Fusion #72
Date: August 24, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re on the road to Dallas and War Chamber, meaning things should start picking up around here. That being said, it’s picking up at some odd spots as the World Champion is in the big team gimmick match and everything else has been the focus of the show. It has made for a different direction around here and that’s not exactly a great thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Mance Warner has been arrested on unspecified charges. More later.

Opening sequence.

Promociones Dorado may know something about Warner being arrested so we’ll be hearing from them later.

Hijo de LA Park vs. Zenshi

Salina de la Renta is at the police station giving her statement on Warner (who was arrested for aggravated assault over last week’s chainsaw incident) so Park is on his own here. Zenshi is from Chile and we’ve seen him before. Park starts with the hip swivel so Zenshi flips over him and it’s time for an exchange of evading. Zenshi slides to the floor and gets caught with the suicide dive for the first major contact. The 619 on the apron doesn’t have much effect on Hijo, who sends him into the barricade and gets in a powerbomb onto the apron.

Back in and a release German suplex gives Park two but Zenshi sends him hard into the corner. That means a diagonal Coast to Coast (that’s a new one, albeit in a smaller ring), which made me think “there’s no way he’s doing that” and then he did it). Hijo is right back with a Code Red Canadian Destroyer for his own two and a pop up powerbomb for the same. Back up and Zenshi hits an awkward looking running flip cutter (think a running headscissors but with a cutter) for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C-. Zenshi has talent but needs some more experience and a little bit more time to get established. That Coast to Coast looked awesome and the spinning cutter could work as a finisher, but he needs to hit it faster and snappier. It’s always cool to see some fresh stars though and with the AEW crew leaving sooner rather than later, this is what they need to be doing.

Post match Park hits him with a chair ala his dad.

The Hart Foundation is ready for Maxwell Jacob Friedman tonight.

Buy MLW gear! How did it take that long to get to something like this?

There will be an MLW/The Crash show in October. Nothing wrong with that.

Video on Low Ki’s run of knockout wins.

Low Ki, now a middleweight, wants a shot at Teddy Hart and the Middleweight Title. As for Contra, they’re about to be introduced to his professional presence.

Contra warns Tom Lawlor about coming after Fatu again. Fatu says this isn’t a podcast or the octagon, so the beating is coming. The Von Erichs haven’t been forgotten either and will get what is coming to them in the War Chamber. Maybe after that we can do something with the title again, because the thing has almost been forgotten since Fatu won it.

Saturday Night Super Fight is coming.

Salina de la Renta and Jimmy Havoc (I guess last week wasn’t Loser Leaves MLW) don’t want to talk about Mance Warner but they’ll be waiting for him when he comes back.

War Chamber Control Center with nothing new. They might want to add some more stuff as the show is in less than two weeks.

The Von Erichs and Tom Lawlor are ready for War Chamber but won’t reveal their fourth member. Is there really any secret about it being Low Ki at this point?

Lawlor is ready for his rematch next week because Fatu stole his title. He didn’t steal Lawlor’s warrior heart though so Lawlor is ready for another fight.

Alexander Hammerstone won a match in Japan.

The Dynasty is happy with all of their gold and Holiday has made a pillow saying “Life If Beauty Full”. They talk about the people they don’t like (fat people, ugly people and Brian Pillman Jr.) and are ready for their matches with the Harts. Hammerstone is ready to conquer Germany and they put their fists together.

Some big shows are coming up.

Austin Aries is coming for the Middleweight Title. That’s becoming the hot division and that’s how you do it: have people talk about wanting the belt. Tonight alone, we’ve heard Low Ki, Austin and MJF talk about wanting the title, plus a middleweight match. That’s how it works and it works here too.

Middleweight Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Teddy Hart

Hart is defending and Aria Blake is with Friedman (whose belt is HUGE). Before the match, MJF has a mic but we need to stop for a lot of booing. He talks about being smarter than everyone and being better than Bret Hart, because he never lost the Middleweight Title. That’s enough to bring out Teddy (with Mr. Velvet of course) and we’re ready to go. Well after a pose off with the fans being quite a bit more behind Teddy.

They shake hands and hug but a quick spank is too much for MJF. Hart is a bit friendlier with Project Ciampa as the announcers compare the history of the two stables. Back up and Teddy snaps the arm around the ropes, setting up the Dungeon DDT for two. Aria gets up for a distraction so Teddy literally kicks her to the floor. Serves her right, though she might have just wanted some information on buying a cat.

With MJF on the floor, Hart loads up the Asai moonsault but Blake gets in the way. That earns her a seat in a chair but Hart walks into a superkick to put the champ in trouble. MJF tosses him into the post before it’s time to go back inside. This time Hart gets in a shot to the knee but gets sent into the buckle to slow things right back down. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a belly to belly into the corner for two on the champ. Hart is back up with Code Red for two and a running Canadian Destroyer rocks MJF again.

The springboard Arabian moonsault to the floor drops MJF again, followed by a rather nice top rope DDT. The moonsault elbow gets two but a lower version hits raised knees and they’re both down again. MJF hits something like a curb stomp onto the turnbuckle and, say it with me, puts on the Sharpshooter. With that broken up, MJF hits the Heat Seeking Driver for two and can’t believe the kickout. Blake throws in a shoe (honestly) and the distraction lets her get in a low blow but the referee ejects her before a cover. That’s enough of a distraction for Hart to hit the super Canadian Destroyer to retain at 12:00.

Rating: B-. This was almost every Hart match you’re going to find: a lot of flips and rather exciting, but very little in the way of selling, storytelling or anything associated. That being said, why would you want something like that in a Hart match? The point here was to have Hart do his thing and MJF cheat a lot but come up short. Hart won’t hold the title forever and whoever beats him is going to get quite the rub.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event was good but I wasn’t feeling this one for the most part. The World Title situation continues to be a sore spot as there is nothing going on with the title and it is starting to show. Instead, the Middleweight Title is what matters most these days and while that is fine, it feels like a step down from the World Title. It’s like the Harts vs. the Dynasty and Salina vs. Konnan are all that matters around here and if that’s the case, they’re going to be in trouble sooner rather than later.

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:

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Fusion #67
Date: July 20, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

Things are changing in a hurry around here with the titles going from one set of hands to another. Last week saw the Dynasty take the Tag Team Titles from the Hart Foundation in a pretty good ladder match but the feud isn’t over yet. This week we have Alexander Hammerstone defending the Openweight Title against Davey Boy Smith Jr. in what should be a heck of a match. Let’s get to it.

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

Salina de la Renta, in a skeleton suit, talks about Mance Warner getting on her nerves. We see a clip of Warner going through Promociones Dorado before Salina speaks what I’m assuming is Latin and uses wine to write on a white sheet. She has summoned the demon known as Bestia to deal with him.

Opening sequence.

The announcers talk about last week’s title change and Mance Warner stealing the Golden Ticket from LA Park.

Earlier today, Davey Boy Smith Jr.’s sister interviewed the Dynasty, who isn’t worried about Hammerstone’s defense. Richard Holliday thinks Smith couldn’t sell an Oreo to a glass of milk and Hammerstone says explaining his dominance to Smith is like explaining color to a blind person. The interview ends and Smith’s sister doesn’t have anything kind to say to any of them.

National Openweight Title: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Alexander Hammerstone

Hammerstone is defending with the Dynasty out here and Smith all on his own. Before the match, Holliday says the consumers should be happy to be here because they’re breathing rarefied air. Maxwell Jacob Friedman says he smells poor people and explains the Hart Family being raised near a nuclear power plant. That’s why Teddy Hart wears so many weird outfits: he’s hiding his gills. Hammerstone says enough of the insults because it’s time to fight.

We get a rather aggressive lockup to start and Cornette yells about Friedman yelling at fans and taking focus off the match. Hammerstone’s headlock doesn’t get him very far and a shoulder exchange goes to a standoff. Smith skins the cat (because he can do that) and kicks Hammerstone in the face, meaning it’s time for a breather. That doesn’t last long as Smith goes outside and kicks away but a Dynasty distraction lets Hammerstone get in a shot to the throat.

Back in and Hammerstone manages a missile dropkick and Smith is in big trouble in a hurry. The chinlock goes on and Friedman uses the change to yell at more fans. That doesn’t last long and Hammerstone hits a crazy impressive dropkick for his size. Hammerstone hits a running powerslam for one on Smith and you know that’s firing him up.

Hammerstone hits one of his own, only to have Smith pop up with some rolling German suplexes. A bridging belly to back gives Smith two and it’s a top rope headbutt, which looked like a splash. There’s no cover though, allowing MJF to spit on the Canadian flag. That’s enough for Smith, who grabs the flag and beats up the Dynasty for the DQ at 9:30.

Rating: B. I could watch two monsters like this beat each other up for days. They went with the right ending by not having either of them job and the feud can continue. This thing has been going on for a long time now but hasn’t lost any steam, so at least they’re doing things the right way so far. Just don’t overstay the welcome and everything will be fine.

Video on the Von Erichs wanting to stop Contra. You can tell they’re serious because they’re cowboys.

Just in case it didn’t click the first time, we look at Warner tormenting Salina and company last week.

Konnan has Salina’s phone and tells her to be nice to him or a lot of secrets are coming out.

Video on Contra, who has taken over now that they have the World Title. Now they want contracts and they’re open to the highest bidder.

Next week: Contra vs. Von Erichs.

Mance Warner has made a list of things to do, which is the word KILL over and over. Salina can send the devil after him and he’ll be waiting with a chain around his fist. He rubs blood on his face and says he’s going headhunting.

Los Parks vs. Los Wagners

Salina is out with the Parks. That would be LA Park/Hijo de LA Park vs. Dr. Wagner Jr./Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. To clarify, I’ll be calling them Park, Hijo de Park, Wagner and Hijo de Wagner respectively and hoping for the best. The two fathers start things off with Wagner cleaning house early on. Everything breaks down and the Parks are sent outside for the double suicide dives.

Back in and Hijo de Park gets knocked down again, allowing both Wagners to beat up Park in the corner. Hijo de Wagner gets two off a Cannonball in the corner and Wagner hits a basement dropkick to Hijo de Park. Hijo de Wagner goes up top but gets caught in a springboard Spanish Fly from Hijo de Park, leaving Park to powerslam Wagner for stereo twos. Hijo de Park hits a Code Red on his dad to drive them into Hijo de Wagner for two as the air horns are strong here.

The Parks hit their own (and harder) stereo suicide dives to the floor and it’s time for a quick breather. Back in and the fathers slug it out until Park pulls Wagner’s mask off (he lost it in 2017 so it’s not the biggest deal). Wagner doesn’t seem to mind and pulls Park off the middle rope with a super cutter for two. Park headbutts the heck out of him as Cornette talks about seeing Mil Mascaras without his mask and not being able to believe it. Wagner’s DDT gets two on Park and we settle down into something resembling a tag match about eight minutes in.

The sons slug it out in the middle with Hijo de Wagner hitting a scoop spinning Angle Slam for two as the dads are now on the apron. A leg lariat takes Hijo de Wagner down for two and a Codebreaker out of the corner gives Hijo de Park the same. Hijo de Wagner is back up with a bunch of strikes for a double knockdown, which brings in the dads for a cover each. Must be a lucha thing.

The dads stay in (fair enough) with Wagner taking him down and stopping for some pushups. Park crotches him on top (breaking the turnbuckle pad in the process) but a top rope splash hits raised boots. Wagner hits a running flip dive off the apron, with his feet crashing into the announcers’ table on the landing. That leaves Hijo de Park to hit a Code Red for two on Hijo de Wagner, who is right back with a jumping enziguri on the apron.

They fight over an apron superplex until Hijo de Wagner settles for a regular version for two with Park making the save. Wagner is back in with a suicide dive onto Park, followed by a much harder one from Hijo de Park. Hijo de Wagner hits one of his own (Rich: “Oh no not again.”) as the announcers are rethinking their careers. Back in and Park spears Hijo de Wagner for the pin at 16:29.

Rating: B-. I’m not the biggest lucha fan in the world and there were some issues with the match, but what mattered here was this match felt big. These guys are clearly stars if not legends in lucha libre and that came across here. Park just hitting the spear for the win isn’t the best finish and they do it too often, but it came after a long and action packed match. I liked it and the aura was there so well done.

Overall Rating: A-. Sweet goodness the hour long wrestling shows have been strong across the board this week. This was another awesome night from MLW with the title stuff to start and then the big fight feel for the lucha main event. I didn’t think they could make that kind of a hybrid work and I’ve been proven very wrong. This company feels like it’s just clicking on all levels so far and I hope the business side backs it up. Awesome show here and worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Fusion #56
Date: May 4, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jim Cornette, Rich Bocchini

It’s the Salina de la Renta show as she is the executive producer tonight, which basically means guest GM. Thankfully we don’t usually have bosses around here so it’s actually a new idea and Salina is one of the best performers around. It’s also a night for her boys to get some revenge and some grudge matches have already been signed. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a shot of Salina, ala the days of Eric Bischoff running Raw.

A shirtless Low Ki warms up in front of Salina as she is on the phone, talking to someone about expanding their operation. She doesn’t care that he’s worried about facing Daga tonight.

Opening video, featuring a lot of shots of Salina and her cronies. Things are looking up.

Salina is at the commentary booth, where Rich has to read off her introduction. Cornette looks like he wants to stab her and Salina makes a woman on top joke.

We’re ready for the first match but Sami Callihan has commandeered a cameraman and uses a knife to break into the building. More on this later.

Low Ki vs. Daga

They slug it out on the ramp to start with Daga taking him inside for the right hands on the mat and in the corner. A hurricanrana sends Ki outside and of course that means the suicide dive. Some right hands knock Ki around ringside and a dropkick to the back of the head gets two inside.

Ki drops him face first onto the top turnbuckle though and a power drive elbow gives Ki two of his own. We hit the reverse chinlock and then the forward version, followed by the trio of the submissions with an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and they slug it out until Daga hits a running clothesline for his own two.

The banged up Daga goes up top but misses a top rope double stomp, allowing Low Ki to go up top. A superplex attempt goes badly as Daga gets caught in the Tree of Woe but the top rope double stomp is broken up by a pull of the trunks to send Low Ki crashing down. Back up and Daga tries a butterfly suplex but gets reversed into a northern lights suplex. A pair of feet on the ropes is enough to pin Daga at 10:39.

Rating: C+. Daga has taken some time to grow on me but this was a solid enough match with Low Ki getting the logical win. Ki hasn’t done much since losing the World Title but this was a loose end that needed to be tied up before he could move on to something else. Granted the ending could leave the door open for a rematch down the line as well. Not bad here.

Salina unveils the brackets for the Openweight National Title tournament:

Gringo Loco

Alexander Hammerstone

Brian Pillman Jr.

Rich Swann

Pillman vs. Hammerstone could be a good final, but with an hour a week, three singles titles and a tag title is rather excessive.

We look back at LA Park winning Battle Riot II.

Tom Lawlor doesn’t care where Avalanche comes from because he’ll fight anyone. His delivery is getting better and that was by far his biggest flaw. We also get a quick training montage as he grapples with Ariel Dominguez. This took less than a minute total and got the champ on the show. That’s rather well done.

Callihan has gotten inside and beats up Ricky Martinez, stealing his phone in the process.

Hijo de LA Park vs. Gringo Loco

They fight over a wristlock to start and it’s a wristdrag from Hijo into a standoff. Gringo flips out of a hurricanrana and they both flip forward into a second standoff. A missed charge sends Gringo to the floor, setting up a slingshot hurricanrana. The suicide dive rocks Gringo, cutting off the commentary’s discussion about Salina’s dress. Back in and Park’s super Spanish Fly is countered into a super Samoan driver for two and Salina….looks exactly the same as she does most of the time.

A Code Red (which Cornette has to describe because he doesn’t know the name) gets two as Rich tries to figure out how Cornette doesn’t know who Kenny Powers is. Park goes up again but gets reversed into a super Falcon Arrow for an awesome looking crash. That’s only good for two and they’ve lost me on the rest of the match. Gringo’s piledriver is countered into a kneeling belly to back piledriver for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C-. So Gringo is in the title tournament and loses here? This tournament is getting messier every day. They completely lost me when the great Falcon Arrow didn’t finish Park, who popped up for the finish just a few seconds later. Sometimes you need to go with what’s handed to you and they didn’t do that here.

Contra is ready for Barrington Hughes.

We recap Callihan’s actions tonight. All two of them.

Sami looks through the phone and finds Salina’s number. Salina is furious at Ricky for not answering but gets so mad that she speaks Spanish when she knows it’s Sami. He tells her to callate and shut up (that’s some overkill) while promising surprises tonight.

Next week: Barrington Hughes vs. Jacob Fatu and the tournament begins.

LA Park vs. Pentagon Jr.

Park jumps him on the ramp for the second use of that same opening in three matches. They fight on the floor with Park posting him to knock Pentagon silly. The steps to the head make it even worse as it’s all Park so far. With Pentagon rocked pretty badly, they head inside for the first time with the opening bell probably making the ringing in Pentagon’s head even worse.

Park ties the strands of the mask to the ropes for a few open shots and it’s time to slowly walk around. Some belt shots to the back and chest keep Pentagon in trouble as Cornette tries to figure out which supernatural creature best describes Salina. Pentagon finally fights back with right hands as the announcers argue over how much Park weighs. A Park distraction lets Salina go after Pentagon’s mask so he kisses her back, much to her annoyance. An armdrag sends Park outside for a running flip dive against the barricade.

Back in and the Sling Blade gives Pentagon two but Park is right back with a release German suplex for two. Park seemed to bang up his knee though so Pentagon kicks him in said knee and hits the Backstabber out of the corner. A running knee gives Park two more but it’s clear that he can barely move. The low superkick puts Park down again but he’s right back up with a suplex into the corner. Park is fine enough for a heck of a suicide dive and a top rope spinwheel kick (it’s good enough for the Special move in No Mercy and it’s good enough here). The spear finishes Pentagon at 10:19.

Rating: D+. There were some spots in here that worked but this was another instance of Park walking around the ring while the other guy did all the work until the last two minutes or so. Park isn’t exactly the most thrilling guy in the world to watch and that was the case here, as I still have an issue believing that he can beat someone of Pentagon’s caliber this close to clean.

Post match Salina complains about New York and how bad it smells (WHY IS THAT THE HOW NEW INSULT IN WRESTLING???). They have a big gift from their sponsors though and….it’s Mance Warner to brawl with Park. So what in the world was the point of all the Sami stuff???

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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