‘MLW: Fusion’ Wrestling Review (Jan 25th 2020)
Welcome to this week’s Major League Wrestling: Fusion review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have Dan Rather, pissing in the wind! Welcome to CBS Evening News…damn it! Like Finn Wolfhard getting checks for pretending to be a kid in the 1980s, I’m happy to watch these wonderful dinks pretend to be better looking than me…Rico Suave. The wrestling time…she comes…for Rico Suave.
Match #1: Puma King & Drago def. Injustice (Jordan Oliver & Kotto Brazil w/ Myron Reed) and Taurus & Low Rider
The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
This match all stemmed from a confrontation between Konnan and Injustice after they said “Nobody give a damn about AAA!” They’re curious who Konnan’s got lined up for them and Konnan tells The Middleweight Champ Myron Reed that he’s got Drago (that’s who!) Tonight he’s in tag action with Puma King and The Lone Star State gives this duo a hearty welcome. It’s Puma, Oliver & Taurus starting the brawl off technically, but that all goes to the wayside when the bell rings. Low Rider begins to capitalize by feeding the feet to Puma before diving onto Injustice with a springboard plancha. His partner Taurus just demolishes Drago and Puma “single-horned”-edly and gets a near fall. Injustice, however comes back into the fold with an assisted sit-out powerbomb for a two count on his partner, Low Rider. The youngsters of Oliver and Brazil do the veteran move and cuts off the ring, but that all changes when Puma and Drago utilize their quickness and cohesiveness. In comes Taurus once more and he takes another run at the duo, but their speed gets the best of him as well. Drago goes to the ropes to get momentum for an attack but Myron Reed grabs hold of Drago’s leg. Despite that, they still get a close three count, but Oliver breaks it up. Kotto soon smacks a frog splash on Drago but Low Rider quickly plays interference and launches himself for a springboard codebreaker. The power of Taurus and high-flying of Low Rider mesh together for a top-rope backbreaker that shook the entire ring. King and Drago soon control the ring and Drago rolls Low Rider in a one-of-kind pinning attempt for the pinfall victory. AAA has laid those letters down fierce in MLW.
My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was a very fun way to start the show. This was action at the speed of “ow”! What the f— did I just say? Any-way, this was an opener that was all about getting the blood pumping, which it does, no question. The winners are an interesting choice, considering that Injustice needed the win more, but PK and Drago are a fine selection as well.
Match #2: Low Ki def. Chandler Hopkins
The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
The fresh prospect from Amarillo, TX looks game for his big moment in MLW, but that looks to be all distorted by “The Lone Wolf Of Brooklyn” Low Ki. He and Hopkins size one another up before the bell tolls and it’s Low Ki who attempts a leg takedown, but the ropes breaks it up. Kirsch notes that Hopkins looks “anything but intimidated” as it was Konnan who came away impressed with Hopkins’ work in AAA and “The Young Gun” shows that when he escapes an arm wrench by “The Professional.” Low Ki himself looks impressed as both reset and get to a vertical base. Tie up again and it leads to Low Ki twisting the arm over the rope in a full-body arm breaker before releasing at five. Low Ki soon turns the tide with a corner mule kick and chops the tattoos off of Chandler. The crowd chants “one more time” and Low Ki grants the request, not once, but twice. Ki feeds the knee to Chandler, but Hopkins continues to fight back and tries to go for a head scissors, but Low Ki launches him off. Headbutts from Low Ki. The two are having quite the chess match as he does connect with a head scissors on his second try. Chandler rolls out of the ring and uses the distance to catch Low Ki on point with a rolling flatliner that nearly keeps Ki down! Over the knee neckbreaker by Chandler before he ascends the top rope. Hopkins goes for a shooting star press but Low Ki reads it and locks in modified triangle. Chandler doesn’t tap, but passes out. Low Ki caught him and got the W.
My Opinion: 2.8 out of 5 – This whole match was just a showcase for LK so we could see him knock the piss out of somebody for a few minutes. While not a great match, the action was ambitious for what was, essentially, a SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!!! Stupid squashes… Well, Low Ki was great here and Chandler saw Monica naked (lucky bastard).
Match #3: (Main Event) Mance Warner def. Jimmy Havoc (w/ Priscilla Kelly) – No Ropes Barbed Wire Match
The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
The 14 Stone Havoc enters first and if you thought the ropes weren’t enough barbed wire, he brings in a bat wrapped in such too. The Light Beer Drinker from Bucksnort, TN comes on out and the tone in Dallas is tense as the Southern Psycho comes in only with a folding chair. The two takes swings with their respective weapons and both miss their targets. Both men look to force one another in wire and both are able to thwart such efforts until Mancer sends Jimmy into elements two different times. Jimmy’s forehead gets forced into the wire and Havoc is sliced open as He delivers a chair shot to the back of Jimmy. Jimmy lives up to his promise of loving the pain when he suplexes Mance into the “ropes” himself. Jimmy returns the the favor of the thorns to the forehead, before Priscilla Kelly introduces the staple gun into the equation. Mance gets his henley stapled to his back and then quickly gets ripped off like a cape unfit for a superhero. The bloodlust is brewing through Jimmy now as he clips the wire free from the ring and wraps it around the forehead (and mouth!) of Mance. Blood is EVERYWHERE as Mance gets the bat to his back, then once to the forehead. A blackout stomp by Havoc and gets a near fall. Mance struggles to fight back while Jimmy flips him the birds, but Warner flips the tables by taking Havoc’s barbed bat to his boys before giving him a ride around the ring. Havoc finds a window to staple gun Mance in his unmentionables and we are back to one unsightly stalemate. Jimmy sets up two steel chairs on their sides and looks to Death Valley Driver Warner on top of them, but Mance wriggles free and Sambo Suplexes Jimmy flush on top instead! In come the ring boards and the crimson covered Warner gets plowed into one of them by Havoc’s previously intended DVD. Suprisingly, just a two count! Priscilla Kelly is astounded, yet concerned. Havoc takes the second board and bridges it between two chairs. Big mistake as Warner catches Havoc and chokeslams him through his created contraption! 1…2…kickout! Mancer’s masochism is not done as he begins to wrap the barbed wire around his knuckles, but while this is raveling, Priscilla hands Havoc a white powder substance. Mulekick to Mancer’s cajones almost makes Jimmy succeed in his substance throw, but Warner pops the powder in Jimmy’s face instead before laying him out with that wire-wrapped lariat. Mance isn’t finished. He smacks Havoc with one of the chairs, tosses the other one down on the broken board and drops Jimmy down with a piledriver that would make Terry Funk smile. 1-2-3.
My Opinion: 3.7 out of 5 – Hardcore wrestling is not always my thing, but this one was done well for the style and that’s the important thing. These guys have had too many matches with each other, but the chemistry between them is undeniable, so it’s not the worst thing this league could do. They might as well rename this promotion “Mance hates punk rock creepazoid”, because this feud has nearly become the whole reason that this company exists. If a match that boasts enough mayhem to make an earthquake blush is front and center often enough, is it still violent, or is it just aggressively adorable? Okay, this was brutal and chaotic and all that jazz…Fosse Fosse Fosse Fosse Fosse!
News Of The Night:
- Davey Boy Smith Jr. will fight Simon Gotch in a No Holds Barred, No Rules, No Ropes Match, with the winner declared by knockout or submission.
- The Von Erichs squashed produce to demonstrate the power of the Von Erich Claw.
- CONTRA Unit is feuding with The Hart Foundation.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
This was a good show that stayed busy and was always selling something worth buying.
