By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 185)
Taped July 8, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Streamed October 5, 2023 on the MLW YouTube Page and FITE.TV
Fusion opened with video for MLW Slaughterhouse on October 14 with a plug for the premium live event in FITE.TV as well as tickets to the 2300 Arena event… The Fusion opening aired… Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker checked in from ringside. Fans chanted “MLW.” Striker said it sounded like they were changing his name, but conceded that he could be wrong. Dombrowski ran through the show’s lineup…
1. Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders vs. Cannonball and Talon in a tornado tag. Mance Warner sat in on commentary. Cannonball and Talon are with The Calling faction. They were in offensive control heading into an early break. [C] The massive Cannonball splashed onto the babyfaces and then picked up a near fall on Manders. Justice hit the big man with a chair. Manders put Talon down with a lariat and Justice hit him with a top rope splash for the win…
Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders defeated Cannonball and Talon in a tornado tag.
Powell’s POV: A hardcore brawl with members of the Second Gear Crew getting what felt like a fairly meaningless win over The Calling’s flunkies.
Love, Doug was playing his guitar backstage when Sam Laterna entered the room and said his song for B3cca was sweet. Jacob Fatu showed up and told a nervous Doug that he had the voice of an angel…
Backstage, Tony Deppen stood with TJ Crawford and said that Crawford reminded him of himself. They spoke about how they returned from injury and Deppen said it felt awesome to put Kevin Blackwood on the shelf…
Dombrowski hyped upcoming segments… [C]
Laterna interviewed Mister Saint Laurent and asked him about an expose that aired last week and suggested he was doing some shady business. MSL said it was a hatchet job and said his lawyer was already on it. He said that if he finds a wrestler in a bar working for $50 and he makes him thousands, he deserves a piece. MSL told Laterna that he would add her to the lawsuit due to her “stupid questions”…
A “this week in MLW history” video aired and pushed the company’s YouTube page. The footage focused on MLW’s “One-Shot” event from October 5, 2017. They replayed Shane Strickland defeating Ricochet in the main event…
Powell’s POV: I was wondering why this episode was longer in length than usual. The video and the match took up nearly 30 minutes of the show.
Laterna interviewed MLW Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane, who was accompanied by Mr. Thomas. Kane said he would send his mystery opponent to Ho Island… Dombrowski hyped the main event and Salina de la Renta’s announcement… A video package touted the working relationship between MLW, NJPW, and CMLL… [C]
Salina de la Renta stood next to an outdoor fountain and welcomed viewers to “the epicenter of lucha” Mexico City. She took credit for MLW’s working relationship with CMLL. She said it would not come without a price and said she would see you at Slaughterhouse…
The MLW Slaughterhouse control center segment video aired. Dombrowski announced CMLL Welterweight Champion Rocky Romero vs. MLW Middleweight Champion Akira in a title vs. title match. Salina will be in the corner of Romero…
The Calling’s latest video aired. Akira spoke about his match against Romero…
Mister Saint Laurent made his entrance and was booed as he spoke in the ring. He said his mystery man would cripple Alex Kane. MSL introduced Snisky as his mystery opponent. Snisky brought a gurney to the ring with him, which Striker said was thoughtful of him. Alex Kane made his entrance with a group of people who chanted “Bomaye”…
2. MLW Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane (w/Mr. Thomas) vs. Snisky (w/Mister Saint Laurent) in a non-title match. Kane performed an early suplex. Kane’s sidekicks had cards that counted his suplexes. Snisky put Kane down heading into the final break. [C]
Snisky dropped elbows on Kane and got a two count. Snisky went up top and went for a Swanton, but Kane moved. Kane applied a rear naked choke and forced Snisky to tap out.
MLW Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane defeated Snisky in a non-title match.
Kane celebrated in the ring with Thomas and his fight club crew… Another teaser aired for MLW Slaughterhouse to close the show…
Powell’s POV: I’m surprised they took the mystery challenger approach. Snisky has been booked as a monster with squash match wins in MLW, so I think some viewers would have been into the idea of him being an advertised challenger for Kane. Plus, Snisky is a member of MSL’s faction, so it’s not really a surprise that MSL would choose him. It was fine this way, but I wonder what the strategy was taking this approach. As for the match, Snisky is limited in the ring, so they kept things pretty basic. But good for the big man for taking a German suplex and performing a Swanton.
Overall, this was a strange edition of Fusion with roughly 30 minutes dedicated to replaying the One-Shot main event. So while the show was longer than usual at just under 65 minutes, there was actually less first-run content than there is in a typical edition of Fusion. The first-run footage was solid and the One-Shot main event is worth checking out if you’ve never seen it. I will have more to say about the show in my weekly Fusion audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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