Fusion – August 31, 2018: Time To Wrap It Up
IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling
Fusion #20
Date: August 31, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini
It’s the go home show for WarGames and they’ve gotten better about setting things up for the bigger shows. The big main event this week is Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Hager as part of the Team Filthy vs. Stud Stable feud, which has been about as one sided you can get while still calling it a feud. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a long recap of the Stud Stable vs. Team Filthy feud, which has been put together fairly well. They’ve certainly done something better than just having the same matches over and over.
Striker runs down the card.
Vandal Ortagun vs. Teddy Hart
The fans certainly like Hart. Ortagun decides to pose on the ropes to start so Teddy pulls him down for a stomping as the announcers talk about the referee being biased against Canadians. It’s off to something like a Rings of Saturn but Hart fishhooks him for a bonus. Back up and Hart yells at the referee a bit, as is his custom. An electric chair backstabber looks great and Ortagun is in big trouble. Hart puts on an armbar but turns it into a hanging DDT. Project Ciampa finishes the squash at 3:43.
Rating: D+. Total and complete squash here as Hart looked great. I know he doesn’t have the best reputation in the world and it’s a good idea to follow up on that. When you have a story and character handed to you, why not run with it? WWE has a bad habit of doing just the opposite and I’ve never understood why.
Simon Gotch vs. Angel Pierce
This is Gotch’s Prize Fight Challenge with the prize up to $500. Pierce is a boxer, complete with corner man and gloves. Gotch takes him down with ease and the cradle piledriver is good for the pin at 26 seconds.
Abyss is happy to be part of the cocktail of pain that is Team Callihan at WarGames. He loves war and loves games so he can’t wait to get his hands on every member of Team Strickland.
Low Ki narrates a video about Konnan coming to MLW and stealing Salina de la Renta’s talent. That puts a bounty on his head and it’s time for Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix to pay for Konnan’s actions.
WarGames rundown, including an explanation of how WarGames works. Also announced for the show: Joey Ryan/Taya Valkyrie vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Aria Blake.
Jason Cade vs. Jimmy Yuta
They used to be partners but couldn’t get along. Yuta is tired of hearing Cade run his mouth and is ready to shut him up before going after the Middleweight Title. Cade says the only thing to be determined is how bad he destroys Yuta. A cheap shot from Cade doesn’t go well as Yuta knocks him to the floor and hits the suicide dive.
Back in and Yuta hits a top rope chop to the head as the announcers talk about how hard it must have been for Cade to make Yuta angry. Cade uses the referee as a shield and kicks Yuta in the face to take over. Some standing on Yuta’s head lets Cade talk trash and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Yuta hits a springboard missile dropkick, followed by something like a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.
The STF goes on but Cade crawls over to the ropes for the save. A reverse Death Valley Driver gives Cade two but he gets caught on top. Yuta grabs a HARD top rope superplex, throwing Cade so hard that he lands before Yuta, making the crash even worse. A slugout goes to Yuta and Cade seems to be out with the referee throwing up the X. Cue Rhett Giddins from behind to clothesline the heck out of Yuta, allowing Cade to pop up for the pin at 9:56.
Rating: B-. I liked this one better than I was expecting to as the story coming into it hasn’t been the most intriguing but the match was rather good. Both guys are starting to get somewhere and that’s been lacking from either of them. They came in as the run of the mill face team but now they’ve got an actual feud going here and the ending should let it keep going. Nicely done as the storytelling worked.
Teddy Hart is with the Hart Foundation when Kevin Sullivan comes in to praise Teddy for being innovative, but Hart doesn’t want to hear it. Smith doesn’t want to hear about it and Hart tells Pillman to pick a side already. Hart yells at Sullivan for not doing anything in the ring but Pillman says it’s about protecting him. That’s enough as Smith and Hart beat Sullivan down and bust him open. Hart tells Pillman to pick a side so Pillman hits Sullivan with the cane. He respects Sullivan but doesn’t like him.
Tale of the tape on the main event.
Tom Lawlor vs. Jake Hager
Feeling out process to start with Hager taking him up against the ropes and then down to the mat. Lawlor’s rear naked choke is broken up with a ram into the corner, followed by a good looking beal across the ring. Another beal continues the dominance and it’s off to a headlock. Lawlor is back with a belly to back suplex and a spinwheel kick but Hager powers out. Some right hands in the corner have Hager in trouble so he throws Lawlor off the top and out to the floor.
The fans aren’t pleased with Hager (Really?) as he stomps away back inside and cranks on both arms at once. Lawlor fights out but falls down, allowing Hager to get a quick two. A chinlock keeps Lawlor in trouble but he fights to his feet and scores with a discus lariat. The fans are behind him but he charges into the Hager Bomb, with Hager being stunned on the kickout.
Lawlor gets sat on top, only to catch Hager in the triangle choke over the ropes as you might have seen coming. Another armbar is broken up as Hager rolls into the ropes but they head outside with Lawlor in full control. Hager’s arm gets caught in a chair with Lawlor kicking him in the chest (wise to avoid a DQ), followed by an exploder suplex back inside. There’s a pumphandle suplex but Hager blocks the rear naked choke.
Colonel Parker is LIVID over a choke being allowed (fair enough) so Lawlor switches to an incomplete cross armbreaker. Hager reverses that into the ankle lock but Lawlor rolls out again. That’s enough for Hager, who unloads with right hands to the head. The referee gets shoved away so Lawlor pokes Hager in the eye and grabs a rollup for the pin at 13:45.
Rating: C+. That should be the end of the feud and Tony mentioned as much in the commentary after the match. Team Filthy has dominated the feud from start to finish and there’s not much reason for the two sides to keep going. On the other side though, you have Lawlor turning face, partially just due to how awesome he is in this role. That’s going to get you cheered, which can create a problem when you’re a natural villain like he is. I know it works for a lot of villains, but I’m really not a fan. Lawlor is great, but I don’t exactly want him as the anti-hero that the fans seem to want him to be.
One more WarGames promo ends the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Pretty solid effort here and I’m more interested in seeing WarGames than I was coming in. This is an interesting promotion with the TV getting most of the build but the bigger shows not getting a ton of attention. They’re doing a better job than they did with Battle Riot, but it’s still very different (not necessarily a bad thing) way of setting things up. Still though, another good, and very easy to watch show.
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Do you think the Pillman/Sullivan I respect you but don’t like you is a reference to the I respect you booker man ?
Absolutely. Pillman directly referenced the same line a few weeks back.