By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion – Kings of Colosseum (Episode 116)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at GILT Nightclub
Streamed January 6, 2021 on Fubo Sports, Pluto TV, and MLW’s YouTube Page
Fusion opened with a video package that recapped the Alex Hammerstone and Mads Krugger feud… The Kings of Colosseum graphic was shown and then the broadcast team of Rich Bocchini and Saint Laurent checked in and hyped the four matches. Blake Chadwick was the ring announcer…
1. Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich vs. “The Dirty Blondes” Leo Brien and Michael Patrick (w/Aria Blake) in a bunkhouse match for the MLW Tag Titles. The broadcast team noted that there were essentially no rules in a bunkhouse match. All four men brawled to start. The Blondes used a bull rope as a weapon.
The teams brawled to the back while the broadcast team spoke about Colonel Parker watching the match from home. They fought back into the main room. Patrick begged for mercy from Ross in the ring, but Blake hit Ross with a low blow. At ringside, Marshall backdropped Brien on the floor. Mashall returned to the ring and applied the Iron Claw on Patrick while Ross simultaneously suplexed him. Marshall held the Iron Claw and scored the pin…
Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich defeated “The Dirty Blondes” Leo Brien and Michael Patrick in 5:53 in a bunkhouse match to retain the MLW Tag Titles.
Powell’s POV: A quick and entertaining brawl. MLW has come up with a successful formula for the Von Erich brothers by booking them in tornado tag style brawls. The Blondes were good opponents for them in that they bumped all over the place.
The Von Erichs delivered a backstage promo. Ross spoke about the depth of the MLW tag division and said they just signed an open contract to fight anyone. The Contra Unit logo flashed…
Bocchini said Jordan Oliver was ready for his grudge match with Simon Gotch, but Gotch was MIA… Bocchini narrated highlights of Tom Lawlor defeating Low Ki to win the Opera Cup tournament…
Tom Lawlor delivered a promo from an outdoor setting. Lawlor said he hasn’t let the Opera Cup out of his sight. He said he brings it to the bathroom and takes it to the seediest gentlemen’s clubs in Las Vegas. Lawlor said it was the first time he’s been sober because they have big news. Lawlor announced that they will be going to Filthy Island and said it will “knock your socks off”…
A video package aired on the MLW Middleweight Championship match… An MLW specific ad aired for attorney Stephen P New… The Richard Holliday ad aired for Dynastic coffee mugs…
Laurent ran through the latest PWI Top 10 rankings for the MLW Championship held by Jacob Fatu:
10. Mads Krugger
9. Calvin Tankman
8. Laredo Kid
7. ACH
6. Richard Holliday
5. Myron Reed (MLW Middleweight Champion)
4. LA Park
3. Low Ki
2. Tom Lawlor
1. Alex Hammerstone (MLW National Openweight Champion)
Powell’s POV: I like that the rankings change and this is a bit nitpicky, but I’m not sure why Krugger would move down from the seven spot on the same night that he’s challenging for the MLW Openweight Championship. Is that a tell regarding the outcome? Laurent said that Lawlor passed Low Ki in the rankings because he beat him in the Opera Cup final, but Lawlor was actually listed ahead of Low Ki on that December 23 show.
Bocchini announced that the Oliver vs. Gotch match had been postponed because Gotch was still nowhere to be found. He warned about possible deception with Gotch being a member of Contra…
2. Myron Reed (w/Jordan Oliver) vs. Lio Rush for the MLW Middleweight Championship. Reed wore his chest protector. Laurent said that Reed wins 33 percent of his matches from the sky, so Rush should try to keep him grounded. Reed had the first stretch of sustained offense and performed a slingshot leg drop for an early two count.
Rush knocked Reed to ringside and then performed a suicide dive. Rush rolled Reed back inside the ring and covered him for a two count. Bocchini said Reed and Rush are opposites in terms of personality with Rush chasing fame, whereas Reed and Oliver are more about a greater movement.
Rush caught Reed going for a springboard cutter and then drilled him with a spinning kick that led to a near fall. Rush complained about the referee’s count. Rush remained on the offensive while Laurent praised him for staying on Reed consistently. Bocchini said security was locking down the building in anticipation of the main event.
Reed came back with a big clothesline and then followed up with a Codebreaker. Rush rolled to ringside. Reed performed a dive over the top rope onto Rush on the floor. Back inside the ring, Reed performed a corkscrew uppercut and covered Rush for a near fall.
Reed performed a half Nelson suplex, but Rush landed on his feet. Reed push Rush down and drilled him with a kick that led to a near fall. Reed set up for a slingshot move, but Rush rolled under the bottom rope. Reed showed frustration. Rush caught Reed with a kick and then performed a moonsault from the bottom rope onto Reed at ringside.
Back in the ring, Rush performed a twisting facebuster for a near fall. Rush showed some frustration with the referee. Rush indicated that he was going for a big move, but Reed grabbed his foot to stop it. They both ran the ropes and Rush clotheslined Reed, who came back with a cutter.
Both wrestlers traded punches. Reed connected with a big kick. Rush went for a clothesline, but Reed went Matrix on him and then threw a big kick to the head. Rush ended up on the apron. Reed ran the ropes and then leapt over and performed a cutter that took Rush to the floor.
Reed removed his chest protector and then rolled Rush back inside the ring where he went for a top rope move that Rush avoided. Rush performed a bounce back Stunner. Rush went up top and hit the Final Hour frogsplash and then scored the clean pin…
Lio Rush defeated Myron Reed in 14:19 to win the MLW Middleweight Championship.
Powell’s POV: A very good match that lived up to my lofty expectations. I’d love to see a rematch, particularly once fans are back in the building for both men to feed off. My guard was actually up for Oliver turning on Reed in this match. Reed strikes me as having strong babyface potential. Oliver certainly has upside as a babyface too, but I see him as a natural heel who can get under the skin of fans with a simple smirk or certainly whenever he opens his mouth. Either way, I expect this to be a big year for both men even though Reed just dropped the MLW Middleweight Championship.
Backstage, Lio Rush asked viewers what they expected. He said there was only one outcome and the viewers were looking at it. Rush called himself the Man of the Hour and referred to himself as the Moneyweight Champion. Rush boasted that he’s a musician, the hottest agent in the world, and owns more things than your entire life is worth, and now he’s the MLW Middleweight Champion. Rush said there’s not a goddamn thing that anyone can do about it…
Alex Hammerstone was interviewed by Alica Atout in the backstage area and asked how he prepares for a man he knows nothing about. Hammerstone was quickly interrupted by a Contra video. Josef Samael delivered a promo in which he said he was in the Arabian Peninsula. He said he offered the world two gifts for the new year – the new solider Mads Krugger, and said he would take Hammerstone’s title and career…
An MLW merchandise ad aired… A Stephen P New ad aired… A teaser aired for Filthy Island and someone belching could be heard while a shot aired of a beach…
Salina de la Renta interrupted Bocchini and Laurent to announce that she will be the executive producer next week. Salina called Bocchini “Milhouse” and said she would be his boss. Salina said LA Park told her that he and her sons would join her faction if she got them a title shot. Salina booked Ross and Marshall Von Erich vs. Los Parks for the MLW Tag Titles with Tom Lawlor as the special referee…
The broadcast team hyped the tag title match for next week, and Jacob Fatu vs. ACH for the MLW Heavyweight Championship on January 20…
Backstage, Myron Reed delivered a promo while Jordan Oliver stood by. Reed said two of the best middleweights in the world fought and Rush was the better man on this night. Reed said he’s still the Young GOAT and would do whatever it takes to get his title back.
Suddenly, Jacob Fatu and Simon Gotch attacked Rush and Oliver. Shawn Daivari joined in on the attack, leading Laurent to assume that Daivari is now a member of Contra. Daivari destroyed Reed’s chest protector and then Gotch placed a Contra flag over Oliver…
Powell’s POV: Well, so much for Oliver turning heel. A good angle. I love the addition of Daivari to Contra. The destruction of the chest protector needed to happen if Reed is now a babyface. If Reed and Oliver are going to be feuding with Contra, it will be interesting to see who ends up feuding with Rush over the MLW Middleweight Championship.
Bocchini read through a tale of the tape for the main event and then ring entrances took place. Hammerstone came out second and attacked Krugger at ringside. Krugger caught Hammerstone on the ropes and slammed him into the ring to start the match…
3. Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger for the MLW National Openweight Championship. Krugger roughed up Hammerstone to start, but Hammerstone came back with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Hammerstone put Krugger down with a clothesline. Krugger actually got back to his feet first.
Hammerstone performed a pump-handle suplex and covered Krugger for just a one count. Hammerstone threw a bicycle kick and went for his Nightmare Pendulum finisher. Krugger blogged the move and then threw punches at Hammerstone, who ended up spinning him around in the corner and returning the favor. Krugger tossed Hammerstone into the corner and threw more punches. Krugger shoved the referee when he tried to intervene.
Hammerstone and Krugger fought to ringside. There was a feed disruption style graphic that appeared briefly. Krugger threw Hammerstone into the ring post. Hammerstone and Krugger fought to the stage and continued to trade big punches while the referee counted out both men. Hammerstone was throwing elbows at Krugger on the stage when the show concluded…
Alexander Hammerstone fought Mads Krugger to a double count-out in roughly 6:20 an MLW Openweight Championship match.
Powell’s POV: I can’t say that I’m surprised that they didn’t deliver a clean finish to this match. There’s just no reason to have either one of these guys lose clean right now. The MLW Middleweight Championship struck me as the true main event of the show, but I assume that they wanted to go off the air with Hammerstone and Krugger brawling.
Overall, Kings of Colosseum was a typical edition of Fusion in terms of show length, but it was a strong episode and a great way to kick off the new year for MLW. AEW Dynamite and NXT have performed well in the ratings when they’ve had themed shows, so it would have been interesting to see if this episode had produced more viewers across MLW’s various platforms, but we may not learn much due to the insanity at the Capitol taking potential viewers away. If you missed this show because your attention was elsewhere, I recommend going out of your way to see it.
Meanwhile, I like the way MLW set up next week as a Salina produced show, and also listed Fatu vs. ACH for the MLW Championship two weeks later. Both shows look fun on paper and should help MLW build momentum coming off of this top notch episode. I saw a screener of Fusion, so my weekly audio review of the show is already available for Dot Net Members.
So, the guy who’s ranked #7 gets a title shot in 2 weeks, but the people ranked #1-#6 don’t? Then what’s the point of having the ranking if you’re not going to follow it?