‘MLW: Fusion’ Wrestling Review (March 16th 2019)
Welcome to this week’s Major League Wrestling review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have more great action from one of the most popular independent leagues in the world today. Let’s see how everything turns out for MLW. Hey, I repeated myself again. I’m stuck in…The Twilight Zone. Imagine a world aflame…just like the Fox Tuesday night line-up.
Match #1: Puma King defeated Hijo de LA Park
The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
In an important middleweight matchup, Puma King took on Hijo de LA Park. Last week on MLW FUSION, Hijo got in a brawl with Mance Warner over Warner accidentally spilling a beer on Promociones Dorado leader Salina de la Renta. Warner was invited to join Jim Cornette and Rich Bocchinni on commentary in advance of his death match with Hijo’s father LA Park next week on MLW FUSION. Hijo de LA Park seemed to have the match in hand. Following some distraction and interference from de la Renta, Hijo scored a modified piledriver on Puma King. But instead of going for the cover, he went outside the ring to confront Ol’ Mancer. After Hijo shoved Warner, the Southern Psycho grabbed Cornette’s tennis racquet and blasted Hijo with it. When the younger LA Park returned to the ring, Puma King was able to take advantage and score the pinfall.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was a very nice match that got stifled by the finish, but the match had enough going for it to survive the Mance interference. The action was the kind of thing that MLW has been doing really well lately, which is lucha libre. Who would have thought that an American league once thought to be dead forever would be leading the charge in global lucha domination? Overall, this was a fun match that was a lot of fun, while it lasted.
Match #2: Chico Adams & Vertigo Rivera defeated Contra Unit (Josef Samael & Jacob Fatu) by DQ
The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
Josef Samael and Jacob Fatu were in tag team action vs. a pair of local wrestlers from Chicago. Samael and Fatu were firmly in control of the match and could have won at virtually any moment. Fatu showed both power and agility, hitting a pop-up Samoan Drop, as well as scaling the ropes for a springboard moonsault. Samael showed his ruthlessness throughout the match, at one point tossing his opponent across the ring using the tape from around his wrist after wrapping it around his opponent’s neck. But instead of picking up the victory, Samael pulled out that spike that he used to bloody and batter Ace Romero with last week. He was jamming it into the face of his opponent, forcing the official to disqualify the Contra Unit team. But they didn’t seem to care. Fatu hit a pair of moonsaults on his fallen foe. In the most shocking turn of events, Samael used a fireball on the other member of their opposition. As EMTs tended to the burns of one man, the other was being stretchered out of the ring. That’s when Fatu hit a top rope moonsault onto the man on the stretcher. The fans in Cicero Stadium in Chicago were so incensed, bottles, cups and other items were tossed into the ring at Contra Unit.
My Take: 1.5 out of 5 – The match never went anywhere, but it did have potential. I had to look up the names of the jobbers on the Wrestling Observer, so I hope they’re right. This felt too much like a WCCW angle, which isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it would be nice if this stuff could feel a bit more original.
Match #3: (Main Event) The Hart Foundation defeated The Dynasty – Major League Wrestling World Tag Team Championship Match
The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
In our main event, Teddy Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr. defended the World Tag Team Championship vs. Richard Holliday and Maxwell J. Friedman, who are now calling themselves The Dynasty. MJF and Holliday focused all their attention on the battered ribs of Teddy Hart. Of course, that injury was at the hands of MJF and Holliday a few weeks back. The Dynasty’s strategy was paying dividends, too. But Hart hit a Canadian Destroyer on MJF out of sheer desperation and was able to make the tag to Smith. Things changed when the powerhouse of the Hart Foundation got in the ring. Smith had MJF in position for a Doomsday Destroyer when Alexander Hammerstone hit the ring. Hammerstone clobbered Smith in the back with a steel chair, earning a disqualification, which left the gold in the possession of the Hart Foundation. But as MLW FUSION went off the air, it was Holliday, MJF and Hammerstone celebrating in the center of the ring.
My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a nice match that got stuck in a WWE holding pattern, as it was all booked to just be in existence for the outside interference of Hammerstone on Dynasty’s behalf. The two teams had some excellent chemistry together and I would predict that this pairing could be the big tag feud for the first half of 2019. For all of the great moves seen here, you have a stunted match for them to be stuffed into. It’s a shame that it couldn’t be more than it was, but at least it came together enough to get them to the next match in their feud.
News Of The Night:
- Contra Unit has stumbled onto a tremendous amount of heel heat. This faction might be able to be some of the best heels of the year, if they keep pissing off the crowd the way that they do. Actually, a riot was almost started.
- Mance Warner fights LA Park in a Death Match, next week.
- LA Park is joining the Battle Riot Match.
- Hammerstone may have joined The Dynasty.
Final Verdict: 3/5
The storylines were progressed nicely, but it did happen at the expense of the matches, both in length and quality.
