic if she was okay to stand where she was at. Atout hyped Myron Reed vs. Lio Rush for the MLW Middleweight Championship, and announced Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger for the MLW National Openweight Championship. Atout said that Hammerstone’s return had been pushed back because he was fighting with Krugger in the parking lot…
Powell’s POV: We didn’t see any footage of Hammerstone and Krugger fighting. MLW used some audio sounds of commotion and then had St. Laurent and Atout both acted as if the fight was out of control. I like the creativity.
A Salina de la Renta video aired. She lit candles and spoke in Spanish briefly, then spoke in English while saying that someone says she is a traitor. She said they forgot how powerful she is, while she held up a piece of bloody meat in her hand. Salina said her power reaches far beyond the talent she presents. She said she knows awful men and has stared evil right in the face and evil stared right back at her. She said every temple and every arena was burned to the ground. “Mil Muertes is coming,” Salina sang. The camera moved down to show some type of ritual that she was doing on a table…
Powell’s POV: Mil Muertes is better known as Ricky Banderas or Judas Mesias. The origin story that Salina told last week was the same one used in Lucha Underground.
Another Stephen P New ad aired, followed by a Dynasty coffee mug ad…
Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich checked in from Hawaii. Ross said it was great to have ACH train with them at the Von Erich ranch. They spoke about ACH’s match with Tom Lawlor. Marshall said the biggest tool that Lawlor has is “that tongue of his.” Marshall encouraged ACH to bring the Opera Cup home to Texas…
A tale of the tape was shown for the Opera Cup semifinal match. It was distorted briefly, which Bocchini acknowledged before moving on to breaking down the match…
Ring announcer Blake Chadwick introduced the main event participants…
3. ACH vs. Tom Lawlor (w/Dominic Garrini, Kevin Ku) in the semifinals of the Opera Cup tournament. Bocchini and St. Laurent noted that the winner of the match would face Low Ki in the finals. Early in the match, some grainy footage appeared in a small box on the screen that was apparently Hammerstone and Krugger fighting in the backstage area.
ACH performed a cartwheel into a dropkick in a nice combo move around the 7:00 mark. ACH rolled Lawlor into a pin for a two count. ACH performed a backbreaker and went for the pin, which resulted in another two count. Lawlor came back with a suplex and got a two count, then went for an armbar, but ACH blocked it and rolled under the ropes.
ACH performed a sunset flip over the ropes for a two count, then got up and ate a running elbow from Lawlor. The wrestlers traded strikes in the middle of the ring. Lawlor went for a rear naked choke, but ACH avoided it. ACH went for a double stomp that Lawlor avoided, then Lawlor applied the rear naked choke. ACH rolled onto Lawlor for a two count to break the hold.
ACH threw several kicks and then performed a Tiger Driver for a near fall. ACH went to the ropes and went for a splash, but Lawlor put his knees up and rolled ACH into a pin for the three count.
Tom Lawlor defeated ACH in 12:29 to advance to the finals of the Opera Cup tournament.
The broadcast team hyped Low Ki vs. Tom Lawlor in the finals of the Opera Cup, and the Dirty Blondes with Col. Parker and Aria Blake for next week…
Backstage, Lawlor delivered a brief promo while standing in between Garrini and Ku. Lawlor spoke about some of the legendary names who held the Cup and said he was one win away from adding his name to the list of legends. Lawlor said he would remain undefeated against Low Ki in MLW. He said the Opera Cup might as well be a crown because is the newest king of the mat…
Powell’s POV: A nice match. Lawlor matches haven’t always built in tempo to a real crescendo, but that wasn’t an issue in this match, as he and ACH picked up the pace down the stretch. The finals are set and Lawlor’s promo helped establish that he is 2-0 against Low Ki in previous matches heading into the finals. I was hoping that MLW would try to elevate someone with the tournament win rather than going with a pair of former MLW Champions in the finals. That being said, both men can benefit from the win, so we’ll see where it goes next week. My weekly audio review of MLW Fusion is now available (I saw an early screener of this episode) for Dot Net Members.
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