Nerdly » ‘MLW: Fusion’ Review (Aug 3rd 2019)

05th Aug2019

‘MLW: Fusion’ Review (Aug 3rd 2019)

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s Major League Wrestling: Fusion review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and Tony Schiavone is back on commentary this week, so get your clicker ready to skip that lousy Mankind/Rock title match. Yeah, that’ll put butts in seats.

Match #1: Low Ki defeated Jimmy Yuta

The following is courtesy of mlw.com:

“The Professional” has indeed been a real pro at knocking opponents out cold and even though Yuta has a few inches on Low Ki, the wily vet was ready for quick work. Yuta was squaring to grapple up with Low Ki, but a quick boot to the face sat Yuta down for the quick KO that led to referee Doug Markham signaling for the bell.

My Opinion: 1.5 out of 5 – This was a short squash, but Low Ki gave a cool kick.

Match #2: The Von Erichs (Marshall and Ross Von Erich) defeated The Spirit Squad (Kenny Doane & Mike Mondo)

The following is courtesy of mlw.com:

The Spirit Squad saunter out into Melrose Ballroom to issue an “open workout” against any team in the back. Kenny Doane and Mike Mondo don’t have too much respect for wrestling history or MLW’s tag team division as Doane states that it wasn’t their last names to get where they are in wresting, but it was Marshall and Ross Von Erich who were all but ready to give them a history lesson. The music didn’t even get a chance to stop playing as the brothers went on the offense against the Spirit Squad and sent Doane down with a double team Claw Slam for the extremely impressive W.

My Opinion: 1.5 out of 5 – This was another squash that made TSS look dumb, but it gave TVE some momentum, so that’s good.

Match #3: Gringo Loco defeated Zenshi

The following is courtesy of mlw.com:

The debuting Zenshi was more than ready to show off his unorthodox high-flying style against Gringo Loco, but Loco was indeed not to be outdone. The two had a chess match of athleticism as each competitor had trouble outwitting one another. Zenshi took several opportunities to use the ring ropes in his favor by impressively catching Loco off-guard with a hurricanrana onto the outside and later giving Loco some sauce from a springboard senton back in the ring. He capped his strong sequence off with a bottom-rope 450 splash, but only got a two. “Strong” ended up being the operative word for Loco in the long run as he caught Zenshi in a tombstone piledriver for the pinfall victory.

My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – This was as good of a match in three minutes as you’ll likely see any-time soon. These two put together a match that worked within the short time limit and packed a lot into it, from high-spots to dives, to kicks and every-thing in between. Loco is looking more and more like a real main eventer and might just be the kind of wrestler that MLW leans on in due time. Over-all, this was a fun match that delivered enough wrestling action to keep your eyes glued to the TV.

Match #4: (Main Event) Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated Timothy Thatcher

The following is courtesy of mlw.com:

The sweet science sure was in full force in this bout as the two fighters slapped hands in respect before they got to the business of mat wrestling. Thatcher started off with most of the contortion control so much that it garnered another hand slap from Davey and the two reset. Thatcher eventually focused on the left leg of Smith and Davey did all he could to get back to a vertical base. He eventually did but the Bulldog’s boy was feeling the effects and Thatcher continued his targeting of the leg. The fans were split as far as who they want to get behind and Schiavone noted that the division showed the respect the audience has for both men. Davey Boy found the quick window of opportunity to cinch in a sharpshooter but Thatcher wisely got to the ropes in fast fashion and the two began to slug it out.

Davey Boy soon put his strength on display by German duplexing Thatcher down and eventually manages to turn it into two more before he hit a tiger suplex on Timothy, but only for two. Thatcher went back to the workshop and made several attempts to put Davey Boy in an armbar, but Davey again pulled the strength card and slammed Thatcher down on the mat before floating over to lock in the crossface for the submission win in what was a stellar match for both wrestlers.

My Opinion: 4 out of 5 – This was a brilliant match that was all about technical wrestling and strong style. This was the perfect example of how charismatic mat wrestling can be (it made sense when I wrote it) and how you can milk every movement in the ring to great effect. This was packed with action from bell to bell and felt like a true sports contest. There was no talk of hatred or evil or whatever, as the story of this match was winning to become a contender. There’s no better story in professional wrestling than winners and losers and this match illustrated that every step of the way. I hope we get a lot more of these two together, because this is the kind of match that can get more eyes on this league and professional wrestling in general.

News of The Night:

Davey Boy Smith Jr. challenged Alexander Hammerstone to an MLW Open-Weight Title fight.
A new member of CONTRA Unit debuted to attack The Von Erichs.
Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver were still demanding “justice” from the league.
Alexander Hammerstone will defend the MLW Open-Weight Title against Savio Vega, next week.
Rey Horus fights Bestia 666, next week.
Teddy Hart failed his drug test, so he can’t fight for a title any time soon.