Fusion #100
Date: March 7, 2020
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: AJ Kirsch, Rich Bocchini

It’s time for a special show as we have the big milestone episode. As a result, the World Title is on the line with Cima challenging Jacob Fatu for the World Title. It’s almost hard to imagine that MLW has this kind of a history but they have become a rather nice promotion and it’s cool to see them get to an important show like this. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Fatu promises violence against Cima because it isn’t about wins and losses.

Opening sequence.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. is ready to shut Erick Stevens’ mouth because Stevens has been saying Smith is ducking him. Tonight, he’s knocking Stevens’ mohawk off and has the Von Erichs watching his back.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Erick Stevens

Stevens has Kit Osborne with him and I’m not exactly sure who that is. I do however know who Tom Lawlor, on commentary is though. The fans are behind Smith here, as you might have expected. Smith grabs a headlock to little avail so he shoulders Stevens down instead. A headscissors doesn’t work for Stevens as Lawlor thinks Philadelphia is named after cream cheese.

Smith shoves Stevens hard into the corner and gets two off a gorilla press. The chinlock goes on, followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two. They head outside with Smith being whipped into the barricade but coming right back with a suplex onto the floor. Back in and Stevens starts in on the leg before slugging Smith down with forearms.

The half crab goes on for a good while but Smith makes the rope, with Stevens making sure to hold on as long as he can. The leg cranking continues until Smith fights up for right hands in the corner, followed by a backdrop. Stevens gets some quick near falls but Smith snaps off a powerslam for two of his own. Another powerbomb sets up the top rope headbutt to finish Stevens off at 11:51.

Rating: B-. That’s the kind of match that makes Smith look good, as you have a monster like Stevens but Smith was the bigger monster. That’s how you build up towards Smith vs. Fatu, which should headline the next pay per view. Heck of a fight here and it keeps Smith off the mic, which is a very good thing for him at this point.

Post match Smith gets in Dominick Garrini’s face and we probably have his next match before getting to face Lawlor.

Injustice isn’t allowed in the building.

Jimmy Havoc is addicted to pain but loves hurting others more than himself. He’s ready to destroy Brian Pillman Jr.

Low Ki is ready to beat up King Mo.

LA Park is done with Salina de la Renta and is ready to fight anyone anytime because he is a mercenary.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Havoc, with Priscilla Kelly in the corner, throws him down to start and Pillman isn’t sure what to do with this one. Pillman tries to spin out of a wristlock before going with a kick to the head to get out instead. Some armdrags into a dropkick put Havoc down and an arm trap rollup gets two. That’s too much for Havoc as he throws Pillman outside as we go split screen to see Injustice still trying to get inside. Pillman chops the post by mistake and Havoc stays on the arm….in a way at least….with a cross arm choke.

Rating: C. Pillman’s middleweight run continues and that’s where he should have been back in the day. It’s great to see him getting some more time in the ring and starting to round out a bit, though he still has a long way to go. Havoc barely ever wins anything of note anywhere he wrestles but he’s fine for a character.

Post match, Pillman promises to win the Middleweight Title for his family.

Injustice STILL can’t get in.

Richard Holliday successfully defended the Caribbean Title on a private island.

The Dynasty has a great time in the Caribbean, even without MJF (Hammerstone especially loved the pharmacies). Holliday and Hammerstone are proud of their titles and can’t wait for Gino Medina to beat up Mance Warner.

Mance Warner is ready to beat up the Dynasty. Uncle Moon Man is fine too and they’re going to go drink.

Contra is ready for violence around the world and Josef Samael promises a war.

Next week: Killer Kross vs. Tom Lawlor.

MLW World Title: Cima vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is defending and has Samael with him. An early kick misses for the champ and Cima chops away. The pop up Samoan drop is blocked with some elbows to the head and Cima catches him with a baseball slide on the way back inside. Some double knees to the chest set up a backsplash for two and Cima grabs the seated abdominal stretch. Fatu powers up again and hits a running hip attack in the corner before hammering at the back of the head.

More stomping in the corner ensues and Cima is put in the Tree of Woe for a running headbutt to the ribs. They head outside with Samael looking pleased as Fatu sends him into the announcers’ table. The nerve hold goes on (Bocchini: “Deep tissue massage eh?”), followed by a hard elbow to the jaw to drop Cima again.

The Vader Bomb misses though and Cima gets in some running knees to the back. Something like a guillotine choke into a DDT sets up a triangle choke, with Fatu having to bail to the rope. Cima misses the top rope double stomp though and Fatu hits the pop up Samoan drop. Back to back moonsaults retain the title at 10:15.

Rating: C+. Cima is one of those guys who can do all kinds of stuff and look good at almost all of it, but he almost never wins anything major. At least we had something interesting here with the World Title on the line, as MLW has done a great job of making Fatu feel like that much of a big deal. Whoever takes the title off of him is going to be huge and that’s rather cool to see.

Post match, here’s the Death Squad with a body bag to wrap Cima up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Overall, this didn’t feel like some major milestone show (aside from the World Title match) but I don’t think they were really going for one. The big thing they did here was mention that it was the 100^th show and then nothing more. It’s fine to go that way and it doesn’t make things feel disappointing if they aren’t trying to go for something ridiculously big. Nice enough show here, with Fatu always being a big deal.

Results

Davey Boy Smith Jr. b. Erick Stevens – Top rope headbutt

Brian Pillman Jr. b. Jimmy Havoc – Air Pillman

Jacob Fatu b. Cima – Moonsault

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Fusion #98
Date: February 22, 2020
Location: NYTEX Sports Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: AJ Kirsch, Rich Bocchini

We have to be about finished with these Dallas tapings right? They’re coming up on the big one hundredth episode and that should be a special one given how things work around here. This week should be more about the Von Erichs and that’s a good idea given how things are going in their signature place so far. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Tom Lawlor turning on the Von Erichs way back on Thanksgiving. Since then, Lawlor has reopened the Team Filthy Dojo and sent various goons against the Von Erichs. Tonight, it’s a grudge match with Ross.

Opening sequence.

We look back at Mance Warner paying off Grogan to get inside, where he cost the Dynasty the Tag Team Titles.

Grogan says he was hired to do a job but they were horrible people. His name is Logan Creed and the heathen has been unleashed.

Moonshine Mantell vs. Logan Creed

The fans are behind Moonshine, a Texan, here because he’s a Texan named Moonshine. Mantell gets shoved out of the corner without much effort and Creed hammers away with the big shots to the ribs. The chops make it worse as the squashing seems to be on. A chokebreaker drops Moonshine again and a big boot puts him on the floor. That means a big man dive over the top and a jackknife finishes Mantell at 3:30.

Rating: C. Now that’s more like it as Creed looked awesome and decimated Mantell in short order. He’s a big man who can do some cool stuff in the ring and look like a monster while doing so. What more could you want from someone in this situation? This was a heck of an entertaining squash and Creed could be a player around here, at least in a monster role.

Alexander Hammerstone explains various sodas to Gino Medina when Richard Holliday comes up to yell about Creed. Hammerstone: “They had a sale at Giants R Us! He was on clearance!” Holliday rants about how he would have preferred another jet (Holliday: “A fifth would have been nice!”) but they agree to take care of Mance Warner instead.

Come to these shows!

Pro Wrestling Illustrated has a new Top Ten contenders to the World Title:

10. Dominic Garrini

9. Low Ki

8. Jimmy Havoc

7. Richard Holliday

6. Tom Lawlor

5. Mance Warner

4. Brian Pillman Jr.

3. Myron Reed

2. Alexander Hammerstone

1. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Erick Stevens is here to make an impact so he’s going after the toughest guy around. That would be Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Stevens wants a fight.

Erick Stevens vs. Douglas James

Stevens drives him into the corner to start and James isn’t having any of that. They go to the mat with James getting the better of it, earning himself a shove from the bigger Stevens. A hurricanrana into a sunset flip has Stevens in trouble, including needing to pull his trunks up. James sends him outside but the suicide dive is cut off with Stevens dropping him on the apron.

Back in and Stevens slaps him in the face, which just fires James up. Stevens pounds away even more but James is back with some kicks to the legs. That earns him a chokeslam for two and we take a break. Back with James scoring with a superkick and hitting some running knees to the face for two. Some YES Kicks just fire Stevens up more but James forearms him in the head to take care of that. Stevens is right back with a fireman’s carry gutbuster and a scoop brainbuster (the Sarasota Screwdriver) finishes James at 8:34.

Rating: C+. This was a different kind of match as ti was a good back and forth fight with Stevens not exactly being a dominant force throughout. That’s ok though, as the idea was to make both of them look good. Stevens looked solid enough and should be a player, though I’m not sure if this was the right way to go. Still though, hardly bad by any stretch.

Warner and the Dynasty have a bit of a staredown but someone has attacked Warner’s uncle.

Contra is ready to fight, even though Ikuro Kwon is off to Japan. Jacob Fatu is ready for everyone from AAA.

Killer Kross is still coming.

Tom Lawlor isn’t worried about Davey Boy Smith and the Von Erichs teaming up. If Smith wants to be friends with them, he better be ready to lose at least an eye.

We look at Injustice costing Brian Pillman Jr. the World Title last week.

Injustice says we told you so and promise to cause more havoc.

Jimmy Havoc says Warner was the better man so it’s time to regroup and see who is next for the ultra violence.

We look back at King Mo and Dan Lambert laughing at Low Ki training with the Gracies.

King Mo vs. Dr. Dax

Dax is a big man in a mask. Mo can’t suplex him so Dax tries a slam, only to get caught in a rear naked choke for the tap at 1:09. Mo continues to surprise me during this run.

LA Park is coming back next week to team with his son against Contra.

Ross Von Erich vs. Tom Lawlor

Lawlor wears his cowboy gear and has Dominic Garrini with him, complete with a hobby horse. Ross goes right at him to start and the fans are behind Von Erich, shockingly enough. A trip to the floor goes badly for Lawlor but he catches Ross on the way back in. That means a missed elbow though and Ross hits a slingshot hilo for two. The referee stops to inspect an eye poke to Lawlor, allowing Garrini to trip Ross down.

Choking on the mat and in the corner keep Ross in trouble, followed by a chop to put him in even more trouble. A kick to the chest fires Ross up and he hits a dropkick to send Lawlor into the corner. Ross hits a Sami Zayn Helluva Kick and a double underhook DDT (with Lawlor landing on his head) gets two. The Claw is loaded up, drawing in Garrini for the DQ at 7:04.

Rating: C+. Ross looked more fired up than usual here and that was the way the match should have gone. Lawlor was his usual entertaining villain as he is just so easy to hate. Putting the Von Erich over in Dallas is your only real option and they both put in a good effort here.

Post match the beatdown is on but Marshall Von Erich runs in for the save. The Claw is loaded up again but Stevens runs in to take them both out, allowing Lawlor to swing his cowbell around again. A trashcan is brought in as Lawlor gyrates on the Texas flag. The flag is thrown in the trash to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was better than their recent stuff with three good matches and a hot angle to end the show. Lawlor vs. the Von Erichs is a smart way to get the team over and give Lawlor some heat so they’re on their game there. Other than that we had two debuts and another solid Mo performance, plus Warner vs. the Dynasty heating up. Rather good show here and one of their best in a while.

Results

Logan Creed b. Moonshine Mantell – Jackknife

Erick Stevens b. Douglas James – Sarasota Screwdriver

King Mo b. Dr. Dax – Rear naked choke

Ross Von Erich b. Tom Lawlor via DQ when Dominic Garrini interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6