‘MLW: Fusion’ Wrestling Review (Nov 9th 2018)
Welcome to this week’s Major League Wrestling: Fusion review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a couple of big title matches to get to, so let’s do so before Dana White trades Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship… wait, he already did that.
Match #1: Myron Reed defeated Marko Stunt
The following is courtesy of MLW.com:
Just one week after being on the losing end of a six-man tag team bout on MLW FUSION vs. the Hart Foundation, Marko Stunt was back for more this week. Mr. Fun Size faced another youthful up-and-comer in “Hot Fire” Myron Reed. Reed used his size advantage to control the early action. Stunt scored a near fall after a nasty knee strike, but he was enamored with attempting to suplex Reed. Three different attempts failed, with the final one leading to the end. Reed reversed it into a cutter, left the ring and hit a flying cutter on Stunt for a near fall. Stunt had one last offensive burst, but when Reed was able to thwart and reverse a sunset flip attempt, the damage of the cutter was too much. Stunt couldn’t kick out of that cutter and lost the fall and the match.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This thing was adrenaline laced with speed and shaken with octane. Makes you wanna drink some jet fuel, doesn’t it? I really liked the way these guys worked together and the effort they put in. The idea of a wrestler earning a suplex is a really cool idea, even though there are a lot of people who will think that idea is a little to out-dated. For a match that would normally be a wild stunt show, this thing had a brain in there some-where and it was a good sign for what-else these guys can do.
Match #2: MJF defeated Jason Cade and Jimmy Yuta – World Middleweight Championship Match
The following is courtesy of MLW.com:
Led to the ring by his new girlfriend Aria Blake, World Middleweight Champion Maxwell J. Friedman squared off with former Team TBD members Jimmy Yuta and Jason Cade in a three-way elimination contest. Prior to the matchup, MJF said he would let Yuta and Cade beat each other up and weaken each other, before picking up the victory. MJF’s pre-match strategy was solid. Yuta opened the bout with a stiff kick to the jaw of Cade as soon as he heard the bell. Friedman even rolled out of the ring and allowed Yuta and Cade to fight without his presence in the ring, until finally Yuta scored with a dive through the ropes to draw MJF into the bout. Once MJF was pulled into the match, he formed a bit of an alliance with Cade and the two worked over Yuta.
The alliance was short-lived. Cade was holding Yuta to give MJF a free shot, but Yuta ducked and Friedman struck Cade. That’s when Cade’s bad attitude showed itself and he went after MJF. Not continuing to work with MJF cost Cade, who was eliminated first by a Yuta rollup, leaving Yuta and Friedman to battle for the title one on one. Yuta had all the momentum. He scored on a modified sidewalk slam and may have had MJF pinned, but Aria Blake was distracting the official. Meanwhile, Cade ended up being an ally to MJF in the end, even if it was only due to his bad blood with Yuta. While the official was instructing Blake to get off the ring apron, Cade re-entered the ring and hit Yuta with a low blow. That crotch shot was followed with Cade’s signature maneuver, Black Magic. All Friedman had to do was roll over on the fallen Yuta to score the three-count and retain the World Middleweight Championship.
My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was good, but not great. The action was the standard of the three-way… not the sexual version… with one in, two out, or what-ever you think of with these matches. Once again, we are a long way away from the great AJ Styles/Christopher Daniels/Samoa Joe bouts from 2005-2006-2009-2012 TNA/Impact. That being said, this was a fun little match for what it was and made for a good title match.
Match #3: (Main Event) Low Ki defeated Daga – World Heavyweight Championship Match
The following is courtesy of MLW.com:
The feud between Konnan and Promociones Dorado/Salina de la Renta/World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki continues to intensify and this match did nothing to douse the flames. When Konnan convinced World Tag Team Champions Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix to leave Promociones Dorado, de la Renta threatened the Lucha Bros. and Konnan and carried through with those threats. Low Ki and de la Renta bloodied Fenix and stole his mask. LA Park was brought in by Promociones Dorado and he took down Pentagon Jr. in a violent Mexican Massacre match. When Low Ki told Konnan anyone he brings from Mexico will fail, the legendary luchador scored a World Championship match for Mexican Strong Style fighter Daga.
Both fighters traded plenty of blows and chops. Much of the damage in this match was done on the outside of the ring. Low Ki nailed a drop kick on Daga’s head as it was resting against the steel guard rail. Daga later turned the tables with a nasty suplex on the floor that rattled the World Champ. A standing moonsault back inside the ring led to a near fall for Daga, but he couldn’t put Low Ki away. A suplex into a lungblower also scored a 2-count and Low Ki was on the ropes. At that point, Promociones Dorado’s Sicario Ricky Martinez came out to confront Konnan. It also served to distract the official. Meanwhile, Low Ki saw an opening. The World Champ grabbed Daga’s ear and attempted to rip it off. He nearly succeeded, leaving Daga bloodied and screaming in the middle of the ring. With Daga incapacitated by the ear, Low Ki climbed to the top turnbuckle, delivered a double stomp to the back and scored the pinfall to retain his title.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This wasn’t quite as good as it could have been, but Low Ki gave a fine performance here and Daga didn’t do too bad either. There isn’t any-thing bad about this match, but it felt like a formality to them having the actual match later. I don’t like the idea of people just being brought in to fight the champion and with Daga being a mercenary of sorts to Low Ki’s target, it just felt like Daga wasn’t fighting this thing for the right reasons. The title should never be used as collateral in a match and that was the case here. So, combine the context being wrong with the fact that this match just wasn’t up to snuff with what these guys can really do, it makes this match only a passing fancy. That made me sound like a #!@$-head. Over-all, this was a good main event that didn’t live up to it’s potential.
News Of The Night:
- Sami Callihan fights Tom Lawlor in a Chicago Street Fight, next week.
- On Dec. 13 at MLW Never Say Never, MJF will face off with the leader of Los Ingobernables, Rush.
- On Dec. 14 at MLW Zero Hour, the World Middleweight Championship will be contested in a 4-way Ladder Match with the champion, MJF, putting his title on the line against Marko Stunt, Kotto Brazil and Jason Cade.
- A Kevin Sullivan/Brian Pillman Jr. feud is being teased.
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
MLW’s two big title matches were easily out-shone by the opener, which isn’t saying as much as I would like it to say. MLW needs to stop trying to re-invent the wheel with some of these booking decisions and just focus on making the titles the epicenter of the league. Save the feuds for a few years down the road and just worry about getting momentum from competitive matches that catch the attention of the people, like New Japan Pro Wrestling has done.
