MLW Fusion #103
March 28th, 2020
2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
By: Davie Portman
Commentary Rich Bocchini and AJ Kirsch
The show opens with a recap of the feud between Team Filthy and The Von Erich’s, Davey Boy Smith Jr and Killer Kross resulting in a brawl at the end of last week’s show that ended with King Mo smashing a baseball bat across the back of Killer Kross and seemingly joining Team Filthy.
Team Filthy Super Merger?
A super-merger has been talked about for weeks and this seems to now be apparent that it is between Team Filthy and King Mo’s American Top Team. We learn that Killer Kross was rushed to hospital last week and King Mo has been fined and suspended for the attack.
Dan Lambert Interview
Alicia Atout interviews Dan Lambert who says that his lawyers are appealing the suspension of King Mo. During this appeal, King Mo will still be allowed to fight and therefore tonight’s match against Low Ki will not be postponed. They will leave MLW when they are good and ready.
Davie’s Thoughts: I thought this was a great way to open the show. Dan Lambert is a fantastic mouthpiece for Mo and really helps make him an instantly unlikable heel. By taking out Kross and aligning himself with Team Filthy pushes him right into main event heel status.
Where Is Brian Pillman Jr?
Alicia Atout says that she was meant to have an interview this week with Brian Pillman Jr before his match against Jordan Oliver but he is yet to show up to the arena.
Dominic Garrini’s Open Prize Fight Challenge
Before the match, Tom Lawlor cuts a promo on Killer Kross saying that he has now learned the difference between people who live, eat and breathe fighting and those who just look like they do. He mocks Kross for being laid out at the end of last week’s show.
Dan Lambert then gets on the mic and says that Kross looks like he typed “MMA” into Google as he did not know what he was doing. He says that Dominic Garrini wants to bring Jiu-Jitsu to the forefront of Pro Wrestling and will, therefore, be giving $1000 to anyone who can last five minutes in the ring with him.
King Mo then calls out Low Ki for calling himself the King of Knockouts and says that he is the only King.
Dominic Garrini vs Dr. Dax
Dominic Garrini’s opponent is revealed to be a large masked wrestler known as Dr. Dax. Garrini goes for a takedown from the waist but Dax backs him into the corner. Dax then charges at Garrini but is taken down. Garrini locks in a chokehold and Dax taps instantly.
Dominic Garrini defeats Dr. Dax in 1 min 1 sec
Davie’s Thoughts: I am really enjoying this stable of Team Filthy with American Top Team. They all offer a different style of Martial Arts and this match, it was purely to show that Garrini is highly gifted in Jiu-Jitsu by being able to take down a guy the size of Dr. Dax with ease.
MJF Promo
MJF is backstage and worked up about Mance Warner. He says that he knows Warner is trying to bate him but it’s not going to work because he is smarter. He insults Mance by saying he has as many brain cells as teeth, which isn’t many and calls him an “outlaw, mud show, s**tty little indie p**ck who should have never stepped foot in a major league company, let alone their rarified air”. During this promo, MJF is getting more and more worked up and Hammerstone is trying to calm him down. MJF ends by simply saying “I will f**k you up, Mance!”.
Next week’s Loser Leaves MLW Empty Arena Match between MJF and Mance Warner is advertised.
This is followed by the same Pagano vignette we have seen for the last few weeks.
King Mo Highlight Reel
We see a highlight reel of King Mo showing a load of his knockouts from Bellator. In a voice-over, Mo says that he was the King of MMA and now wants to be the King of MLW. He says that he is willing to take on anyone. singles or tag teams and calls himself the “Black Leprechaun” because he wants all the gold.
After the vignette, we are told that Low Ki has KO’d 60% of his opponents in the last twelve months and King Mo has KO’d 62% in his MMA career.
Davie’s Thoughts: MLW continues to do a great job at hyping their main events each week. I do not follow MMA so am unaware of King Mo but they do really well with packages like this to help me understand how big a star he is and how this match against Low Ki is important. King Mo also has had quite a few great one-liners in his promos and vignettes so far.
Brian Pillman Jr Update
Alicia Atout updates us that there is still no sign of Brian Pillman Jr and therefore tonight’s match against Jordan Oliver is now off.
National Openweight Championship
T-Hawk vs Alexander Hammerstone
Our second match of the evening is between OWE’s T-Hawk and National Openweight Champion, Alexander Hammerstone. The crowd is all behind T-Hawk in this match. T-Hawk is the smaller man but manages to level Hammerstone with a few huge chops to the chest and manages to pick him up for a Vertical Suplex, which was incredibly impressive. Hammerstone even looks impressed by this and gives a smile to T-Hawk. Hammerstone goes for a Leapfrog but gets caught in a Sit-Out Powerbomb for a two count. Hammerstone starts to make a comeback by pounding away at T-Hawk in the corner and hits a Bicycle Kick on the outside. Back in the ring, Hammerstone tells T-Hawk to “give me what you got” and is met by another big chop. T-Hawk knocks Hammerstone off the top rope with another huge chop to the chest. The biggest near fall of the match is when T-Hawk bounces back after being hit by a Standing Dropkick and follows up with a Shining Wizard to the back of Hammerstone’s head. Hammerstone comes back with another Bicycle Kick, German Suplex, and a Powerbomb into the Boston Crab but T-Hawk manages to get out of the hold. Both start trading blows and T-Hawk goes to the top but is knocked down by a Single Leg Dropkick. This is followed up with a Superplex and the Nightmare Pendulum giving Alexander Hammerstone the victory.
Alexander Hammerstone defeats T-Hawk in 12 mins 16 secs
Davie’s Thoughts: I thought this was a fantastic bout and my clear Match of the Night. T-Hawk and Hammerstone differ quite significantly in size but T-Hawk more than held his own. His chops are some of the best out there. I liked that Hammerstone didn’t rely purely on his size and showed off his agility as well.
Brian Pillman Jr Update
We learn that Jared St. Laurent (Head of Wrestling Operations) has reached out to Davey Boy Smith Jr for information on the whereabouts of Brian Pillman Jr, however, he hasn’t heard anything from him either.
Low Ki Highlight Reel
“The Champ” by Ghostface Killah is playing as we see a highlight reel of all of Low Ki’s knockouts in MLW. Another great video package to hype up the main event.
PWI’s Top 10 Contenders For The MLW World Heavyweight Championship
10. King Mo
9. Low Ki
8. Mance Warner
7. MJF
6. Richard Holliday
5. Brian Pillman JR
4. Tom Lawlor
3. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
2. Myron Reed
1. Alexander Hammerstone
MLW Heavyweight Champion – Jacob Fatu
Konnan Interview
Alicia Atout interviews Konnan and tells him how excited she is for the AAA MLW Super Series in two weeks. Konnan hypes the event that will be taking place in Tijuana and says that it will be a completely different style of wrestling as AAA work a Lucha Libre style. cross-promotional matches allow the product to not get stale. He says that inter-promotional matches are cool but it is way cooler when against another promotion. Next week he will tell us the card for the show.
Mance Warner Selfie Promo
Mance Warner cuts a selfie promo on The Dynasty and MJF. He says that they beat up his family and busted him in the head but it only made him crazier. Next week he will be having a “Loser Leaves Town” match and he “ain’t leaving anywhere”. He finishes by telling MJF that he’s going to finally answer to everything he has done to him.
Davie’s Thoughts: Solid promo from Mance Warner. I enjoy his ‘in your face ‘style and I feel this feud has been built up pretty well over the last few weeks.
Brian Pillman Jr. Update
Alicia Atout attempts to give an update on Brian Pillman Jr when Injustice shows up. They show her a video on their phone and Atout looks concerned.
King Mo w/ Dan Lambert vs Low Ki w/ Ross Von Erich
The crowd is very hot for Low Ki during the entrances and the start of this match. The referee gives it a big fight feel by dressing both men down and telling them the rules. King Mo is talking a lot of trash and Low Ki looks razor focussed. The ref warns them that he is not going to ring the bell until they both go back to their respective corners. The match starts with both going for kicks whilst being defensive. They are trying to work a real MMA style here. Mo gets Low Ki into the ropes and delivers a few stiff knees to the ribs before the ref breaks them up. Low Ki is then dumped over the top rope onto the floor and he looks hurt. Low Ki struggles back to the ring but is dumped again to the outside. King Mo locks in an STF followed by a Kimura but Low Ki fights back with shots to the ribs. Mo targets the injured knee of Low Ki with a Chop Block and sends him to the outside. Low Ki is now in agony and really struggling to make it back into the ring before the Twenty Count. As Low Ki is making it back to his feet, Mo is taunting him with Jumping Jacks. Low Ki starts to swing wildly but misses and Mo starts laying in some slaps to the face. Low Ki manages to come back with a stiff kick to the leg followed by a Rolling Koppu Kick to the head. Low Ki then gets Mo into a Modified Sleeper when Garrini and Stevens make their way to ringside. Marshall Von Erich comes out to even the numbers and the referee sends them all to the back. Whilst the referee is distracted, Tom Lawlor gets into the ring and smashes and umbrella across the back of the neck of Low Ki. Dan Lambert then throws in the towel Ross Von Erich was holding for Low Ki and the referee calls for the bell.
King Mo defeats Low Ki via Knockout in 9 mins 42 secs
After the match, Alicia Atout interviews King Mo and Dan Lambert at the top of the stage. Lambert denies cheating and says that it is obvious that Low Ki got knocked out and his team threw in the towel. He then goes on to insult the people of Philadelphia. King Mo tells everyone to bend the knee to their new King of Knockouts. Lawlor gets on the mic and questions why the people of Philadelphia will worship a fake like Rocky Balboa but not bend the knee for King Mo. He attempts to start a King Mo chant as the segment ends.
Davie’s Thoughts: I’m really enjoying the feud between Team Filthy/America Top Team and The Von Erich’s etc. and I thought this was a solid match. However, I am starting to get frustrated by the screwy finishes in these TV main events. The last three weeks have seemed to end very similarly. Both Low Ki and King Mo work a style that I enjoy in modern wrestling and I think Mo has his character down very well. I’m very much looking forward to seeing more from him. Low Ki’s selling was also exceptional in this match. Overall a good match but let down by the finish.
Brian Pillman Jr Attack
We see the footage that Injustice provided Alicia Atout with. Brian Pillman Jr is in the parking lot where he is attacked by Injustice. The attack ends when Myron Reed Curb Stomps Pillman’s head through a cinder block.
Davie’s Thoughts: A pretty strong episode of Fusion this week. They have quite a few very clearly built feuds that are growing week by week with Injustice vs Pillman Jr, Mance Warner vs MJF/The Dynasty and Team Filthy vs Team Von Erich’s/Kross/Davey Boy/Low Ki. I like having a mystery throughout the whole show with “what happened to Pillman Jr”, it didn’t eat up too much time but kept my interest and had the pay off at the end. I also thought this episode had two really strong matches.
I really recommend adding MLW Fusion to your viewing habits during this strange time. The only thing the show lacked this week was LA Park cooking with his son!
Davie Portman is the co-host of upNXT with Braden Herrington every Wednesday at POST Wrestling.