By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 120)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at GILT Nightclub
Streamed February 3, 2021 on Fubo Sports, Pluto TV, and MLW’s YouTube Page
Fusion opened with a recap of the Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger feud… The Fusion opening aired… The broadcast team was Rich Bocchini and Saint Laurent. Bocchini ran through the lineup and then they went to the ring for the opening match…
1. Jordan Oliver (w/Myron Reed) vs. Sentai Death Squad member (w/Daivari). A Reed promo aired before the match. He challenged any two members of Contra to face him and Oliver in a tag match. Oliver dominated the match and leapt from the middle rope and hit a Cutter that led to him scoring the clean pin…
Jordan Oliver beat a Sentai Death Squad member in 1:25.
After the match, Oliver and Reed delivered a backstage promo. Oliver said he’s not the same 170 lbs. kid that he was a year ago. He said he weighs 220 lbs. and is now a heavyweight. Oliver said he’s coming for Jacob Fatu’s MLW World Championship…
Bocchini spoke about Sports Illustrated breaking the news of a referee scandal in MLW. He said they would have more to come…
Powell’s POV: A showcase match for Oliver against the masked Sentai Death Squad member. I don’t want to start any rumors, but I believe that was actually Paul Levesque working as the Santai Death Squad member. Okay, maybe not. Anyway, MLW crediting SI with breaking the news of the referee scandal is comical, but it does clearly gives the angle the sports-like feel that MLW is gunning for.
Footage aired from “earlier today” of Salina de la Renta sitting outside with a glass of wine next to her. Salina said Savio Vega’s honor and pride are hurting, but it was him who let down the entire island of Puerto Rico when he failed to bring back the Caribbean Championship. She said rumor has it that the IWA promotion is losing money and could use an investor. Salina said the new owner of Promociones Dorado has deep pockets and has made a very generous offer. She said she looked forward to hearing from them…
Bocchini said Alex Hammerstone had been given the coordinates for one of Contra’s underground compounds where he will meet Mads Krugger in the Baklei Brawl… [C] Stephen P New attorney, MLW merch, and MLW on DAZN ads aired…
Footage aired from last week of the finish of the Richard Holliday vs. Savio Vega strap match with the referee blocking Vega from touching the fourth corner to win the match. Bocchini credited SI with breaking the news that disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy was the referee for the match…
Alicia Atout checked in from backstage and said that MLW is investigating the allegations. She said a lot of betting money came in late for Richard Holliday. She also said she would interview Holliday on next week’s show…
Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich said it looked like the Filthy Island show would take place in two weeks. Marshall noted that they were coming to their island. He spoke about wanting to choke out Dominic Garrini with a bull rope. They noted that the locals don’t care for Tom Lawlor and sponsors were dropping out. Ross said he didn’t know if it would happen. Marshall said they would show up whether they are invited or not…
Highlights aired of TJP and Bu Ku Dao defeating Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku to earn an MLW Tag Title match…
2. “Los Parks” LA Park and Hijo de LA Park (w/Salina de la Renta, suit guy) vs. TJP and Bu Ku Dao for the MLW Tag Titles. Laurent said the man wearing the suit is an associate of Azteca Underground Inc. and is watching over El Jefe’s investment. Bocchini and Laurent agreed that Salina looked a little nervous and subdued during the ring entrance, and Laurent assumed she didn’t want to cross her new boss.
LA Park hit TJP with a cheap shot to start. Park strutted toward Do and then backed off and went to his corner. LA Park offered TJP a handshake at ringside, but TJP blew him off. Park delivered a kick through the ropes while standing on the apron. TJP ran in, which allowed Los Parks to put the boots to Dao while the referee was distracted.
TJP and Dao came back and performed dives from the ring onto their opponents on the floor. Dao took Park down and applied a crossface while TJP put Park in an Octopus hold. Park powered out of the hold and tossed TJP onto Dao to break the crossface.
TJP took out Park with a dropkick at ringside, then Dao picked up a nice near fall on Hijo inside the ring. Hijo came back with an offensive flurry on Dao and got a near fall of his own.
The suit wearing adviser passed something to Vega, who stood on the apron and distracted the referee by counting money. The adviser ran to the other side of the ring and held up the apron while LA Park Jr. came out and then replaced Hijo. LA Park Jr. performed a shoulder breaker on Dao and pinned him to win the match.
“Los Parks” LA Park and Hijo de LA Park defeated TJP and Bu Ku Dao in 8:20 to retain the the MLW Tag Titles.
After the match, a frustrated TJP shoved Dao. When Dao tried to talk to him, TJP shoved Dao to the mat…
Powell’s POV: I’m enjoying Los Parks as heels a lot more than I did as babyfaces. And it has to be easier for 55 year-old LA Park to work tag matches than it is for him to work singles matches at this point in his career. The finish was similar to when Los Parks beat the Von Erichs to win the tag titles. I continue to be a fan of the build to what I assume will be the actor who played Dario Cueto being revealed as El Jefe. Finally, I’m all for TJP as a heel. I’ve said for a long time that he is miscast as a babyface.
Mads Krugger delivered a distorted voice promo about the Baklei Brawl… Footage aired from last week of Laredo Kid beating Zenshi to retain the AAA Cruiserweight Championship, followed by Lee speaking of his desire to win the MLW Middleweight Championship…
Lio Rush delivered a promo from his car. He said he was about to visit his agent, but he needed to speak to his fans. Rush said “some guy” wanted to challenge him for his title. He said he doesn’t know exactly who Lee is, but he knows he has some gold. Rush challenged him to an inter-promotional title fight for next week. “Let’s make you famous, kid,” Rush said…
Bocchini hyped Rush vs. Lee for both titles for next week, then hyped the Baklei Brawl… [C] Ads aired for MLW merch, Stephen P New, and the Filthy Island edition of Fusion on February 17…
Powell’s POV: Rush vs. Myron Reed was fun, and this could be even better. I’m really looking forward to the title vs. title match.
A teaser video touted Calvin Tankman’s return for next week… An upcoming fights graphic listed Rush vs. Kid for next week, Filthy Island for the following week, and an MLW Never Say Never themed edition for March 24…
Bocchini recapped the MLW Tag Title match and TJP’s post match frustration…
Alicia Atout hosted the Filthy Island Control Center. She said all of the sponsors bailed. Tom Lawlor delivered a promo touting Filthy Island while Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku stood by his side. The three men had beach backdrop behind them and dressed in Hawaiian attire. A disclaimer aired at he bottom of the screen in small print that noted that MLW makes no guarantee of the information listed, assumes no event liability, and wrestlers and fans take one hundred percent risk journeying to Filthy Island.
Atout said Dominic Garrini and Kevin Fu would appear on Filthy Island, and King Mo vs. Low Ki will take place on the island show. She questioned if Lawlor had someone to pay for the big bash and said it wouldn’t be her. She hyped more details for next week…
Alex Hammerstone checked in from an outside location. He said Contra was playing games. He said he would plow through Mads Krugger to get to Jacob Fatu. He added that he knew Fatu was placing hurdles in front of him, but he said he wouldn’t stop him…
3. Gringo Loco vs. Gino Medina. Footage aired of Medina announcing that he left Dynasty during a Pulp Fusion episode, and there was additional footage of him bickering with Richard Holliday on a past edition of Fusion. Laurent spoke about the high roller associates of Azteca Underground Inc. being in the balcony area, and speculated that they could be scouting either wrestler.
Loco caught Medina with a late kick for a near fall. After the wrestlers traded pin attempts, Loco went for a moonsault, but Medina put his feet up. Loco came back and rolled Medina into a pin, but Medina rolled it over and scored the clean pin…
Gino Medina beat Gringo Loco in 5:26.
Medina delivered a backstage promo in Spanish. Suddenly, Loco dove onto him and they fought…
Powell’s POV: Gringo looks like he was on my diet during the pandemic, but he was still impressively acrobatic. I thought Medina might be a babyface now that he’s left Dynasty. Instead, he acted like an arrogant heel during this match, and with all of the Azteca recruiting talk, he’s probably going to remain a heel to be part of that faction, which is logical. I was happy to see Gringo attack him afterward, because I enjoy Gringo’s work and would like to see him involved in an actual program rather than just random matches.
Bocchini hyped “Injustice” Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver vs. Daivari and apparently another Sentai Death Squad member. He also hyped Reed vs. Lee in a title vs. title match… Laurent read through the tale of the tape for the main event. Krugger had all question marks listed…
Alex Hammerstone and a referee were shown walking near a liquid nitrogen tank. The referee said he didn’t think they should be there. Hammerstone said he should be doing it in a wrestling ring, but he doesn’t always get what he wants. Hammerstone continued to search for Mads Krugger, who eventually appeared.
4. MLW National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger in a Baklei Brawl. The wrestlers fought in the outdoor setting. Krugger slammed Hammerstone’s head into a metal gate, then slammed it onto his hand and head again. Hammerstone fought back with punches while Laurant spoke about Hammerstone being at a disadvantage due to Krugger having a chance to scout the location.
Krugger threw a pallet at Hammerstone, who avoided it. Hammerstone whipped Krugger into the side of a giant dumpster. Hammerstone picked up Krugger and lawn darted him into the side of the dumpster and then pinned him. However, Hammerstone and the referee noticed that it wasn’t actually Krugger (they did the switch right before the lawn dart into the dumpster).
The referee told Hammerstone that they needed to get the f— out of there. The real Krugger returned and attacked Hammerstone. Hail Contra,” Krugger yelled and then the Contra logo flashed on the screen to close the show…
Alex Hammerstone defeated a fake Mads Krugger in a Baklei Brawl.
Powell’s POV: The fight lasted only three our four minutes and concluded with a fake Krugger being pinned. So I guess Krugger’s big plan was to have someone else lose for him? That’s kinda strange, although he did attack him afterward. I’m sure this will upset fans who expected the fight to have a real finish. I just assumed it would be gimmicky, so I never really got my hopes up. That said, they have reached a point where it feels like they will need to deliver an actual finish next time they meet.
Overall, I enjoyed this week’s episode. It was a bounce back show following last week’s underwhelming episode. It feels like we’re getting closer to the reveal of the Azteca Underground Inc. boss, Filthy Island intrigues me even though I am burned out on Fyre Fest parodies, and I like that TJP is finally going to be booked as a heel. Best of all, I’m really looking forward to Rush vs. Lee next week. I see a screener of Fusion, so my audio review of this episode is already available for Dot Net Members.
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