IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #38
Date: January 11, 2019
Location: Scottish Rite Temple, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re still down in Miami and it’s time for a fairly big show. This time around we have Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr. in a Singapore cane match, which should be a win for Pillman, assuming there is any form of sanity left in the world. Other than that, the build towards Super Fight continues, which should mean more Tom Lawlor vs. Low Ki. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Lawlor outside of Promociones Dorado’s office where Salina de la Renta and Sami Callihan are arguing over a bounty. Apparently she wants Sami to take Lawlor out tonight, which Tom hears. I’ll take that over the camera inexplicably being in the room instead.

Opening sequence.

Low Ki says he’s been undefeated in MLW for fifteen years and has run through everyone in front of him. He’s not going to lose anytime soon because one day he’ll retire as the greatest champion ever.

Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann

Swann doesn’t seem to think much of the fans, which is quite the abrupt heel turn. Lee takes over with an early front facelock as we hear about him being on a reality show. An exchange of armdrags goes to a standoff and the pace picks up in a hurry with an exchange of trips into an exchange of one counts. Not bad for about two minutes, meaning it’s a nice exchange rate. The offer of a test of strength turns into Swann dancing, which at least ties into his norm.

Swann flips over him and hits a dropkick before dusting himself off a bit. Some chops in the corner let Swann swagger a bit until Lee knocks him outside. Lee strikes a quick pose ala Andrade Cien Almas so Swann pounds him down back inside. With Swann favoring his wrist, he goes with kicks to the ribs instead to keep Lee down. Lee gets sat on top and it’s time to go after the mask, because of course that’s what you do.

That’s enough for Lee to come back and hit a slingshot dropkick in the corner and pick up the pace. A sliding knee to the face gets two but Swann kicks him in the ribs and hits a running flip Fameasser of all things. Lee snaps off a reverse hurricanrana but Swann pops up and kicks the heck out of his jaw for the double knockdown. There’s another kick to the head to rock Lee but the Phoenix Splash misses, setting up the Dragon Driver to give Lee the pin at 10:53.

Rating: B-. Swann’s random heel turn aside, it’s a good opener with Lee getting to show off. This company certainly does love its luchadors and they’re entertaining, though at some point you have to have some people beat them instead of giving them win after win like this. It’s what got Ring of Honor in trouble with New Japan and that’s not a good thing.

Sami Callihan is looking for Tom Lawlor and yells at Ace Romero for not knowing where he is.

Brian Pillman Jr. hits his cane against a wall and says that’s the sound it made when it hit Kevin Sullivan’s head. Pillman is tired of old men telling him to get off his lawn because it’s Pillman’s lawn now. Dreamer keeps hanging on too long and it’s time for Pillman to use weapons just like Dreamer does. Tonight, Pillman is taking him out. We can only hope.

Video on Lawlor vs. Low Ki at Super Fight.

Lawlor runs into Team Filthy teammate Fred Yehi and tells him to tell Callihan that he’s warming up in a side room by the kitchen.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Singapore Cane match, meaning the canes are legal. Pillman’s (who is smart enough to wear multiple layers of clothing to block some of the pain) first swing is blocked so it’s time for the pain to begin. A swinging neckbreaker takes Pillman down and Dreamer sends him outside. Dreamer borrows a beer from a fan and spits it in Pillman’s face so we can hit that ECW chant. They head into the crowd with Dreamer ripping off one of Pillman’s shirts to find another one as the logic is certainly there.

Dreamer gets crotched on the barricade and superkicked though as Pillman gets in his first offense. Pillman stays smart by caning Dreamer’s hands, followed by a middle rope cane shot to the head. Some finger bending keeps Dreamer in trouble so Pillman grabs the regular cane. The intelligence goes flying out the window as Pillman goes up top while Dreamer is holding a cane of his own.

Dreamer comes back with the Flip Flop and Fly as the announcers get into a debate over who exploits someone more: Dreamer with Dusty Rhodes of Pillman Jr. with Pillman. I’ll let you figure out why that doesn’t really work as Dreamer bends him over a chair and gets in a cane shot to the exposed back. A drop toehold sends Dreamer into the chair and it’s time for more caning. Of course that fires Dreamer up enough to make the comeback with cane shots of his own. A cutter gets two but Pillman is right back with a low blow into a swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 9:29.

Rating: D+. Nothing that we haven’t seen done better in other brawls but it’s good to see Pillman get the win on his own. Dreamer putting someone over is fine in theory but when he keeps doing it over and over again, it doesn’t quite have much of an impact. Nothing great here but at least the right person won.

Yehi tells Callihan where Lawlor is and gets a box knocked out of his hands.

Mance Warner is coming.

We look back at Konnan’s recent assaults, which may have caused Pentagon to lose to Teddy Hart.

Super Fight Control Center. New matches: Ace Romero vs. Simon Gotch II, Rey Horus vs. Aerostar and Mance Warner’s debut. Apparently it’s much anticipated, even though I don’t remember the name being mentioned until two minutes ago.

MLW World Title: Low Ki vs. Fred Yehi

Low Ki is defending. It’s a grapple off to start with Yehi taking him into the corner but getting caught in an armbar over the top. That’s broken up and we reset in a hurry. Yehi blasts him with a shot to the face and takes the champ down to work on the leg. That’s broken up so Yehi sends him into the corner for a breather. Some shots to the foot and leg have Low Ki in trouble and a quick cradle gets two. Low Ki knocks him down with a hard shot though and a really painful looking top rope double stomp to the back finishes Yehi at 4:29. I still don’t know how they can do that without some severe injuries.

Rating: C-. This was fun while it lasted but it didn’t have the time to go anywhere. Giving Low Ki a win before the title match is a good idea as Lawlor has been so hot lately that you have to give him something to even things out. Yehi is good, though he’s been away for so long that the win didn’t mean as much as it would have before.

Callihan, carrying a hammer, goes to find Lawlor and heads into a side room. A fight is heard and Lawlor comes out with the hammer, which has some blood on it. Lawlor licks the blood off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The rise of Lawlor continues and it’s all but time to wrap everything up with the big title change at Super Fight. Having him take out Callihan to end the show is a good idea and there doing some rather solid stuff up and down the card. The middleweights continue to go well and I’m wanting to see where some of these stories go. That’s a good place to be as we head into a major show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #21
Date: September 7, 2018
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Striker

It’s time for another big tag match with the Lucha Bros defending against Drago and Rey Horus as Lucha Underground continues to take over the wrestling world. Other than that it’s time for the fallout from WarGames, which should be airing sometime soon. They’re getting the schedule down at least and that’s a good sign. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on Pentagon Jr. and Fenix winning and defending the Tag Team Titles. They’ve also gotten on Salina de la Renta’s bad side, which is never a smart move.

Opening sequence.

Matt Striker runs down the show.

Richard Holiday vs. Fred Yehi

Holiday was on some of the standalone shows that aired before Fusion debuted and describes himself as the Most Marketable. The marketability might be a little higher if they learned how to spell his name, which is different in the pre-match graphic (Holliday) and in the graphic during his entrance (Holiday).

Yehi takes him down without much effort as Striker talks about Yehi going to German on an excursion for three months in the next few weeks. Some chops in the corner set up a snap suplex as Holiday is in big trouble. Holiday is tired of getting chopped over and over so he takes Yehi down and fires off rights and lefts. Yehi punches him right back down though and slaps on a Koji Clutch for the tap at 4:41.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here and Yehi looked good. Yehi is a talented guy as you can always have a place for the wrestler who can look one submission after another. It makes for an entertaining match almost every time and that’s what we got here. Holiday is fine enough for a jobber and you need those kind of people around on the roster.

Clip of the Hart Foundation beating Kevin Sullivan down. Given that it’s Sullivan and Pillman, there’s always the chance that this is a ruse and they’re really together.

Brian Pillman Jr. doesn’t have nightmares about Sullivan anymore because he walked up to the boogeyman and put him out of his misery. Why do that in the midst of his prime and his youth? Pillman can’t do what he needs to do with Sullivan and his archaic thoughts. Sullivan is the same man who was in the ring with Pillman’s dad twenty years ago and as Sullivan said, a leopard never changes its spots.

Video on Homicide, including him attacking Court Bauer back in the original MLW.

Homicide vs. PCO

This could be fun. They slug it out to start with PCO shouting every time he’s hit. A heavy shoulder puts Homicide down, followed by a sitout Michinoku Driver for two. Homicide suplexes him into the corner though and PCO actually stalls for a minute. A middle rope knee to the back of the neck gets two and there’s a cannonball off the apron to take PCO down again.

With that working, Homicide tries a posting and just wakes PCO up a bit. Salina de la Renta is watching from the front row as PCO hits a chokeslam to put Homicide back on the floor for a suicide dive. Back in and PCO hits a heck of a moonsault for two more as Striker dubs Schiavone T-Bone. A top rope splash gets another near fall so PCO goes up again, this time getting superplexed back down. PCO dares Homicide to hit him and then get staggered by a clothesline. He’s fine enough to forearm Homicide in the chest though and that’s enough for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. These guys beat the heck out of each other for a few minutes and I can see why PCO is such a popular guy at the moment. He has a great look and awesome intensity, which is more than enough to carry someone with his size and experience. He’s great for a special attraction monster kind of character, though showing off some more of his promos and vignettes would be a good idea.

Clip of Rhett Giddins helping Jason Cade beat Jimmy Yuta last week.

Cade doesn’t know why people are calling last week’s win controversial. He’s on to winning the Middleweight Title now.

Fury Road is coming on October 4, featuring PCO vs. LA Park and Low Ki defending the World Title. Tony says the show is on October 3. You might want to get that straight guys.

Quick video on Low Ki and Salina vs. Konnan and company.

Next week: WarGames. Well ok.

Video on the build to WarGames, which is built around Sami Callihan vs. Shane Strickland. Both guys brought in a bunch of help and that means it’s time for some WarGames.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Drago/Rey Horus

Pentagon and Fenix are defending and Horus is better known as Dragon Azteca Jr. Drago, with his bad shoulder, starts with Pentagon and you know that means a big target. Pentagon does CERO MIEDO but Drago grabs the hand. He poses there a little too long though, allowing Fenix to come in for a superkick but a four way strike off puts everyone down early.

We settle down to Pentagon chopping Drago until Fenix comes back in for another superkick. Stereo superkicks drop Drago again, followed by the top rope double stomp to Horus’ back as the champs are rolling early. Drago comes back in but gets superkicked as well (this is getting a little too Young Bucks-y) and another superkick sends Horus into the corner. A top rope armdrag sends Fenix to the floor but Pentagon kicks Drago in the ribs to break up a suicide dive. We settle down again to Drago vs. Horus as the announcers discuss lactic acid.

Pentagon chops him so hard that Horus can’t stand up but he’s fine enough for a standing C4, drawing Fenix back in for another save. Everyone is down again until Drago DDTs Fenix for two. One heck of a super hurricanrana brings Fenix down from the top and Horus’ crazy tornado DDT gets two on Pentagon. Back up and the Pentagon Driver plants Horus for two and the top rope double stomp Fear Factor gets the same. Well that’s the jumping the shark moment. A second double stomp Fear Factor is enough to retain the title at 9:58. There was zero need for the first kickout.

Rating: C+. This had a slower motion lucha feel with nothing in the way of structure or tagging, meaning it was a bunch of spots and stuff until the overdone finish. It also doesn’t help when the Lucha Bros had a much better match in a similar style against ACH and Rich Swann just a few weeks back. It’s entertaining, but not exactly great.

Post match Fenix thanks the fans for coming out and promises a bigger fight down the line. Pentagon thanks Drago and Horus for coming to MLW to challenge them. That’s the most English I’ve ever heard him speak.

Overall Rating: C. Nothing great this week but a perfectly watchable show and that’s all it needs to be. WarGames alone is more than a big enough draw for next week’s show and it could be a heck of a night. MLW seems to know how to do the big nights and if they can nail WarGames, everything is going to be fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #11
Date: June 29, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to take shape around here but at the same time, there is still new stuff being addle every week which makes the show that much more fun to watch. We’re also getting closer to Battle Riot later this month, which should be a lot of fun if they do it right. I’m not sure what to expect tonight so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s show with Barrington Hughes fighting Sami Callihan’s goons.

Hughes, with a bandage around his head, says he was jumped from behind by something made of metal. They’re not done quarreling or rumbling.

Opening sequence.

We look back at Kotto Brazil beating Vandal Ortagun last week.

Kotto is proud of his win but here are Callihan’s goons and Callihan himself to jump Brazil from behind. Callihan says that’s a message for MVP, as that feud is still going. They take Kotto away.

Ariel Dominguez vs. Jaye Skye

This is a Prospect match and Dominguez weighs 140lbs. They lock up in the corner but here are Su Yung and Zeda Zhang (from the Mae Young Classic) to beat them both down for a no contest after about a minute.

Video on Low Ki wanting to claim the bounty on Shane Strickland. He wants to burn the house of Swerve to the ground. The bounty is now up to $60,000. I don’t like Low Ki but the low voiceover is a very nice touch and rather creepy.

Newly announced for Battle Riot: Tom Lawlor, Brody King, Low Ki, Jimmy Havoc, Samu, Leon Scott. Yes that’s Headshrinker Samu. I’m not sure I get it either.

Also announced for the show: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Joey Ryan for the inaugural Middleweight Championship. That’s rather abrupt.

MVP finds Kotto (no idea how) along with a phone featuring a message from Callihan, who wants to meet him in the boiler room.

Fred Yehi vs. Sammy Guevara

Sammy has Salina de la Renta with him along with a big bodyguard. In the back, Team Filthy offers Fred what sounds to be a rather insincere good luck. A trip to the mat goes nowhere and Yehi runs him over with a shoulder. Back up and Guevara does a standing backflip instead of a leapfrog, which is rather impressive looking. Unfortunately it doesn’t do much good as Yehi grabs the arm to take over. A release German suplex drops Guevara for two but he belly to belly suplexes Yehi into the corner to cut him off.

Guevara puts him in a fireman’s carry to do some squats but Yehi slips out and forearms him in the face. There’s a powerbomb for two on Guevara and it’s time for a sloppy looking sequence where they seem to mistime multiple spots, including Guevara slipping out of a full nelson and getting covered for two. Yehi is tired of the missed spots and grabs a Koji Clutch for the tap at 6:31.

Rating: C. Yehi is getting more and more fun to watch every time he’s out there and Guevara is fine for a cocky heel who can get what’s coming to him. This worked fine and gave Yehi a win that he needed. You can go a few places with someone like him but it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t win at least a few times.

Post match de la Renta ignores Guevara’s excuses.

We look back at Yung and Zhang’s attack earlier.

Team Filthy runs into Low Ki and thank him for building up the bounty money. Low Ki brings up Lawlor being #1 contender and points out all the #1 contenders who have lost their shot. Oh and Low Ki is getting the next title shot anyway. Ki’s voice really is great for things like this.

We look back at Callihan attacking MVP until Brazil made the save, only to have Callihan and company beat them both down with the baseball bat.

Callihan says what happened to Brazil was just a warning to MVP. The boiler room challenge is thrown out again.

We look back at Team Filthy beating Jimmy Havoc down about a month ago.

Havoc is sitting by Team Filthy’s hot tub and says he’s watching them.

Clip of Fenix and Pentagon becoming Tag Team Champions.

Team TBD is arguing and can’t be interviewed right now.

Rich Swann vs. ACH

Tom Lawlor is on commentary and isn’t pleased with both guys dancing before the bell. Lawlor: “I want to beat somebody up.” Swann rolls away from an early chop in the corner as Bocchini asks why the prize in Team Filthy Open Challenges is so low. ACH gets in a roll of his own and backflips into a standoff. There’s a dropkick to put ACH down but Swann doesn’t seem interested in being very aggressive.

An attempt at a handspring bulldog is pretty easily countered as ACH pulls him out of the air and it’s off to a chinlock. A backbreaker into a snap German suplex gives ACH two and we’re right back to the chinlock. Rich: “How do you counter that suplex?” Lawler: “Don’t get caught in it in the first place.” ACH hits him in the back and we hit the third chinlock in about six minutes. I mean….do an armbar or something. Swann fights up and grabs a headscissors for two and a jumping hurricanrana brings ACH off the ropes.

ACH gets in a double stomp to the back and kicks him in the head but comes up holding his shoulder. It’s fine enough for a middle rope frog splash and a one armed deadlift German suplex gets two. Lawlor: “But what if he had two???” Swann is right back up with a Lethal Injection and they’re both banged up. A slow slugout goes to Swann off a kick to the face for two but the standing 450 hits boots. Swann tries la majistral but ACH lays down on it for the surprise pin at 12:37.

Rating: B-. This was a different kind of match as neither was wanting to go that high as neither was willing to find out if the other was that much better. ACH needed the win a lot more than Swann, but it’s kind of surprising to see someone with Swann’s WWE status and being so new take a loss. Still though, not too bad.

Overall Rating: C+. This show isn’t great but I’ve yet to see a bad episode from these guys. They put on good shows with stories that have been put together logically and you can start to see where things are supposed to go. I like what I’ve been seeing and that’s not something I can say happens with a lot of promotions with more time than this one.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #8
Date: June 8, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to change a bit as evil manager Salina de la Renta is coming after World Champion Shane Strickland. At the same time, Tom Lawlor is still a jerk and tonight he gets to face the rather talented Fred Yehi. We’re still at the point of having people debut here fairly regularly around here so we might be seeing some new faces again. Let’s get to it.

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

Video on Shane Strickland. Is there a reason to have this if he’s not here to start the show?

Opening sequence.

Tom Lawlor vs. Fred Yehi

Lawlor has Team Filthy, including Simon Gotch and the still unnamed third man (though his jacket says Sanders), with him. Yehi takes him down to the mat and grabs a front facelock but Lawlor spins back up for a standoff. Now it’s Lawlor’s turn to wrestle him down but Yehi spins out and grabs him again, sending Lawlor to the ropes. This time Yehi stomps on Lawlor’s hand but Lawlor pulls him down by the leg.

That goes nowhere so Yehi gets two off a great looking fisherman’s suplex. Lawlor is right back up and grabs a seated abdominal stretch to slow things down again. It’s off to a butterfly lock on Yehi and we take a break. Back with Lawlor stomping away and getting two off a suplex. Lawlor grabs a dragon sleeper with a hammerlock (allowing Tony to talk about the Andersons, which had to make him smile) and then a guillotine, which is countered with a hard slam.

Yehi’s dragon suplex gets two so he fires off a long string of knees to the face. A layout powerbomb gets two more and Lawlor is rocked, which doesn’t happen very often around here. With the referee checking on Yehi, Lawlor takes off his forearm pad and knocks Yehi cold with the metal forearm. A rear naked choke finishes Yehi off at 13:41.

Rating: B-. Lawlor is one of those guys that MLW owner Court Bauer hyped up to a nearly ridiculous degree when he was promoting the show but he’s turned into one of the best things around here. He really is one of those guys who lives up to his building and the Filthy name suits him perfectly. Yehi is someone who could hang with him on the mat and I had a good time with this one. Well done.

We look back at Maxwell J Friedman attacking Joey Janela last week. He’s been fined $5,000.

Friedman really doesn’t think much of the fine and doesn’t want to talk about it but Janela’s manager Aria Blake comes in to yell at him. This goes nowhere and Friedman is out.

We look back at de la Renta threatening Strickland last week.

De la Renta has put out a $20,000 bounty on Strickland’s head. It’s worked before and it should work again.

Jimmy Yuta and Jason Cade, a fairly unsuccessful tag team, are at a photo shoot where Cade won’t let Yuta get much of the spotlight.

Leon Scott vs. MVP

Scott, the big bald guy who has been following Sami Callihan, is named for the first time here and has Callihan and (Sawyer) Fulton in his corner. MVP goes right at him to start but Callihan comes in for the DQ at 47 seconds.

Post match MVP tries to fight them off but gets caught by Fulton, whose presence seems to surprise Tony, even though he was present and active during Callihan’s match last week. The beatdown is on but Kotto Brazil, who Callihan attacked last week, comes in for the save. That doesn’t last long but he did try. Callihan beats them both down with the baseball bat.

Strickland doesn’t think much of the bounties on his head because it comes with being the World Champion. Low Ki comes in and, in a very low key voice, offers some help dealing with de la Renta and hands Strickland a business card. Shane isn’t interested and Low Ki walks away.

Rich Swann and ACH meet and might be a team in the future. So I guess Swann is just a cocky face? That’s hard to pull off, though not impossible.

ACH vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is part of de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado but is still rather popular and fan friendly. ACH takes him to the mat and we’re back up to the standoff almost immediately. They take turns flipping around to another standoff but ACH gets in a double stomp to the back, followed by a sliding dropkick to put Fenix outside. You don’t do that with a flier like ACH so there’s the first dive. Fenix is right back up with a dropkick to the floor and the suicide dive takes ACH down as well.

Back from a break with a high angle Swanton giving Fenix two. They trade loud strikes with Fenix getting the better of it and ACH almost looking surprised that Fenix would kick him in the face. ACH is right back with a backbreaker and a snap German suplex for two of his own. Fenix snapmares him down and rolls into a frog splash, followed by a missed moonsault. That’s fine with Fenix, who keeps rolling and catches ACH with a cutter. Cool spot, albeit incredibly contrived. A chop to ACH’s chest makes me cringe and another puts ACH down.

Fenix jumps up top and tries a high crossbody, which ACH rolls through into a Death Valley Driver for two more. That’s enough of ACH on offense so Fenix knocks him to the apron and kicks him in the head. Back in and ACH returns the favor to knock Fenix off the top in a heap. ACH doesn’t exactly have the same prowess with the chops, to the point that Fenix sticks his chest out and tells him to do it. Fenix kicks the heck out him but charges into a superkick to keep ACH strong. The frog splash misses though and Fenix grabs a Muscle Buster driver (egads) for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B. While maybe not the most classically formulated match in the world, this was a lot of fun with both guys flying around and hitting a variety of big moves, which is more than you get in a lot of matches like this. ACH isn’t likely to win much around here, but he’s regularly putting in entertaining performances on TV. Fenix needed the win a lot more though and that’s what matters most here.

Post match they stare each other down and shake hands after a few seconds to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. After last week’s really weak effort, it’s a good sign that they can still pull off something like this. You had two good matches and angle advancement up and down the show. That’s a good way to use your hour of TV time and even though there’s only so much to draw from, this was definitely one of the best episodes of the series so far.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #4
Date: May 11, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to get interesting around here as we’re starting to see some names that we’ve seen before. They have a big enough roster to keep things fresh every week and that’s a good sign, though we are coming up on our third ACH match in four weeks. We’re also getting Jimmy Havoc vs. Joey Janela in an anything goes match, which should be fun if they can get violent. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Havoc and Janela’s issues, which includes a lot of brawling in various places.

Opening sequence.

We recap Team Filthy attacking ACH last night, setting up the following match.

Tom Lawlor vs. ACH

Before the match, ACH says this is wrestling and not mixed martial arts. Lawlor wastes no time with a takedown and kicks him in the back. In a change of pace, Lawlor offers ACH a free shot to retaliate but it hurts ACH’s own foot. ACH starts the flipping so Lawlor lays on his back and says bring it. This goes badly for ACH as well and a crucifix doesn’t get him very far either. Another rollup has Lawlor on the floor and we take a break. Back with Lawlor in control and working on the arm as so many MMA style wrestlers like to do.

With that going nowhere it’s a front chancery suplex for two instead. The Rings of Saturn continue the clinic on ACH and it’s off to a seated top wristlock. ACH finally gets up and hits a basement dropkick, followed by a middle rope cutter for two. We’ll try some wrestling now with a German suplex getting two on Lawlor. That just earns ACH more suplexes and a choke gets two arm drops. Cue Team Filthy for the distraction though, allowing Lawlor to hit him in the head with the steel forearm. A choke finishes the out cold ACH at 10:12.

Rating: C-. This was a glorified squash from Lawlor as he picked apart ACH and cut him off at every single turn. That’s the kind of match you need from someone like Lawlor who isn’t the most well known wrestler in the world. He plays a good heel though and taking apart someone that gave Austin Aries trouble was the right way to go. Nice performance here and Lawlor looks like a star.

Shane Strickland isn’t happy with the shrine he found in his dressing room last week and gets in Salina de la Renta’s face about it. Pentagon shows up and mists Strickland in the face. Salina looking cold and calm during the whole thing is a good idea.

Strickland gets his eyes washed out to little avail.

Maxwell J. Friedman vs. Fred Yehi

Yehi, a guy I don’t think I’ve actually seen before, is from Evolve but has recently wrapped up his time there. A headlock takeover annoys Friedman to start and Yehi stomps on his hand. The second attempt has Friedman thinking twice so Yehi gets in a running shoulder, which seems to hurt his own arm. A very hard German suplex (almost a German suplex driver) plants Friedman again and a request for time out is ignored.

Friedman is smart enough to hit a Codebreaker onto the arm and then just punches it for good measure. We hit a Fujiwara armbar but Yehi is back up with a running dropkick. Some knees to the head rock Friedman and rapid fire kicks to the chest make it even worse. A quick poke to the eye cuts Yehi off though and Friedman stomps on the arm again, setting up a rollup with trunks to pin Yehi at 8:24.

Rating: D+. This was a weird match with two very different styles not really meshing. Yehi is an athletic freak who was moving at a very fast pace and does all kinds of awesome looking things. Then you have Friedman, who isn’t the most thrilling performer in the world but knows how to play a heel with the limited set of actions. That makes for a hard match to pull off with Yehi moving fast and Friedman moving very slowly. Yehi could tear the house down under the right circumstances, but Friedman is a more interesting character.

Post match Friedman has a seat on the stage and talks about how sad it is that the loser’s purse isn’t enough for Yehi to go to Golden Corral the next three times. Friedman is jealous of the people because they don’t know how hard it is to go home to a perfect ten woman. Or how bad it is to have a sub par limo driver. He’s just better than us though and we know it.

We look back at MVP vs. Sami Callihan from last week.

Callihan says he talks when he wants to and he keeps going like “a machine gun of an enigma.” He’s creating an army of like minded individuals and here’s the big bald guy from last week to stand behind him, still without a name.

As a result of misting Strickland, Pentagon has to put his title shot on the line against Rey Fenix next week.

Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc

This is a Bogus Adventure match, meaning anything goes and there must be a winner. Janela has a good looking woman named Aria Blake with him. Back to back stereo bicycle kicks go nowhere so it’s Joey kicking him to the floor for a suicide dive. Janela pelts a chair at Havoc’s head and then suplexes him onto said chair on the floor to really knock him silly. Back in and they chop it out with the rather plain physiqued Janela getting the better of it but missing a moonsault.

With Janela sitting in a chair, Havoc tries a running monkey flip but slips and falls down in a heap instead. It’s time for more chairs and the required table but Janela’s chair shot to Havoc just wakes him up and he chairs Janela in the head. A package piledriver onto a pile of chairs gives Janela two and it’s table time. The top rope backsplash only hits table though and Havoc dropkicks him through the door. There’s a Death Valley Driver onto the chairs and the Acid Rainmaker gives Havoc the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C+. This one depends on your taste in violent matches, meaning it was good for what it was but not the best thing in the world otherwise. The problem here was the lack of selling to make the violence mean much as they kept popping back up like it was nothing. Just let them stay down a little bit instead and it will be that much better.

Post match Havoc leaves into the parking lot and literally bumps into Team Filthy, earning himself a beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. That ending was an interesting way to go and a sign that things are getting better. They’ve set up some characters with Havoc and Lawlor and now those characters are interacting. That’s how basic booking works and I’m curious to see where that story goes from here. The rest of the show introduced a few more people and the fact that they’re moving forward with some of them is a good sign. Now just keep that up and give us some better matches in the process and things will be even better.

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