Fusion #123
Date: March 3, 2021
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jared St. Laurent, Rich Bocchini

This company is on the clock as I’m giving them two more shows to do something interesting to keep me around. I haven’t been impressed by the shows since their return and there comes a point where it’s too much. Hopefully they can shake it up a bit, but otherwise I’m out. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Contra vs. Injustice to set up Jacob Fatu’s World Title defense against Jordan Oliver.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Los Parks vs. Contra

Simon Gotch and Daivari are challenging for Contra and Salina de la Renta is here with the champs. Daivari takes Hijo down into an armbar but everything breaks down in a hurry. With Park and Gotch cleared out, Daivari starts working on Hijo’s knee to take over. Back up and Hijo takes Daivari down by the arm, earning another kick from Gotch. Daivari is back on the leg but Hijo kicks him back.

With Daivari sitting down on the mat, Hijo wraps his legs around his arms (picture the start of a Code Red if Daivari was standing) and then bends back to put Daivari’s head near the mat between his own legs (it’s hard to describe but it looks great), which again draws Gotch in for the save. Park comes in for the brawl but this time Daivari beats on Hijo as everything breaks down, much to Salina’s annoyance.

Back in and Hijo hits a double missile dropkick to put Contra on the floor. That sets up the stereo dives to the floor, followed by a top rope hurricanrana to send Gotch outside. Everything breaks down again with Hijo missing another missile dropkick. Park gets stomped in the corner so here’s LA Park Jr….who is cut off by the referee. That lets Injustice come in to cut off Daivari, meaning Park can hit the spear to retain at 8:21.

Rating: C. The Parks are a weird team as they aren’t much to see in the ring but they are hilarious on the mic and Park has great charisma so it is easy to like them. This part of Contra isn’t exactly interesting, though Daivari has been pretty good since he arrived. Not a good match, but any champion is going to have to deal with Contra at some point.

The Von Erichs talk about how much they want to get their hands on Tom Lawlor. Or maybe a hammerhead shark can do it.

Video on Jordan Oliver.

Salina de la Renta, who has changed outfits in the last five minutes, says she is addicted to gold and suggests that Alicia Atout is rather friendly with Richard Holliday. Anyway, Salina wants the Openweight Title.

Parrow vs. Dugan

Parrow is a monster who was here in the early days. Dugan gets thrown around to start, including a fall away slam into the corner. Parrow hits a chokeslam into a sitout powerbomb (the Murder Bomb) for the pin at 1:37. Total squash and I’ve always liked Parrow so this was a nice surprise.

Post match Parrow says he wants Mil Muertes.

Tom Lawlor is furious at the Von Erichs, who threw him through the window of a truck and cut his back open. He wants either of them or ACH….to face Kevin Ku!

We look back at TJP turning on Bu Ku Dao and not caring much about it.

Dao wants TJP.

Azteca Underground ad.

Jordan Oliver is ready to show that he is a heavyweight, even though Jacob Fatu is going to f*** (uncensored here) him up.

Calvin Tankman vs. Laredo Kid

The much bigger Tankman shoves him down to start but Kid snaps off a headscissors. You don’t do that to Tankman though and he hits a heck of a running shoulder. A toss lets Tankman get two so Kid bails out to the floor. Back in and a suplex gives Tankman two as this is one sided so far. Kid gets his feet up in the corner to block some charges and Tankman is knocked to the floor. That means a big dive to take him down in a heap and Kid gets two back inside. A top rope elbow gets the same on Tankman, who is right back with a heck of a powerbomb. Kid pops back up with a top rope elbow to the jaw but Tankman blasts him in the back of the head. The Tankman Driver finishes Kid at 6:44.

Rating: C+. Tankman is a guy who has some potential but there is something missing from him so far. It might be experience, but at the moment he feels like a few people in the moving big men category. At the same time you have Kid, who went from being in the main event of a major show a few weeks ago to barely surviving against Tankman for a few minutes. That’s doing a good job of making Tankman look good, but do you want to burn what you have in a name like Kid?

Tankman likes the world finding out who he is and wants the World Title.

We look at some of the international attention Lio Rush is receiving for becoming AAA Cruiserweight Champion.

Alicia Atout comes into the men’s locker room to find out why she is being accused of sleeping with Holliday. The Dynasty doesn’t care so she leaves, with Hammerstone accusing Holliday of having a thing for her. He denies it rather quickly, with Bocchini being suspicious.

We look at Injustice taking Jacob Fatu down a few weeks ago.

Contra promises to destroy Injustice for playing in deep water where they don’t belong.

Here are the Top 5 Tag Teams:

5. Dirty Blonds

4. Injustice

3. Violence Is Forever

2. Contra

1. Von Erichs

We look at Gino Medina beating Gringo Loco a few weeks ago and getting in another brawl after the match.

Medina says Loco isn’t a real luchador and he will expose Loco soon.

We look at the Alicia Atout/Richard Holliday stuff again.

Next week: Alex Hammerstone vs. LA Park for the Openweight Title and in two weeks, Parrow vs. Mil Muertes.

MLW World Title: Jacob Fatu vs. Jordan Oliver

Oliver is challenging and commentary isn’t exactly high on his chances. Myron Reed is here with Oliver and Daivari is here with Fatu. Oliver isn’t waiting and dives over the top onto Fatu, followed by a quick posting as we get the bell. Another suicide dive is countered into a Samoan drop to plant Oliver hard and they head inside. Fatu runs him over with an elbow and drops some elbows to crush Oliver’s chest again. Oliver gets in a chop block to the posing Fatu but gets sent hard into the corner for his efforts.

A few shots to Fatu’s head just earn Oliver a superkick so he grabs Fatu’s leg and hopes for the best. Fatu misses a sitdown splash and Reed grabs Fatu’s leg so Oliver can hit a superkick. Another dive is countered into a drop onto the apron and the video starts glitching a bit. Fatu loads up the moonsault but his knee gives out, allowing Oliver to German suplex him off the top. The top rope cutter and a superkick rock Fatu but he’s right back with a pop up Samoan drop. The moonsault finishes Oliver at 9:08.

Rating: C. Oliver was trying here but there is a limit on how far you can go in this situation. They did about as well as they could have and I’ll take what I can get in this kind of a match. Reed would have been a more believable challenger, but I’m not sure that was the point of this one. This wasn’t awful, but Fatu needs a serious challenger soon.

Post match the Sentai Death Squad runs in to beat down Reed and put Injustice in the body bags. Calvin Tankman comes out for the save and Pounces Fatu to the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Well, it was more interesting, and that ending has me a little curious. I’m not sure if this is going to be enough to keep me around, but this was a nice step up over some previous shows. Above all else, focusing on the World Title and making Fatu seem like he might be in a little danger for once was a welcome change. Now have a good follow up to this and they might be on their way out of their funk.

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Kings of Colosseum 2021
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jared St. Laurent, Rich Bocchini

It’s a special show this time around as we’re getting to look at one of the company’s big events for free. There are three title matches tonight as things are indeed feeling stacked. The Tag Team, Middleweight and National Openweight Titles are all on the line, meaning this is going to be a big show. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Alexander Hammerstone wanting the World Title and needing to go through Mads Krugger to get there. Krugger is ready for him.

Tag Team Titles: Von Erichs vs. Dirty Blondes

The Blondes, with Ariya Blake, are challenging and this is a Bunkhouse (country themed street fight) match. It’s a brawl to start (as it should be) with Marshall Von Erich being sent outside in a hurry. Ross Von Erich hits a quick dropkick though and everyone heads to the floor for the brawl. They waste no time in brawling to the back and then outside with Marshall being sent into a plastic table. Back inside and a cowbell to the head drops Leo Brien. Blake gets in a cheap shot and chokes Ross a bit, which has absolutely no effect. The Claw/belly to back suplex combination finishes Brien at 3:53.

Rating: C-. Where’s the other ten minutes of this? They had no time here and when you spend so much time brawling outside on the floor/outside, there isn’t exactly much time to set up your finish. What we got was good enough but they needed way more time for this to go anywhere.

The Von Erichs say anyone can come get a shot.

Simon Gotch isn’t here to face Jordan Oliver for some reason.

We look at Tom Lawlor defeating Low Ki to win the Opera Cup.

Lawlor talks about taking the cup everywhere, from the bathroom to the filthiest clubs in Vegas. He’s so proud that he has even had another cup made. This is the first time that he has been sober since winning the tournament and now they’re heading to FILTHY ISLAND.

Lio Rush has heard Myron Reed call himself Mr. Hot Fire but no one is hotter than him.

Reed is ready to show Rush what he’s all about.

Here’s the top ten:

10. Mads Krugger

9. Calvin Tankman

8. Laredo Kid

7. ACH

6. Richard Holliday

5. Myron Reed

4. LA Park

3. Low Ki

2. Tom Lawlor

1. Alex Hammerstone

Gotch vs. Oliver is officially postponed.

Middleweight Title: Lio Rush vs. Myron Reed

Reed is defending and has Jordan Oliver with him. Rush goes for the ankle to start but gets caught in a wristlock. That’s broken up in a hurry too and it’s time to run the ropes, with Reed hitting a slingshot belly to back drop. A legdrop gets two on Rush, who is right back with an elbow to the face. Rush starts doing his running dodges (those are always great) and Reed is sent to the floor for a suicide dive.

Back in and Rush takes his back with a chinlock to keep Reed in trouble. That’s broken up and Reed’s springboard cutter is blocked. A 540 kick to the face drops Reed again and Rush kicks at the chest. We’re back to the chinlock for a bit more but this time Reed fights up with a clothesline. That sends Rush outside so Reed hits a big running dive over the top. Back in and a springboard uppercut connects as commentary puts over Reed’s comeback skills. A fireman’s carry slam into a low superkick gets two on Rush so he rolls outside.

That’s enough for Rush to pop up and switch places with Reed, setting up a bottom rope Asai moonsault from Rush. A twisting Unprettier gives Rush two back inside and a clothesline cuts off the crisscross attempt. Reed gets in some shots to the face and they slug it out until Reed enziguris him to the apron. The always cool looking running over the top cutter takes Rush down to the floor but the frog splash misses back inside. Rush’s springboard Stunner connects, setting up the Final Hour for the pin and the title at 14:19.

Rating: B. Rush winning here is the right move as he’s a far bigger star than a good chunk of the entire roster, but they did a good job of keeping Reed from looking like a loser. You can’t have Rush win without breaking a sweat and what you got here was a solid back and forth match. Rush can hold the title for a good while and put someone over whenever he loses the title.

Rush says he’s awesome and no one is stopping him.

Alex Hammerstone is asked about his title match but Contra hacks the feed and promises a new soldier.

Tom Lawlor’s Filthy Island is coming soon.

Salina de la Renta promises her own show next week and the main event will be Los Parks challenging for the Tag Team Titles, in exchange for rejoining Promociones Dorado. Tom Lawlor will be the guest referee to make it completely fair.

Myron Reed says Lio Rush was the better man tonight but he’ll get the title back. Contra jumps Reed and Jordan Oliver, with Daivari joining in as the new soldier.

National Openweight Title: Alex Hammerstone vs. Mads Krugger

Krugger is challenging. They don’t waste time and start the brawl on the floor, with Hammerstone getting in a belt shot to the head. Hammerstone’s clothesline out of the corner doesn’t do much good inside and a big boot puts him on the floor. Krugger drops him face first onto the apron and they’re back inside with Hammerstone managing a belly to belly.

A running clothesline takes Krugger down this time and there’s a pump kick to the face in the corner. Another suplex gives Hammerstone one but it’s way too early for the Nightmare Pendulum. They take turns hammering away in the corner and brawl to the floor again for the double countout at 6:24.

Rating: C. This was just the teaser as it seems that they are going to have some kind of gimmick rematch, which makes sense given the nature of this one. Krugger should be winning the title soon so Hammerstone can move onto the World Title, which could make for an interesting showdown. Good stuff here, with Krugger dominating but not destroying Hammerstone, meaning there is enough of a reason to do this again.

Overall Rating: C+. The Middleweight Title match carried this show as there was almost nothing else worth seeing on the whole thing. It was the only match that got any significant kind of time and while it was good, it was barely enough to make the show worthwhile. I was expecting something a little longer overall here, but this was shorter than most regular episodes of Fusion. It’s fine enough because of Rush vs. Reed, but that’s all that’s here.

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