Slumber Party Massacre
Date: April 4, 2019
Location: White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, New Jersey
Commentators: Matt Wadsworth, The Duke

Who can’t do four full shows in one day anymore? This is another Wrestlemania weekend show and another situation where I have no idea what to expect as I don’t follow Absolute Intense Wrestling. Here’s pretty much everything you need to know: the main event is Scott Steiner vs. Swoggle. We good? Let’s get to it.

No opening sequence, though it might have been cut off.

La Familia de Tijuana vs. Young Studs

Mexican Death Match. La Familia is Bestia 666/Damien 666 and the Studs are Bobby Beverly/Eric Ryan. There are a bunch of forks thrown into the ring and it’s time to go for blood early. I’m thinking I’ve made a mistake with this show. The blood is already flowing from Beverly’s head and it’s time to choke with belts. Ryan gets a chair wrapped around his neck and Damien sends it into the post. Eric is right back with a barbed wire bat to draw blood of his own and it’s time for some doors (they don’t use tables).

A chair gets rammed between Ryan’s legs, followed by the barbed wire being put against his head for some headbutts from Bestia. The Studs’ offense gets them nowhere and it’s a double MuscleBuster for two on Beverly. Ryan throws a chair at Damien to finally get somewhere and Beverly Japanese armdrags Ryan into both of them in the corner. And now, a door covered in forks. That takes a bit too long though and Damien hits a Death Valley Driver to put Ryan through the fork filled door for the pin at 9:34.

Rating: D. Oh yeah I’m not going to be liking this one very much as it’s seemingly trying to be ECW. There was no story mentioned here and it was just four people doing violent stuff to each other. Some of the spots were gruesome enough but there’s only so much you can get out of something like this.

Post match they shake hands and Ryan stabs himself in the head with a fork to a positive reaction.

Dominic Garrini vs. Joshua Bishop

Submission/surrender match. Garrini was on a show earlier today and Bishop (with manager Wes Barker) looks like a cross between Raven and Justin Credible. Garrini doesn’t waste time in kneeing Bishop outside for a double suicide dive. They chop it out as commentary says they don’t quite know why these two hate each other. Well at least they don’t like each other.

Bishop’s kick is caught and Garrini rams the ankle into the post for an F*** NO answer to a question of if he gives up. Bishop gets in a few shots to the ribs and it’s time for railroad spikes with both guys jabbing each other in the head over and over. The bloody Garrini goes for a choke but Barker hits him with a chair. That earns Barker a piledriver on the apron but Bishop chairs Garrini down to take over again.

Another door is set up between some chairs and Bishop powerbombs him through the door and the chairs. Back in and Garrini is alive enough to piledrive Bishop onto a chair for the NO so Garrini hits him with whatever he can find, including a tack covered bat to the face. Some wooden skewers are brought in but Bishop takes them away and drives it into Garrini’s cauliflower ear.

Bishop brings in a bag of tacks but gets front suplexed onto them, setting up a backsplash to make it even worse. Garrini drives the skewers into his head (and they hang there) until Bishop drops him onto the tacks for another no. With nothing else working, Bishop handcuffs Garrini around the post and gets some lighter fluid from Barker. The threat of fire makes Garrini give up at 11:25.

Rating: D+. Well that was sick. It had more of a story than the first match but I have a feeling we’re in for a lot of these matches tonight, albeit with a much more technical match thrown in so they can call themselves a wrestling company. I’m not a fan of this kind of insane stuff and it feels out of the 90s more than anything else.

The students come in to clear out the ring as Garrini is unhooked.

Tag Team Titles: To Infinity and Beyond vs. The Production vs. The Boys From Jollyville vs. The Philly Marino Experience

To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech and Colin Delaney) are defending and I have no idea who anyone else are. The Boys From Jolly (T-Money/Nasty Russ Myers) are also known as the Jollyville F***-Its, the Experience (Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia seemingly the most popular team here) dance a lot and the Production (Derek Director and Eddie Only) seem like they make movies. Marino dives off the top on the champs and it’s T Money spinning Collins around so Myers can punch him in the face.

The Production’s manager Danhauser comes in and helps beat up Experience, who pops up for some double teaming. The champs come back in and clear the ring setting up a suicide dive from Cheech. Not to be outdone, Myers moonsaults onto everyone but gets caught. Philly goes up as well and moonsaults the pile down.

Sunset Dreams hits Colin for two with the Production diving in for the save. The huge Money Pounces Derek to the floor and busts up Philly’s spine. Russ mostly misses a moonsault for no cover on Derek, leaving Money to dive on everyone. Myers hits a top rope splash on Eddie Only (Derek’s partner) but Colin makes a save with a bad Stunner. Back up and it’s a Codebreaker/hanging DDT to the Producers at the same time. Another Codebreaker to Derek, with Cheech holding him in place for a superbomb from Colin, driving Eddie onto Derek for the pin at 6:58.

Rating: C-. It was certainly fast paced, though again I have no idea who most of these people are, who I’m supposed to cheer for (apparently not the guy in a Toy Story jacket) but that’s not what matters in something like this. A place like AIW is all about cramming in as much stuff as you can into the time you have and not worrying about any kind of flow or storytelling. I get the idea and this was the best thing so far, but it’s much more exciting than good, which can get old after awhile.

Post match the champs tell the fans to shut up and yell about any REAL teams who want to come see them in Cleveland. In other words, this is the only real wrestling.

Eddie Kingston vs. Shinjiro Otani

Otani is a Japanese legend, making me wonder if he got lost coming here. Kingston gets taken down by the arm to start and Otani slaps on a headlock that Eddie can’t break. They go with the loud chop off with Eddie being knocked down into the corner for a very delayed Facewash. A Broski Boot makes it even worse and Otani does it again, kicking his young boys down in the process. It works so well that Otani does it again….and then a third time.

It’s finally enough for two before Eddie gets up and starts in on the knee. Otani’s chops are cut off by another kick to the leg and we hit a half crab. After the grab of a rope gets Otani out, Eddie kicks the leg out all over again, setting up the spinning Backfist to the Future for two. Otani is right back up with a legsweep and a German suplex into a lariat for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C. Well that was better than I expected, which has nothing to do with the match being an actual wrestling match instead of some violent brawl. Otani is a cool get for the show as he was wrestling all the way back in 1992 (and at Starrcade 1995) so it was cool to see something like this. Not a great match (Otani’s leg being fine out of nowhere was a stretch) but after everything else, I’ll take what I can get.

Post match Kingston praises Otani in Japanese.

Swoggle vs. Scott Steiner

Duke has been replaced on commentary by Colin Delaney. Steiner comes out but says cut his music, because he has some special music for this match. That would be….Short People by Randy Newman. Swoggle flips him off as Steiner conducts the crowd in a funny bit. Steiner swears a lot and rants about being politically correct before ripping into Swoggle with a variety of names that would be censored elsewhere.

He’s too good to face Swoggle here so Steiner has brought in his own short guy: Cabana Man Dan, who hits Swoggle with a flip flop. The German suplexes have Dan in trouble and Swoggle makes him tap to the Recliner. A woman who came out with Steiner gets in the ring so Swoggle kisses her, drawing Steiner in to blast him and get things going. Steiner sends him outside but Swoggle finds a beer to spit in Steiner’s face.

That just earns him a chair to the back and one near the head. Steiner swears a lot and hits him with another chair but it’s Dan’s turn to go inside. Dan spanks Swoggle with the flip flop….and Steiner beats Dan up too. Some belly to belly suplexes send Dan outside but Swoggle is up with a double middle finger. That means a Steiner Line and a belly to belly for two with Steiner pulling him up.

Rating: B. Well what else were you expecting here? I’ll give them some major, major points for actually making this something other than straight comedy and not having Swoggle win for the sake of a feel good moment. This was much more entertaining than it had any right to be (consider who was in there for a second) and I had a good time with it. Well done for a match that should have been an even bigger joke.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Ethan Page vs. Colt Cabana/Space Monkey

I know these people! You knew Cabana would be all over this weekend and that’s not a bad thing. Hang on a second as Page says Cabana needs to let his son be his (as in Page’s) partner. Cabana says deal so here’s….MJF for the match in I’m guessing an angle that they’re not bothering to explain. The fans sing YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE, presumably at Friedman, again in something that isn’t explained here.

Monkey shrugs it off and starts cleaning house but Page breaks up the monkey flip. A delayed vertical suplex drops Monkey and it’s off to MJF to stand on the tail. And now, just because, a tail lock. Monkey isn’t having that and it’s off to Cabana for elbows and a spinning spinebuster. MJF jumps on Cabana’s back and rants about Cabana being his father but gets taken down into the Billy Goat’s Curse for the tap at 7:45.

Rating: D+. I shouldn’t be left with a confused look on my face after a match but that’s what we had here. They could have explained the story here but that’s not as important as yelling laughing at Colt’s shtick. The joke seemed funny, but when you’re stuck trying to figure out what’s going on, it doesn’t exactly have the same impact.

Mance Warner vs. Nick Gage

Dang it this wasn’t on the card so it’s an extra match. Warner comes out to Simple Man, making him more awesome than usual. It’s just a cover but a heck of a well done one for a great entrance. Gage gets a hero’s welcome here and they go right with the fighting as this isn’t going to be anything but violence. Both guys get rammed into various things and it’s a chair across Gage’s back.

They fight up to the stage and trade shots to the face until Warner gets thrown off the stage. Gage bites the head and brings Warner and a chair back in but takes a running knee to the head for two. A bulldog onto Cage’s arm onto the chair keeps Gage in trouble but Warner takes too long on the lariat, allowing Gage to DDT him onto a chair. There’s the chokebreaker and a Broski Boot to drive a chair into Warner’s face. Warner’s manager Duke comes in and chairs Warner by mistake, earning a chair shot from Gage. Colin: “See Duke? Now you’re a dead person.”

Gage bridges another door between two chairs but gets chokeshoved off the middle rope through said door for two. A piece of the door hits Warner in the head but he pops up with a pair of lariats for two more. Gage is right back with back to back piledrivers onto a door into a powerbomb for the pin at 11:39.

Rating: C-. The lack of blood helped this a lot as it was more about two hardcore guys hitting each other. I never need to see another weapon shot to the head again and Gage isn’t a wrestler, but that’s not the point of something like this. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen and heard from Warner though and it helped having him here a lot.

Post match Gage thanks the fans and promises to quit when the people stop cheering him, throwing in a small ton of F bombs along the way.

Absolute Title: Pretty Boy Smooth vs. Tim Donst vs. Matthew Justice vs. Tom Lawlor

Smooth is defending and Justice’s Intense Title isn’t on the line. Lawlor has never been pinned in singles competition and dances around the ring for a rather different presentation than you get in MLW. Lawlor is introduced as the 2005 Bob Evans pie eating champion. Smooth is a giant and probably stands about 6’8/9. Everyone goes after Smooth to start but he’s right back up and throws everyone around without much trouble.

Lawlor takes him down and grabs a Figure Four but throws in an ankle lock on Justice for a bonus. Donst makes the save before using Lawlor as a launchpad for an elbow on Smooth. Justice is back up with the suicide dives, plus a running elbow off the apron to send Lawlor into some chairs. Lawlor is right back up and chops it out with Justice, who gets the better of it. A big dive onto the floor takes out everyone for the major crash.

Back in and Justice gets crotched on top, setting up a heck of a superplex. Donst isn’t done and suplexes Justice into the other two for a near fall. Everyone gets a suplex from Donst, who collapses after throwing everyone. Justice is up first and goes Coast to Coast to hit Lawlor, who is then backdropped onto Justice and Smooth. Back in and it’s a series of rollups for two each before it’s a four way slugout from their knees. Donst’s Drunken Driver (Jay Driller) gets two on Justice as this just keeps going.

Smooth’s Call the Coroner chokebomb gets two on Lawlor so it’s time to throw in a bunch of chairs. Six of them are set up in a row but it’s Donst coming in and laying out Smooth. An STO plants Lawlor and a Drunken Driver through the chairs gets two more. The Rings of Saturn (Donst is billed as a mat wrestler and this is some of the first mat wrestling I’ve seen) go on and Justice’s chair shots can’t break it up. A third finally does it and Lawlor is up again, this time grabbing a choke on Smooth for the knockout win at 18:36.

Rating: D+. This was long and came at the end of a long night so it was kind of a chore to sit through. I have no idea why these people are fighting and that has been a problem all night long. Lawlor winning seems to be the smartest move as he’s the only one with any kind of a story. There were some good spots here but for the most part it just went on too long and had WAY too many kickouts.

Post match Lawlor thanks the company for giving him a chance about two years ago. The fans don’t really want to hear this and boo rather loudly. A year ago, he broke his arm in this company and rushed back but didn’t get a title shot. He got it tonight and showed AIW that he’s the best. Lawlor has a beer to end the night.

Overall Rating: D. I think the term “not for me” applies here as I wasn’t into almost any of this. It felt like an ECW knockoff (not all night, but for a lot of it) and that’s not something I was interested in with the ECW talent, let alone a place like this. It was FAR from the worst show I’ve ever seen but I had no idea what the stories were and since the announcers didn’t bother to tell me, you can only really go off of the product itself. That wasn’t very good either and the show felt very long. Not a disaster, but also certainly not worth as much as the WrestleCon Supershow or WXW. I likely won’t be back.

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

Fusion #50
Date: March 23, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Cornette, Rich Bocchini

We’re still in Chicago and that means things are getting interesting as we move closer to Battle Riot over Wrestlemania weekend. Unfortunately that makes these shows a bit dead, which is rather appropriate given that we’ll be seeing a Death Match this week between LA Park and Mance Warner, who hopefully is as entertaining in the ring than he is on the mic. Let’s get to it.

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

Cops have arrested Teddy Hart for vandalizing his car. In a nice bit of trickeration, you can’t see the cops and only see a red light on a door. Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Richard Holliday show up to laugh as Brian Pillman Jr. freaks out. Davey Boy Smith Jr. goes to bail Teddy out of jail.

Opening sequence.

Myron Reed vs. Gringo Loco

Reed comes out saying FREE SWANN. Loco is the hometown boy and even more popular than usual. We get a long weapons check on Reed before he takes Loco down with a wristlock. Flips and nipups give us a standoff so Reed forearms him in the face. Loco is back up with a flip off the middle rope and a pull of Reed’s leg gives us another standoff. Cornette can’t figure out how to describe Loco but thankfully Reed kicks Loco in the head to give commentary a new focus. A headscissors sends Loco to the floor but he’s right back in for a powerbomb into a piledriver.

Loco isn’t done as he nails a Spanish Fly for a double knockdown, allowing the announcers to talk about Battle Riot. A missed baseball slide sends Reed to the floor for a big flip dive. Back in and Loco gets crotched on top, setting up a springboard hurricanrana that nearly spikes Loco on his head. Reed’s springboard 450 gets two and it’s time to yell at the referee. That’s enough of a distraction for a springboard cutter from Loco into a Spiral Tap for the pin at 7:21.

Rating: B-. More lucha fun here, which they do quite well in this company. They’ve got a little something with the build towards Swann’s return and that’s one of the best things that could happen to them. You need stories to keep people’s attention and that’s what we had here. Nice match here too as Loco is still very over with the crowd.

Post match Reed slaps the referee down, likely earning himself a suspension of his own.

Mance Warner talks about going into the bosses’ office and swinging a chair until he got a match with Los Angeles Park. He’s got a plan for this match:

1. Light beers

2. Eye poke

3. Kneepad up, kneepad down

That adds up to the pay window and he’s going to take Park’s mask.

Battle Riot Control Center with the announcement of Jimmy Havoc challenging Tom Lawlor for the World Title. Smart move as Havoc was the last person to beat him. Also added to the Battle Riot: Mance Warner, Daga, Air Wolf and Barrington Hughes.

MJF and Holliday laugh their heads off at Teddy Hart’s mugshot and think it would make a great shirt. Or even better: on a billboard in Calgary.

We get a video from Contra Unit to explain their actions. On March 2, they took up their arms because they’re a global organization: the Crusaders of Nihilistic Terror Revolutions Armada. They’re here to infiltrate and take the gold because they’re international dealers in violence and business is good.

Ace Romero promises to make Contra pay the consequences.

Alexander Hammerstone vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Hammerstone has MJF/Holliday with him while Pillman is on his own. Before the match, MJF grabs the mic and says he has a PSA for all of us: Hart is in jail again because he’s white trash. Pillman hits the ring and starts fast with some armdrags as MJF jumps on commentary to talk about killing the Hart Foundation. Cornette: “Now I know how people felt about me thirty five years ago.” Hammerstone sends him face first into the buckle to take over but Pillman shoulders him in the corner.

A running slap to the face gets on Hammerstone’s nerves and it’s a spinebuster to take Pillman down again. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Pillman is back up for a strike off. A crossbody gives Pillman one and a snap powerslam gets the same. MJF offers a distraction though and Pillman gets dropped throat first across the top rope as a result (nice touch with Pillman’s dad’s throat issues). The Nightmare Pendulum finishes Pillman at 5:21.

Rating: C-. Not too much here though Pillman got in some offense to keep it from being a squash. Hammerstone vs. Smith should be a heck of a match between two monsters and that’s a great thing to build towards. They’ve got something with Hammerstone and I think they know it this time around.

Post match the beatdown stays on with Hammerstone tearing up Pillman’s chains while Pillman is forced to watch.

Tom Lawlor is at his fight camp and promises to keep it out of Jimmy Havoc’s hands. I like this UFC/MMA style training stuff as it’s become a theme for Lawlor, which makes a lot of sense.

Mance Warner vs. LA Park

Death Match with the ring announcer saying Mance is from Buckshot, Tennessee rather than Bucksnort. Salina de la Renta even mocks the old Park dance from WCW. Warner puts the American flag on the ropes to make him even more popular but Park has his own fans too. They stare each other down and trade struts until the first eye poke has Park on the floor. The fight heads outside with Park being sent into the barricade as the announcers debate Park’s weight.

Park heads into the crowd with Warner dragging him right back, along with a table. Back in and Warner uses a chair for a springboard tornado DDT as Park can’t get anywhere so far. There’s the running knee to the head and Warner blasts Park with a few stick shots. Park gets sat in a chair for some headbutts, which stagger Warner even more. Another running knee is blocked though and it’s a belly to back suplex to drive Warner through a chair. They head outside again with Park putting him on the table….which breaks before anything can be done.

That’s fine with Park, who hits a running backsplash onto Warner onto the broken table. Since he’s apparently environmentally conscious, Park powerslams him through what’s left of the table again. Back in and Park whips him with a belt, which Warner seems to like. Warner takes off his suspenders and it’s time for a whip off. With that not working very well, they switch to punches and chops with Warner getting knocked down to one knee.

Park clotheslines him down for two and it’s time to bring in a bunch of chairs, plus a big piece of wood (because tables aren’t good enough). Said wood is bridged between the chairs and a top rope backsplash sends Warner through. The rest of the wood is broken over Warner’s head (great visual) and a suicide dive against the barricade keeps Warner in trouble. Warner takes forever to get back inside and the delayed cover gets two. A tornado DDT gives Warner two of his own, with Cornette wondering how a rope break is possible when anything else is legal.

Warner hits the eye poke and pelts a chair at Park’s head for two more. Park pelts a chair right back at Warner and we look at the replay, during which Park does something off the top that we don’t see and commentary doesn’t explain. That feels really out of place in a promotion that is usually far better in that area. The spear finishes Warner at 18:38.

Rating: B. This felt like the brawl that it needed to be and it never came close to feeling like a nearly twenty minute match. I still don’t get the appeal of LA Park (the appeal in America that is, as he’s a mega star in Mexico) but him beating Warner is far from something worth getting annoyed over. Warner is going to be fine with that great talking ability and the match was a good brawl.

Overall Rating: B. Nice stand alone show here as we get closer to Battle Riot. The problem is that, just like last year, Battle Riot itself is getting almost no build because no one is talking about winning the thing. Most of the roster is going to be involved so it wouldn’t be hard to have some quick promos about the match. Maybe the show itself will be better, but they’re not doing a great job of making me want to see it.

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

Fusion #49
Date: March 16, 2019
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Cornette, Rich Bocchini

We’re still in Chicago and that’s a good thing at the moment. The last few shows have been entertaining and there’s a good chance that this is going to be more of the same. In this case we’re going to have the Hart Foundation looking for revenge on Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Richard Holliday, who recently attacked Teddy Hart. Let’s get to it.

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

We recap Contra’s actions to date, including last week’s destruction of Ace Romero.

Opening sequence.

El Hijo de LA Park vs. Puma King

Mance Warner sits in on commentary, which is one of the best things possible around here. As Cornette gives us a lucha history lesson, they trade a bunch of rolls and flips as Warner suggests punching someone in the face. A running hurricanrana sends Park to the floor for a middle rope dive. That’s enough time for Cornette and Warner to talk about Warner’s hometown of Bucksnort, Tennessee, with Cornette being more than comfortable with the southern hick style of humor.

Salina de la Renta trips Puma to the floor and that means a suicide dive from Park. A chair to the back has Puma in more trouble and a Salina distraction lets Park low blow him with a chair. There’s a whip with a TV cord as Cornette is wondering how we haven’t had a DQ yet. Fair enough. Back in and King hits a tilt-a-whirl slam as we hear about Mance’s cigar smoking grandmother running a speakeasy.

King grabs some chairs of his own, one of which goes between Park’s leg and gets crushed by another (Mance: “He done broke it off!”). Code Red gives Park two and King’s powerbomb gets the same. Puma heads up but gets chaired in the back (with the chair breaking) to tie him into the Tree of Woe.

That’s broken up with an anklescissors and a Rick Rude hip swivel of all things. Puma gets caught with a super Spanish Fly for two and there’s a belly to back kneeling piledriver. Instead of covering though, Park goes outside and spits at Warner. Mance spits right back and hits him with Cornette’s racket, leaving King to hit a top rope Codebreaker into la majistral for the pin at 10:08.

Rating: B-. Good action, funny commentary and a build towards next week. Throw in Salina and I’m not sure what else you could ask for in a match like this. Cornette fitting right in there with Warner helped too and I had a really good time here. They also didn’t stay too long, which can be a problem with matches like this (or and kind actually).

Warner high fives Puma post match.

MJF and Holliday combine to imitate Teddy Hart before saying they’re winning the titles.

Teddy Hart says they’ll retain while Brian Pillman trains in a pool.

Another look at Contra Unit.

Last week’s call from the head physician was in fact a fake. That makes sense.

Tom Lawlor doesn’t care what the doctors have to say. They’re great at their job but they don’t know what’s in a fighter’s heart. So they’re not a cardiologist. Lawlor wants any of the Contra Unit. He’s going to end their time in MLW before it gets off to a start. As usual: good energy but needs coaching.

Contra Unit vs. Chico Adams/Vertigo Vera

Jacob Fatu/Josef Samael for Contra here and they jump the jobbers before the bell. We get some more details of the team, including that Fatu is part of the Anoa’i family is considered the black sheep, meaning he didn’t train with them and doesn’t speak to them. The Samoan drop plants Adams and Josef brings in the spike for the DQ at 1:13.

Post match Fatu hits a pair of springboard moonsaults (he’s got some size to him too so that’s impressive stuff). The nearly required fireball goes into the other jobber’s face and the medics finally come in. We also get the jobbers’ names as they’re being taken out, though Fatu isn’t done and hits a third moonsault to Adams as he’s on the stretcher. Fans start throwing things into the ring and we go to a test pattern to make things even better. Rather impressive squash here and Contra look like monsters and it got even better with the post match stuff.

Battle Riot II Control Center with LA Park, Sami Callihan, El Hijo de LA Park, Fenix, Brian Pillman Jr., Gringo Loco, and newcomer Ken Kerbis being added to the namesake match.

Salina de la Renta and LA Park say he’ll win Battle Riot.

Jimmy Havoc needs to return already.

Quick recap of MJF and Holliday injuring Teddy Hart a few weeks back.

Here are MJF and Holliday for the main event with Friedman mocking the fans for not speaking English. He looks down at the mat to talk to Stu Hart and says Teddy has ruined the Hart Family legacy. The only legacy that matters now is the Dynasty’s.

Tag Team Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Richard Holliday

Friedman and Holliday are challenging and it’s Teddy/Davey Boy Smith Jr. defending though Teddy is very banged up. We’re not ready to go just yet though as MJF has to shove Brian Pillman on the floor first. The bell rings and MJF bails to the floor as the stalling continues. Holliday joins him before taking the tag and we finally get the first contact after over a minute in.

MJF gets knocked off the apron, leaving Holliday to get sunset flipped into a belly to back suplex from Smith. The delayed vertical suplex makes it even worse for Holliday and the top rope moonsault connects, though it hurts Hart’s bad ribs. A shot to the ribs is enough to put Teddy in trouble though and now MJF is willing to come in for some stomping. Teddy bails to the floor and a whip into the barricade bangs up the ribs even more, with Cornette nearly getting knocked over in the process.

Back in and Holliday puts on a Sharpshooter (BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DOES) with Smith making a quick save. Friedman comes in with the hanging piledriver into an abdominal stretch, with an assist from the apron of course. Teddy gets out and, just because of course, snaps off a headscissors into a Canadian Destroyer. That’s enough for the tag off to Smith and it’s time to clean house. A tiger suplex gets two on MJF and a Batista Bomb gets the same. The Doomsday Destroyer is loaded up but here’s Alexander Hammerstone of all people to chair down the Harts for the DQ at 11:00.

Rating: C+. Not too bad here and I’m rather interested in the Hammerstone deal. It didn’t make a ton of sense to have three Harts against two villains and adding in a monster to cancel out Davey is a good move. Friedman and Holliday didn’t feel like threats to the titles but putting that kind of muscle with them changes things and extends the feud’s life. Smart idea there, and even better since Hammerstone didn’t have anything to do.

Post match the beatdown is on (with Cornette calling MJF a dyslexic masseuse because he rubs you the wrong way) with the Harts being cleared out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I had a good time with this show as they started taking care of some of the new stars they have around. With some of the bigger companies lurking around the MLW talent, new stars need to be presented and that’s what they did here. Nice show, and with Battle Riot coming up, there’s another chance to set things up. I like Hammerstone and Warner getting pushes and stories, so hopefully the smart booking continues.

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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Fusion #46
Date: February 22, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matt Striker, Rich Bocchini

Things have gone well in Philadelphia so far and there’s a good chance that’s going to be the case again here. This time around we have the debut of the rather redneck Mance Warner, which could go in a variety of ways. Other than that we have what should be some awesome lucha as Rey Horus faces Aerostar. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show with Richard Holliday and Maxwell Jacob Friedman attacking Teddy Hart and possibly breaking his rib.

Opening sequence.

Lance Anoa’i vs. Rich Swann

Swann was suspended last week but is wrestling while on appeal. Before the match, Swann thanks the fans for being by his side and walking step by step with him. The announcers suggest that a concussion has turned Swann a little more evil, which is kind of a stretch of a story. Swann loads up the test of strength which turns into the dance, as it tends to do. A big kick to the head staggers Lance, who is right back with a backdrop which sends Swann into a 450.

The Samoan drop sends Swann outside for the big flip dive, followed by the CONTRA sign popping up again, which still isn’t acknowledge by commentary. Back in and Swann rakes the eyes (must be the concussion again) before ripping at the face. A pull of the hair gets a four count, with Swann explaining the rules to the referee like a villain should. An abdominal stretch keeps Lance in trouble, naturally starting the comeback a few seconds later.

Swann gets caught with a Stinger Splash into a running hip attack in the corner for two. A Rock Bottom doesn’t work as well as Swann slips out and hits a Lethal Injection for one. Swann kicks him in the head but Lance is right back with one of his own. The 450 misses though (nice one too despite Lance being bigger than a cruiserweight) and Swann grabs a rollup with a hand on the ropes for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: C-. Swann’s heel run is going better than I was expecting it to as he’s rather easy to dislike. At the same time, Lance was more impressive than usual here, as he isn’t the most thrilling guy in the world most of the time. With the right amount of time, both of these guys could become something interesting around here.

Tom Lawlor says it doesn’t matter how Low Ki is training for their cage match because Low Ki is coming into his world. The blackout is coming in Chicago, just like the Contra logo pops up again here.

We look at the Friedman/Holliday attack again.

Friedman talks about beating Hart down like a dog and paying off Holliday in a smart move. They both come from good families who aren’t filled with drugs, meaning Friedman is just better. He’ll prove that when he takes the Middleweight Title back.

Mance Warner has the interviewer hold a white board so he can write his plan for tonight:

1. Light beer

2. Eye pokes

3. Knee pad up, knee pad down

4. Lariats

Mance wants anyone who wants to get in the ring with the Mancer because he’s going to keep getting those W’s. He’s got some strong charisma.

Video on Aerostar.

Jimmy Yuta vs. Mance Warner

Yuta’s mask even lights up ala Mustafa Ali. Warner chops and swings away in the corner and seems to like it when Yuta hits him back. Yuta’s Octopus Hold is quickly broken up and Warner drops him with a windup headbutt. Yuta knocks him to the apron and joins him out there, where Warner asks him to hang on a second. For some reason Yuta does and Warner DDTs him on the apron. The first eye poke connects but Yuta is right back up with a suicide dive. Back in and something like an Angle Slam gives Yuta two so Warner headbutts him. The kneepad goes up and down to set up a knee trembler, setting up a lariat for the pin at 5:31.

Rating: C+. Warner isn’t exactly polished but he’s a lot of fun and does exactly what you would expect from him. He does feel like an old southern brawler and the entertaining promos are going to be more than enough to carry him. I liked what I saw here and he beat a big enough name to mean a little something. Well done here.

Davey Boy Smith talks about his love of cats and dogs. Teddy Hart says he’s trained in a shoot world and would love to see Smith choke Brock Lesnar out. They’ve saved all of their money over the years and are here for the gold.

Intimidation Games Control Center, featuring a bunch of names being announced but no new matches.

Video on Rey Horus.

Aerostar vs. Rey Horus

They fight over the armdrags to start and get the required covers with no counts. Double flip ups give us a standoff until Horus slides to the floor for the sole purpose of taking a dive from Aerostar. Back in and Aerostar hits a top rope corkscrew crossbody as Striker has literally not stopped talking about how important lucha libre is for the last two minutes. Horus sends him outside for the big running flip dive over the ropes for two back inside.

Aerostar kicks him in the head and hits a top rope reverse shoulder block (that’s a new one) for two of his own. Horus slams him in front of the corner but Aerostar shoves him outside for the running springboard flip dive. Back in and Aerostar hits a rolling cutter but Horus snaps off a Spanish Fly. Aerostar heads up top but gets pulled down with a super victory roll to give Horus the pin at 7:35.

Rating: B-. Entertaining luchaing here but nothing that we haven’t seen done much better time after time. It’s the kind of thing that is going to work every time though because these matches are very exciting, with those dives always looking crisp. It worked for a main event on the go home show and the fans liked it so well done on all accounts.

Salina de la Renta says she doesn’t speak Spanish so the interviewer asks to see Low Ki in English. That’s not happening either because Low Ki is training with some UFC fighters. When asked if they can talk to LA Park, she remembers that she can’t speak English and yells in French.

One more Contra logo wraps things up.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t your traditional go home show and that’s ok, though Intimidation Games is looking like a far cry from SuperFight. That being said, it helps when you have more than a handful of matches announced in advance, though the cage match alone should carry things. Warner’s debut was fun and it was a good main event so this was a really easy sit for just under an hour.

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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