Major League Wrestling Fusion – July 27, 2019: The Unfusion Of Ideas
IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling
Fusion #68
Date: July 27, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette
We’re getting closer to the end of the summer and that means things are getting a little better around here. Things have been that much more interesting over the last few months and the shows have been getting better as a result. This week’s main event is Contra vs. the Von Erichs in an unsanctioned match, which could go several different ways. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Here’s Salina de la Renta to rant about Mance Warner being annoying, though he did get rid of Sami Callihan for her. Tonight though she has someone from the firey pits to deal with Warner.
Bestia 666 vs. Mance Warner
Death match. Bestia isn’t waiting around and suicide dives onto Mance to get things going before the bell. Warner pelts a chair at him and rips at Bestia’s face before fishooking his mouth with a turnbuckle. As in the hook from a buckle, which just happened to be at ringside. Bestia is back with a whip into a barricade and grabs the kendo stick to blast Warner over the back.
Warner headbutts his way out again and tries a chop, which hits the post at full force to make me cringe again. The hand is fine enough for a DDT onto the apron, which is the closest they’ve gotten to being in the ring. Warner pulls out some weapons, including some chairs, a board and of course thumb tacks. The tacks go onto the chair but Bestia sends Warner face first into them instead. They FINALLY get in the ring with Bestia putting a trashcan over Warner and blasting him with a chair. A trashcan to the head gets two with Cornette saying it shouldn’t count because it’s under a rope. Dude, come on now.
Warner is back with a spear through the board in the corner for two and it’s time to slap it out. A pop up headbutt rocks Bestia and it’s a piece of board to the head for a delayed two. Warner’s running knee gets two but Salina slips Bestia a red bag. Bestia gets tied into a chair but Warner spends too much time yelling at Salina, allowing Bestia to throw powder into his face. A MuscleBuster through a chair finish Warner at about 10:00 (I didn’t hear an opening bell).
Rating: C. This is one where your individual taste is going to vary as I’m not big on hardcore for the sake of hardcore. It didn’t go too far that it’s ridiculous, but Warner losing again isn’t the best idea if he’s going to be the one to go after Salina and company. I know it’s his signature thing, but they do these brawls a little too often and I’m getting numb to them.
Salina has the Golden Ticket back.
Opening sequence.
We see Georgia Hart and Alexander Hammerstone seeming to get rather close in an elevator. Oh dear.
The Dynasty dodges questions about Georgia and brags about how awesome they are.
MLW is going to have a working relationship with Pro Wrestling Noah. Fine enough.
Contra doesn’t want the fans throwing things at them again or they’ll hurt the Von Erichs even more.
Ricky Martinez vs. Low Ki
Salina is here with Ricky and has changed her clothes in the five minutes she has been gone. Konnan is on commentary. Martinez throws a jacket in Ki’s face and dropkicks his knee out to start things off in a hurry. An elbow in the corner keeps Martinez in control as Konnan talks about what he’s found in Salina’s phone.
Ki hits a palm strike for a breather and the Liger Kick knocks Martinez out of the air for a cool visual. Martinez manages to send him into the buckle and a middle rope Codebreaker gets two. Hold on though as Salina goes after her phone with the distraction letting Ki grab the dragon sleeper for the knockout win at 4:13.
Rating: C-. This was very hard hitting while it lasted but I’m having some trouble caring about Konnan vs. Salina as it has been going on for months now. The phone deal is at least something fresh instead of having the same stuff over and over again. Ki has surprised me as well as he has gone from someone I never cared for to someone solid in his role.
Post match Salina seems to offer Ki a spot back on the team but he walks away.
The Von Erichs are ready to bring Contra to justice, Texas style. Oh good grief.
Kotto Brazil is tired of all the interference around here, just like Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver. They say JUSTICE over and over.
Tom Lawlor’s life has been a nightmare lately but he loves the fighting. He wants his World Title back though and is getting his rematch at Never Say Never. That’s not enough though as he and the Von Erichs are coming for Contra in the War Chamber (seems to be WarGames).
We recap the Georgia Smith/Alexander Hammerstone deal.
The Hart Foundation sees the video for the first time and aren’t happy.
Contra Unit vs. Von Erichs
It’s Samael and Gotch for Contra here. The Von Erichs waste no time and go straight for the Claws but get thrown off in a hurry. Gotch dragon screw leg whips Ross as Marshall sends Samael into the barricade. Ross’ knee is fine enough to be sent into the ropes so Gotch can knee him in the ribs. What looks like a crossface chickenwing keeps Ross in trouble and it’s Samael and Marshall getting back inside.
Ross fights back to save his brother from the double teaming but gets sent outside again. That means Marshall gets to make the Texas comeback this time and it’s a double dropkick to Gotch. Marshall hits a moonsault for two with Gotch making a save. Samael and Marshall clothesline each other as Ross has a chair. As luck would have it, Samael busts out the fireball but Ross uses the chair to block it. A chair to the head gives Marshall the pin on Samael at 6:24.
Rating: C+. The action was better here and the wild brawl felt more appropriate here, mainly because it was different from the way the opener went. The Von Erichs are a nice addition to the roster and while they have a long way to go, they’re getting the ring time that they need here. Nice match too.
Post match Contra goes after the Von Erichs again and the riot squad comes out to break things up. The Von Erichs want to keep fighting and we cut to the back where Jacob Fatu is beating up the squad. Tom Lawlor comes in for the fight for a hot ending to the show.
Overall Rating: C. This show got better after the main event but it wasn’t their best effort overall. The problem here was having too much brawling on one show, which tends to be a problem around here. What did work though was the storytelling, as they’re coming up with some creative enough ways to keep things moving without feeling tired. That helps so much and it did so here. Just keep it up and give us the big payoffs, which they tend to do well enough. This wasn’t their best show, but it’s still an easy hour to watch.
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