By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Major League Wrestling Fusion (Episode 194)
Taped November 18, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Streamed December 14, 2023 on the MLW YouTube Page and FITE.TV
Fusion opened with a recap of the MLW One Shot premium live event…
At the World Titan Federation headquarters, Mister Saint Laurent cried at his desk over Matt Cardona failing to win the MLW Heavyweight Championship at One Shot. Tom Lawlor barked at MSL and told him it’s time to be a titan again. He mentioned a list of celebrities that appeared at early WrestleMania events and said now they have bums and drug testing. MSL was inspired by Lawlor’s speech and said no one would be able to stop them…
Powell’s POV: I wish someone would stop this. MSL is a fun over the top heel manager. But the fact that he is so over the top makes it tough to buy him as a main event level manager. MLW is all in on this faction and have many of their top heels involved, but the tongue in cheek nature of WTF defines them all down.
The Fusion opening aired. The broadcast team of Joe Dombrowski and Matt Striker welcomed viewers to the “season finale” of Fusion. Dombrowski hyped the MLW Holiday Rush event that will stream on YouTube and air on MLW affiliates on Christmas Eve. Dombrowski said Akira was attacked by The Calling, yet insisted that he would still face Rickey Shane Page later in the show…
1. A battle royal. Cagematch.net listed the entrants as Brett Ryan Gosselin, Griffin McCoy, Ichiban, Kevin Blackwood, Love Doug, Matthew Justice, Mr. Thomas, Nolo Kitano, O’Shay Edwards, The Masked Good Brother 3, TJ Crawford, Josh Bishop, Tom Lawlor, Tony Deppen, and Yoscifer El.
Most of the participants were already in the ring. MSL and his crew had a partially televised entrance. The broadcast team put over Josh Bishop before the match. TJ Crawford was immediately eliminated by Kevin Blackwood shortly before a commercial break. [C]
The final four were Mr. Thomas, Tom Lawlor, Matthew Justice, and Josh Bishop. It appeared Lawlor was eliminated even though he never went over the top rope. The final two were seemingly Justice and Bishop. Justice missed a top rope move. Bishop chokeslammed him. Bishop hoisted up Justice and tossed him over the top rope and through a table that was set up on the floor… [C]
Josh Bishop won a battle royal.
Powell’s POV: A basic battle royal with a lot of punching, kicking, and quick eliminations. This was really random in that nothing was at stake. They also telegraphed the winner by making a fuss over Bishop going into the match. All of that said, I like the idea of making Bishop shine right out of the gate.
An ad aired for MLW’s Holiday Rush special on Christmas Eve… Dombrowski hyped the main event and then recapped Alex Hammerstone winning MSL’s bodybuilding contest at One Shot, which was followed by Jacob Fatu destroying the trophy that Hammerstone won…
Jacob Fatu delivered a promo in front of the MLW backdrop and challenged Hammerstone to face him on the Holiday Rush event. Fatu said he would “dog walk your ass all over New York City”… The Fatu vs. Hammerstone was officially advertised for the Holiday Rush show…
Entrances for the MLW Featherweight Title match took place…
2. Janai Kai (w/Salina de la Renta) vs. Delmi Exo vs. Tiara James for the MLW Featherweight Championship. Kai threw a series of kicks at both opponents. James caught her leg and then hoisted up Kai while Exo hit her with a Hart Attack clothesline.
Salina got on the apron and sprayed something early. Exo put James in a Boston Crab and then Salina sprayed her (ugh). Kai threw a spin kick at James and then pinned her while Exo was down at ringside…
Janai Kai defeated Delmi Exo and Tiara James to retain the MLW Featherweight Championship.
Powell’s POV: A brief match and therefore underwhelming. I like the three wrestlers involved, but this was pretty forgettable. It looked like Salina was early for her spot.
Dombrowski hyped Second Gear Crew vs. Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas for the MLW Tag Titles at Holiday Rush…
Footage aired from “earlier today” of Masked Good Brother 3 (Mance Warner) talking with 1 Called Manders. GB3 gave Manders an elf hat, which he put on. GB3 and Manders agreed to go with Freebird Rules for the MLW Tag Team Titles. GB3 indicated that he would replace Mance Warner on their match contracts…
Dombrowski hyped the main event… [C] Entrances for the next match took place. Nolo Kitano brought a sword to the ring with him. He set it on the apron and then a production crew member brought it to the back…
Powell’s POV: Drew McIntyre gives Kitano sword envy.
3. Tony Deppen (w/TJ Crawford, Griffin McCoy) vs. Nolo Kitano. Kitano got out to a quick start and hit Deppen with a suicide dive on the floor. Back in the ring, Kitano capped off a series of moves with a spin kick and covered Deppen for a two count.
Kitano continued to dominant and hit a corkscrew dive onto Deppen and his sidekicks on the floor. Back in the ring, Deppen pulled the referee on top of him. Once the referee got away, Deppen kicked Kitano below the belt. Deppen hit Kitano with a knee to the back of the head and then scored the pin.
Tony Deppen defeated Nolo Kitano.
After the match, Deppen said he just came back from suspension and wishes he was suspended again. He called Kevin Blackwood the biggest crybaby in MLW history. Blackwood came out and was held back by referees and producers and then taken to the back…
Powell’s POV: Kitano looked good in defeat. I like the idea of Deppen’s faction. Hopefully they all get a chance to establish individual personalities.
The broadcast team recapped Brett Ryan Gosselin attacking Love Doug and then recapped their fight in the battle royal. Dombrowski announced Gosselin vs. Doug in a Love is Blind match for the Kings of Colosseum event…
A Calling video aired with Rickey Shane Page doing the talking while Cannonball stood by…
Backstage, Salina de la Renta declined to give Ichiban a match with Rocky Romero unless he beats her first. Ichiban and his interpreter agreed and the match was announced for the Holiday Rush event…
4. Kevin Blackwood vs. TJ Crawford (w/Griffin McCoy). Tony Deppen sat in on commentary and said he doesn’t like Blackwood because he cries and panders. McCoy was ejected from ringside for helping Crawford with leverage. Blackwood hit Crawford with a big boot and then hit him with a top rope double stomp before pinning him…
Kevin Blackwood beat TJ Crawford.
Powell’s POV: With a couple of tweaks, Blackwood and Crawford could team up as a modern day Bodydonnas. Anyway, it was logical for Blackwood to beat Crawford since they are clearly setting up Blackwood vs. Deppen.
Alex Hammerstone delivered a promo in front of the WTF logo. Hammerstone said everyone loves Jacob Fatu. He said he gave the fans the perfect wrestler and hero, but they cheer for a thug and a criminal in Fatu. Hammerstone said he’s 2-0 against Fatu and will make it a clean sweep…
Dombrowski added Josh Bishop vs. Matthew Justice to the Holiday Rush show…
MLW Heavyweight Champion Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas delivered a promo in front of the MLW backdrop. Kane said MSL is out of his mind. Kane said he and Thomas have no beef with the Second Gear Crew. Thomas said he would like 1 Called Manders’ cowboy hat for Christmas. Kane told MSL he can keep his guys coming because he is a fighting champion who will become immortal…
Dombrowski hyped the main event… [C] Entrances for the main event took place. Akira came out with a bloody bandage around his head and a wrap around his ribs to sell the attack that was mentioned at the top of the show…
5. Rickey Shane Page (w/Cannonball, Talon) vs. Akira for the MLW National Openweight Championship. Akira had a big flurry of offense down the stretch and picked up a near fall after performing a Northern Lights Suplex. Akira caught a seated Page with a forearm in the corner and got another two count. Akira grabbed the weapon he brought to the ring, but Shane hit him to avoid being sliced and diced. Akira set up for his finisher. Page avoided and then put Akira down with a DDT and then pinned him…
Rickey Shane Page defeated Akira to retain the MLW National Openweight Championship.
After the match, a bloody Akira was duct taped to the middle rope. Page welcomed Akira to a court of some kind and said he would pay for turning his back on “him” and The Calling. Page shaved Akira’s red mohawk and then Cannonball shoved some of the locks into Akira’s mouth…
Powell’s POV: The crowd started hot for Akira when he came out and then became pretty quiet as the match went on. I don’t know if it was heavily edited or just a brief match, but it felt like it should have gone longer due to the nature of the feud between the two. There were some boos for the post match angle and they got a shot of a shocked female fan, but the crowd wasn’t all that hot for this part either. It was a longer show than usual and I guess the season finale means there won’t be a show next week, so the next MLW broadcast will be the Christmas Rush special on Christmas Eve. There’s no chance I’m covering that show live, but hopefully MLW will send out a screener well in advance of the holiday.
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