Winfree’s MLW Fusion Alpha (Ep. 8) Review 11.10.21

Time for more Fusion Alpha action. Tonight we’ve got one of the Opera Cup semifinal matches when Davey Richards takes on Bobby Fish. That has a ton of potential to be a great match. We’re also getting Los Parks in trios action against 5150, and big old 12 man survival tag team match. There’s also almost certainly going to be a women’s featherweight title at some point now that MLW has introduced the division so Cesar Duran will probably have something to say tonight.

Alexander Hammerstone, EJ Nduka, and Richard Holliday are in the back and approached, but they all blow the interviewer off. Holliday is on the phone with someone as Cesar Duran shows up. Duran says they’re hard men to locate, but notes they still need another man for War Chamber. Hammerstone says they don’t trust Duran, EJ doesn’t do deals with the Devil because they don’t want to be stabbed in the back. Duran implores them to think rationally, he doesn’t want Contra around any more than they do and offers to help them get rid of Contra. Hammerstone has had enough of the monologues, and asks who Duran is offering. Duran dangles a key around his neck, EJ objects to another riddle. None of them seem to recognize the key, but anyone who watched Lucha Underground can tell a Matanza tease when they see one.

To the ring for our first match. Jacob Fatu is causing havoc in the back.

Match #1 – Trios Match: Los Parks (LW, Park, LA Park Jr. and Hijo de LA Park) vs. 5150 (Homicide, Slice Boogie and Danny Rivera) w/ Julius Smokes and Konnan

This was originally supposed to be a trios match, but no sign of LA Park so I guess we’re in tag team action. Because we’ve got Junior here instead of LA Park this is non title. We get a wild brawl right off the bat with all four men in the ring. Boogie and Jurnio square off as does Hijo and Rivera. The ref is just letting this craziness happen right now. Neither team gets much of an advantage, but here comes Homicide to join 5150. Homicide lays into Hijo and he’s turned the odds in favor of 5150. OK, here comes LA Park with a chair. Park goes after 5150 and things remain chaotic as Los Parks clear the ring. We get a triple suicide dive onto 5150. Hijo sets up a board in the ring, and starts fighting with Boogie. Some belt shots from Hijo then he and Boogie start trading strikes. Roaring elbow from Hijo then a German suplex and a Code Red for a 2 count. Hijo chops Boogie against the board but runs into a pump kick then Boogie with an awkward as hell powerbomb through the board. That brings in Park with his chair and he smacks Boogie in the head with it. The ref has had enough of this and calls the match off.

OFFICIAL RESULT: No Contest at 5:14

Rating: 2.5 stars

Neither of these teams care about the ref, post match Smokes gets his slap jack and brains the ref then Rivera gets Park from behind. Homicide and Rivera attack Park and hit him with a double clothesline. Junior in with super kicks, Rivera can’t take Junior down though until he lands an enziguri and dives onto Junior. Homicide then wants the Gringo Killah on Hijo but Hijo fights free, hits a super kick but Homicide sends him out of the ring and hits his tope con hilo through the ropes. Park and Boogie are in the ring and start trading chops. Boogie goes to strikes but Park cuts him off with a headbutt. Boogie runs into a massive spear as Hijo gets a piece of the ring board and goes nuts on the outside. The chairs come out and Los Parks beat down 5150, the brawl continues and the production throws away.

Too wild to have any structure, but as far as wild brawls go this wasn’t the worst one I’ve ever seen.

Contra video, Josef Samael mocks Philadelphia and the residents calling them scummy, inbred, window licking garbage people. That’s a heck of a line. He says the people of Philadelphia are known for backing losers, so of course they support Hammerstone and his army at War Chamber. But in the War Chamber there’s no where to run, and no where to hide.

Los Parks and 5150 continue brawling in the backstage area, but here’s Fatu as well to add to the chaos. 5150 steals Hijo’s mask and run off. To the ring, we’ve got more craziness coming.

Match #2 – 12 Man Survival Tag Team Match: EJ Nduka, Richard Holliday, Savio Vega, The Blue Meanie, Warhorse, and Zenshi vs. Ikuro Kwon, KC Navarro, King Mo, Gino Medina, Kevin Ku and The Beastman with Kimchee

We get a wild brawl at first with the good guys standing tall. Things settle down after that and Warhorse gets things going with Ku. Ku and Warhorse start trading wild chops and strikes before Warhorse lays in a clothesline. Shotgun dropkick from Warhorse then a knee strike in the corner. Warhorse up top but misses a double stomp and Kwon comes in to cut him off. Ku hits a Doctor Bomb (gutwrench powerbomb) to eliminate Warhorse.

EJ comes in as does King Mo. Quick spinebuster from EJ and King Mo is gone.

Ku comes back in and tries to take EJ down with strikes but gets a spinning Blue Thunder Bomb and Ku is gone as well.

Navarro decides to try his hand, and Holliday tags in. Holliday with a strike but Navarro drills him with a drop kick then a big dive over the top rope onto Holliday. Back in the ring Navarro heads up top and hits a Frog Splash for a 2 count. Zenshi tags in and he starts upping the pace with Navarro. Navarro wit ha flurry of offense but misses a double stomp then tries a double around the world head scissors but Zenshi lands on his feet. Helicopter face buster from Zensi. Navarro tags in Kwon but Zenshi drops them both with a hand spring double Pele kick. Kwon tags in Beastman, and Zenshi tries to avoid him for a bit before getting caught with a hip attack. Beastman catches Zenshi and hits a fall away slam then a cannonball senton in the corner. Zenshi is dead, and pinned.

Savio Vega comes in with his kendo stick, Beastman has his bone. Vega with a bunch of kendo shots then a heel kick. The ref takes the stick away from Vega and Beastman downs him with a clothesline then a big splash and Vega is eliminated.

Meanie comes in and they trade some taunts. Meanie calls for a sumo exchange and they run into each other a few times but neither goes down. Then Meanie just avoids Beastman and lays in strikes. Kimchee ties up Meaning and Beastman hits an avalanche and a big splash to eliminate the Meanie.

EJ comes back in and he’s had enough of this silliness. Beastman and EJ start trading strikes, then they catch a flying Kimchee and toss him away. Beastman tries another avalanche but just squashes Kimchee the EJ hits a spinebuster to take out Beastman. He drills Kimchee with that spinebuster (The Verdict apparently) just because he can.

Holliday heads in to deal with Gino Medina. They argue again about being fired or quitting, then start trading strikes. Both men with rebound strikes then Holliday hits a gutwrench facebuster and clotheslines Medina out of the ring. They brawl on the outside, then Kwon super kicks Holliday and Medina beats the count back to the ring so Holliday has been counted out.

EJ gets attacked 3 on 1 for a bit, but he tosses all of them out of the corner. Medina lands a super kick, but runs into a Verdict and Medina is gone.

Navarro flies in, but EJ catches him and curls him a few times then hits another Verdict and Navarro is gone.

Kwon lays in some kicks, but EJ grabs him by the neck and hoists him onto his shoulders, then up in a Military press and drops him down into The Verdict then pins and wins.

OFFICIAL RESULT: EJ Nduka was the last survivor at 13:17

Rating: 2.5 stars

A bit too hectic for its own good at times, but they’re pushing EJ Nduka like a monster and that definitely came across here. The rest was small samplings of comedy or more cruiserweight stylings. Not bad, but I can’t quite get all the way to good either.

Cesar Duran and Willow Nightingale talk in the back, Duran mentions she’s the favorite to win the first MLW women’s title. Willow admires Duran’s work and wants to be a part of his vision, she’s not here to make friends she’s here to take and make the title. Duran thinks this is the beginning of a productive relationship. His masked crony comes up, Jacob Fatu is still causing problems so Duran has to go deal with him. He compliments Willow’s hair before heading off.

Fatu chases the masked goon into Duran’s office. Fatu wants a title shot rematch, Duran would love to promote that match but his hands are tied. They talk about the parable of the double edged sword, and Duran mentions that while Josef Samael controlled who could challenge Fatu for the title. Well that agreement is still in place, and as of right now Josef Samael has not approved Fatu’s rematch. Fatu isn’t happy about this. Duran tells Fatu he might have to cut ties with Samael, Fatu says nothing will come between them but he didn’t have too much conviction.

Back to the ring for our main event.

Match #3 – 2021 Opera Cup Semifinal Match: Bobby Fish vs. Davey Richards

Both men slowly circle each other, then Fish offers a handshake, but turns it into a fist bump which Davey accepts. They tie up, then both try kicks on the break. Fish lands an inside leg kick, some of the camera work here is a little iffy as we’re missing some action. Fish goes for the arm, Davey escapes the arm wringer and kicks the arm of Fish. That leads to Fish taking a bit of a powder before coming back into the ring. Quick go behind from Fish, Davey returns it and they spin a few times before Davey is able to send Fish out of the ring. Davey to the apron, but misses a punt kick and Fish sweeps his legs so Davey drops to the apron. A series of strikes from Fish on the outside then they head back into the ring. Davey is selling his left leg after the flurry and Fish is in control now. They head out of the ring again and Fish is laying in kicks as Davey tries to recover around the ringside area. Fish kicks Davey down, but Davey starts fighting back and they trade elbow strikes. They head back into the ring and Fish starts laying in body shots. They run the ropes and Davey hits a kitchen sink to drop Fish. Davey with a snapmare then goes after the arm of Fish. Davey stomps the arm of Fish and starts going after the limb with a Fujiwara armbar. Fish gets into the ropes to break them up, then lands a knee strike. Davey picks the ankle and goes after the leg and moves to a body scissors. Fish works to break the body lock, and Davey breaks it then kicks Fish down. Fish back up, takes another kick but he’s firing up now. Both men start trading strikes again, Fish counters a suplex attempt and kicks the knee of Davey then drops him with a kick to the chest. Avalanche from Fish, he’s battering Davey and starts after the leg again and hits a Dragon Screw then a sliding clothesline for a 2 count. Davey gets his knees up to block a hilo and now Davey starts firing up. Fish avoids a punt kick and grabs the Fish Hook, Davey is in agony but is able to counter into the Sharpshooter. They roll into a pinning position and kick out to break the tie up. Both men land stereo kicks, trade back kicks then stereo head kicks. Fish wants an exploder suplex but Davey counters into the Ankle Lock. Fish scrambles for the ropes, has to kick Davey off but Davey downs him with a punt kick. Brainbuster from Davey but that only gets 2, he turns the kick out into the Ankle Lock then grapevines the leg and Fish has to tap.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Davey Richards won in 11:50

Rating: 3.5 stars

Unsurprisingly, a very good match. Both men play into each others strengths quite well, we got some good limb work, solid strikes, really nice counters, while the finishing stretch didn’t quite kick into overdrive this was a fun watch overall.

Post match Davey and Fish are still in the ring, Davey offers the handshake this time, Fish accepts and they transition into a hug.

In the back Hamemrstone and his team are with Alicia Atout, Alicia mentions that Savio Vega will be the fourth man for their team but his fifth man is still a mystery. EJ brings up the key, and reminds us he used to use that key with his brother. Hammerstone notes no one has seen Duran’s brother in years (way to make jolly island boy Jeff Cobb sad) and doesn’t think that’s what’s coming. Holliday isn’t particularly pleased about Vega being on their team, he doesn’t get along with Vega and Vega isn’t a babyface like them. Hammerstone breaks the sad news to Holliday that he’s a tweener at best. I don’t normally like that kind of verbiage being used by wrestlers, but that made me chuckle. Duran’s goon shows up to whisper to Alica, and apparently Duran has given Holliday a world title shot. Hammerstone and feigns shock, how will he ever trust Holliday again? Holliday, likewise overacting, promises to stab Hammerstone in his big old back. They then mime the usual best friend betrayal after one of them wins the big one. Hammerstone comes back to reality, he wants matches with Holliday and EJ, Duran wont put a wedge between them no matter what games he plays. OK, that was kind of awesome.

We get a hype video package for the War Chamber match including highlights of Hammerstone taking on Fatu. Next week in the War Chamber Hammerstone’s team will take on Contra Unit once and for all.

7.7

The final score: review Good

The 411

A pretty good episode this week, we got some solid wrestling, angle advancement, and a decent hype job for the War Chamber match next week. Fish and Richards had a good match, Los Parks and 5150 had a wild brawl, and EJ Nduka got to look like a monster even if he's still a bit green. For what constitutes the go home show for a big match like War Chamber, this was a solid hit from MLW.