By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 178)
Taped April 8, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Streamed August 17, 2023 on the MLW YouTube Page and FITE.TV
Fusion opened with a video package on the Opera Cup… The Fusion opening aired… Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker were on commentary… Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Jacob Fatu vs. Rickey Shane Page (w/Raven, Mandy Leon, gas mask henchmen) for the MLW National Openweight Championship. Once Page was at ringside, Fatu hit him with a suicide dive that apparently led to to the referee starting the match. Fatu grabbed a chair and threw at it Page, who wisely put his hands up. In the ring, Fatu performed a Swanton Bomb on Page and covered him for a two count.
Fatu performed an impressive Triple Spring Arabian Moonsault for another two count. Page came back and picked up a two count of his own heading into a break. [C] Page slammed a chair over the back of Fatu. He followed up by putting a chair behind Fatu’s back and then bodyslamming him onto it.
Page grabbed a spike and jabbed the bare foot of Fatu, then stuck it in Fatu’s mouth. Page bit Fatu’s foot, which drew “you sick f—” chants. Page tried to do Raven’s drop toehold onto a chair, but Fatu blocked it. Fatu slammed his own head on the chair and then tossed it to ringside. Fatu dropped Page with a superkick, which led to Page rolling to the floor.
Fatu executed a suicide dive and then ran Page into the ring post. Back in the ring, Fatu performed a top rope crossbody block for a near fall. Fatu performed a handspring into the ropes followed by a standing shooting star press. Fatu went to ringside and pulled out chairs from under the ring. Raven and the henchmen approached Fatu, who just looked at them before throwing the chairs back in side the ring.
Page, who was bleeding from the forehead, picked up one of the chairs and tossed it at Fatu, who put his arms up. Page set up two chairs on their side. Fatu superkicked Page and then performed a Samon Drop onto the two chairs (damn) and got a two count. A “this is awesome” chant broke out.
Fatu went back to ringside and got caught up looking at a smirking Raven, and then he pulled out a table and slid it inside the ring. Page caught Fatu with an enzuigiri that sent him to the floor. Page set up the table in the middle of the ring and then went after Fatu. Page took a chair away from Fatu and tossed it at him (Fatu wisely put his hands up again).
Back inside the ring, Page slammed a chair over the head of Fatu (who again put an arm up to block it). With Fatu on the table, Page went up top and hit a senton that put Fatu through the table, which led to a two count. The fight spilled over to ringside where Fatu took a couple of chair shots and then battled back. Fatu shoved the referee. Page threw punches at Fatu and then shoved the referee. The referee disqualified both men. Striker said they gave the referee no choice.
Jacob Fatu fought Rickey Shane Page to a double DQ in an MLW National Openweight Championship match.
Fatu and Page fought to the stage. Security came out and they quickly cut to the next segment…
Powell’s POV: Fatu was tremendous in this match. Don’t get me wrong, but guys worked hard, but Fatu really is special. The finish was strange in that the referee let them use tables, chairs, and a spike, which made it feel like a No DQ match, but then disqualified both men later. That said, they are going back to this match and they have been pushing The Calling aggressively, so the lack of a clean finish was logical.
Tracy Williams was interviewed by Sam Laterna on the backstage interview set. He spoke about how good Davey Boy Smith Jr. and then said it’s on him to prove that he’s on that level by winning the Opera Cup…
Dombrowski hosted the MLW Fury Road control center and added Fatu vs. Page in a Weapon of Mass Desctruction match for the MLW National Openweight Championship to the card. Matt Cardona delivered a promo while standing in his pool about his Kiss My Foot match with Mance Warner…
Dombrowski said MLW would have a special announcement on next week’s show, but he didn’t offer any teasers…
Paris Van Dale made her entrance. Backstage, Delmi Exo tried to talk about her title match, but B3cca interrupted her. B3cca said Exo should be defending her title against her. Exo said she runs the featherweight division. Exo said they could talk once B3cca starts having matches instead of following her delusional fantasy of being a pop star…
2. Delmi Exo vs. Paris Van Dale for the MLW Featherweight Championship. The top ten MLW fighters list was shown on a crawler at the bottom of the screen. Van Dale got some offense until Exo cut her off and performed a Samoan Drop. Exo followed up with the Delmi Driver for the win.
Delmi Exo beat Paris Van Dale to retain the MLW Featherweight Championship.
After the match, B3cca came out and attacked Exo from behind. B3cca slammed a guitar over Exo, then picked up the title belt and posed with it while standing over Exo… [C]
Powell’s POV: A brief match that spotlighted the champion. Exo has been thrust into the role of the face of the division, so it’s good to showcase her. She’s playing the part well and the fans seem to like her. The post match angle with B3cca was solid in terms of creating a rivalry between the two.
A Fury Road video aired… The same video from last week that seems to be teasing the return of a Japanese wrestler was shown…
MLW Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane delivered a promo in front to the MLW backdrop while Mr. Thomas stood behind him. Kane downplayed his next challenger Willie Mack by once again stating that he’s not in a fight camp and doesn’t take things seriously. Kane said he needs a warmup match. He said he needed to be somewhere warm and toasty. Kane said he would return to Mexico…
Powell’s POV: They aired this promo previously to hype the Kane vs. Delirious match that aired two weeks ago. I hope it’s a replay because another Fusion from Mexico might break me. Looking at Cagematch.net, aside form that Delirious match in Mexico, Kane hasn’t wrestled there since 2021.
Dombrowski hyped the “breaking news” of Fatu vs. Page at Fury Road even though it was announced earlier in the show. Oops…
Entrances for the main event took place…
3. Tracy Williams vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (w/Mister Saint Laurent) in the Opera Cup tournament finals. Smith worked the match in jeans and work boots. The action spilled over to ringside where Smith suplexed Williams on the small pad on the floor. [C]
Striker gave us a history of denim chat. Yes, really. Williams targeted the left knee of Smith. Williams took an enzuigiri kick. The crowd was quiet. Williams caught Smith in a backslide for a two count. Williams performed a nice suplex that woke up the fans a bit.
Williams performed a running clothesline. Dombrowski said Williams attended MLW events in Brooklyn and watched Satoshi Kojima (is he the guy the graphic is for?). Williams hooked Smith into crucifix pin for a near fall. Smith came back with a suplex.
Later, Smith performed a Bulldog Powerslam and sold his knee before covering Williams, who put his foot over the bottom rope. Williams took Smith down and applied an ankle lock. Smith teased tapping and then rolled out of it.
Smith slammed Williams for a two count. Smith put Williams down with a powerbomb. Williams didn’t kick out, but the referee stopped counting for some reason. Smith applied a crossface and got the submission win.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Tracy Williams to win the Opera Cup tournament.
Afterward, the referee presented Smith with the Opera Cup. Smith held it up and then bowed to it before clutching it…
Dombrowski hyped MLW’s major announcement, and Willie Mack in a scramble match for next week…
Sam Laterna tried to interview Smith. MSL hijacked the promo and said the only thing that would have made it sweeter would have been had they did it in Calgary or England instead of a shit hole like Philadelphia. Smith taunted the crowd briefly and labeled himself wrestling royalty and claimed he’s the next MLW Heavyweight Champion…
Powell’s POV: A quality match that pulled the crowd in the longer it went. I’m surprised that Smith didn’t work more of a heelish style during the match. He was cocky afterward and hugged MSL, but there was nothing different about his in-ring work.
Overall, this was a big upgrade over the two previous episodes from Mexico. That’s not saying a lot, but it was a fine show with a strong opening match and a good main event. My weekly review of Fusion will be available for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons) on Friday.
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