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Winfree’s MLW: Fusion (Ep. 119) Review 1.27.21

January 28, 2021 | Posted by Robert Winfree
MLW: Fusion
5.6
The 411 Rating
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Winfree’s MLW: Fusion (Ep. 119) Review 1.27.21  

Hey there everyone, Winfree back to check out another episode of MLW Fusion. Tonight the big match is going to be Richard Holliday defending his Caribbean Championship against Savio Vega in a strap match. Those two have been feuding off and on for a while and we might finally get some closure on that. A shot at the tag team titles is on the line when TJP and his student Bu Ku Dao take on Violence is Forever. Also the AAA World Cruiserweight title will be defended under the MLW banner when champion Laredo Kid battles Zenshi.

Contra Unit interrupts our video opening. Josef Samael sends a message to Injustice, he’s got soldiers in every dark corner of this God forsaken planet. Daivari next, he speaks I believe Persian. Samael again, he says Daivari was just another weak and broken man until he was reborn and rebuilt under the black flag of Contra. He promises to humble Inustice.

Straight to the ring for our first match.

Match #1 – AAA World Cruiserweight Title Match: (c) Laredo Kid vs. Zenshi

They shake hands to start. A tie up, into the corner and we get a clean break. They repeat that spot but with the other one giving the clean break. Zenshi grabs a side headlock. Laredo fights into a front headlock and then they start trading arm wringers and escapes. Some acrobatics from Zenshi, Laredo just kind of watches him and then makes him tie up again. Laredo back to the arm, Zenshi sweeps the leg to escape. A lot of evasion from Laredo thus far, they hit the ropes and Laredo runs into a spinning flapjack then is kicked out of the ring. Zenshi with a delayed swinging 619 on the floor, then a shooting star press from the apron. Back into the ring, Zenshi with a slingshot twisting senton for 2. Zenshi goes to a reverse nelson, Laredo fights out and gets a fireman’s carry but Zenshi flips out and lands a back elbow. Laredo with an elbow and a kick, he slips to the apron and kicks Zenzhi. Up top for Laredo, he hits a drop kick and Zenzhi to the outside. They trade some missed aerial moves, Laredo to the second rope, tries a moonsault but lands on his feet as Zenshi moves but Laredo hits him with a loose Michinoku driver. 450 off the apron to Zenzhi. MLW has a 20 count on the outside rather than 10, they get back into the ring before that ends and Laredo covers for a near fall.

Laredo in control with stomps and chomps. Into the corner now, Laredo with some shoulder slams, then a jumping forearm and another Michinoku driver. Laredo with a first rope moonsault, tries one from the second but runs into the knees of Zenshi. Zenshi with a couple of kicks in the corner, then a 450 seated senton. Running slam from Zenshi then a standing shooting star press for a near fall. They start trading forearms. Zenshi with a series of kicks, but Laredo with a front flip DDT and both men are down. Cover from Laredo but Zenshi gets a foot on the rope to save himself. Another cover from Laredo but this time Zenshi kicks out. Laredo up top, Zenshi intercepts him with a Pele kick, then a top rope snapmare for 2. Zenshi to the top rope, Laredo’s turn to intercept. They fight on the top rope, Zenshi shoves Laredo off then kicks him when he tries to attack again. Both men still on the top rope, Spanish fly from Laredo and he wins.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Laredo Kid retained the AAA Cruiserweight Title at 10:01

Rating: 2.5 stars

A bit too spotty for my tastes, but well executed in that I never felt one of the wrestlers was about to die.

Laredo Kid on the mic, he calls himself the best cruiserweight in the world. He wants to get the MLW Middleweight title from Lio Rush.

We get a recap of the Injustice surprise attack last week. Injustice with a video promo, he says Contra did this to themselves when they kicked him when he was down. He’s using that to fuel himself and evolve. He promises he’ll get his justice next time he gets one of Contra Unit in the ring.

Time for our Top 10 Contenders Countdown.

10. ACH
9. Daivari
8. Myron Reed
7. Mil Muertes
6. Richard Holliday
5. Mads Krugger
4. Lio Rush – MLW Middleweight Champion
3. Low Ki
2. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
1. Alexander Hammerstone – MLW National Openweight Champion
MLW World Champion – Jacob Fatu

Next we get a recap of the tag team title match from a couple of weeks ago. Promo from the Von Erich’s. They’re back in Hawaii, Kevin motivates them talking about how he got screwed back in the day and used it for fuel. Apparently Tom Lawlor is in the area and stirring up the locals, they want to finish their business with Lawlor and then come back after the title’s

Los Parks with a video now. They run down their potential challengers, and hope that anyone who steps to them has good insurance.

Filthy Island is still coming, eventually.

We get video from “moments ago” when Gino Medina showed up outside. He wants to be here when Richard Holliday gets beaten. The video here is horribly out of sync.

Video from Mads Krugger, he says Hammerstone is on borrowed time before he destroys him. He promises to break Hammerstone in their Baklei Brawl.

Tom Lawlor video, he denies any involvement by himself or any of Team Filthy in the attack on ACH. ACH isn’t championship material, nothing more or less. He thinks he should be the one getting a title shot, and everyone’s going to learn that lesson sooner or later.

Tag Team match is next.

Match #2: TJP and Bu Ku Dao vs. Violence is Forever (Dominick Garrini and Kevin Ku)

Garrini and Dao start us off. Some circling early, then Garrini starts using his size and shoving Dao around. Garrini drops to his butt and scoots forward, looking to pull guard. Garrini grabs at an omoplata, uses that to get a rear waist lock and just tosses Dao across the ring. Flying triangle from Garrini, he scoots them to his corner and tags Ku in. Ku tries a surfboard, bails on that to land strikes. Dao with a poorly done hurricanrana and he gets a front headlock. Dao with a snap suplex and tags in TJP. They hit a double team rolling senton. Ku looks to tag out, he and TJP wind up trading holds until TJP gets an octopus hold into a pinning position for 2. Scoop slam from TJP then he tags Dao in. TJP tosses Dao onto Ku. Ku backs them into his corner, Garrini tags in then they hit a European uppercut assisted German suplex and Ku follows up bot attacking TJP. Some kicks from Garrini and he mocks TJP. Garrini with a big hip toss into a scarf hold position. Dao tries to attack an arm, Garrini escapes that and lands stomps to Dao. Ku tagged in, the hit tandem kicks for a near fall. Some elbows on the mat from Ku, he’s working the arm and then lands a kick. Chops from Ku then he tags Garrini back in.

Garrini with chops and knees then mocks TJP. TJP tries to get into the ring, so the heels double team Dao behind the refs back for a second or two. Garrini with a snapmare, then a backbreaker and Ku hits a lariat. Ku tagged in, Dao tries to fight back and hits a crucifix bomb and both men are down. Dao tags out and TJP runs wild for a bit on both of the heels. Tornado DDT to Ku, then a series of drop kicks to Garrini but Garrini counters with a knee. TJP with a two man arm drag. Three snap suplexes from TJP, he’s up top but Garrini shoves him off the rope. Dao tagged in, hits a tilt a while into a crippler cross face. Garrini tries to save the match, TJP interferes with an octopus stretch but Garrini is able to dump them both onto Ku and Dao so all four men are down. Ku with strikes to Dao, TJP hits him with a kick but Garrini folds him up with a knee. Dao with a poorly executed move to Ku, TJP with a frog splash to Ku and then Dao covers to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: TJP and Bu Ku Dao won at 10:02

Rating: 2 stars

Decent little match, the only problem was the fairly obvious winner as you couldn’t really run heel vs. heel next week for the belts. That match is similarly easy to call, Los Parks just got the belts and are really unlikely to drop them to these two.

TJP gets a mic in the ring, he says it’s a new year and new TJP. He says next week he and Dao will take a stroll through Los Parks.

Video from King Mo, it’s framed like he’s in the hospital. He says he’ll be speaking as Muhammad Lawal, not King Mo. A few months ago he beat up Low Ki, and calls Ki just a broken man now. He says he’s worried about Low Ki’s mental health, he knows the results of head trauma and thinks Low Ki shouldn’t be allowed in a ring. His next time in the ring might be his last time, especially if he steps to Lawal.

In the back Holliday says Vega isn’t getting over on him, and reminds everyone these are the terms that Vega wanted. He watched that old match with Stone Cold, but that was 30 years ago. This wont be a classic, it’ll be a crime and he’s going to cause a lot of pain for Vega. Each and ever time he whips Vega, he wants him to know that he did this to himself. Vega will never out smart, out Caribbean, or out champion him.

We get a run down for the main event, which is next.

Match #3 – Caribbean Strap Match for the Caribbean Title: (c) Richard Holliday vs. Savio Vega

This was talked about like a four corner style of strap match, let’s see if that will be how it plays out. Both men hook into the strap and we’re ready to go. Holliday tries for a run to the corners but Vega cuts that off and whips Holliday a few times then starts choking him with the strap. Vega’s turn to hit the buckles but he’s cut off by Holliday. Kicks from Holliday and a running back elbow. Holliday’s turn to choke Vega with the strap. Some whips from Holliday, then he tries the corners again but Vega cuts him off with chops. Vega chokes Holliday in the corner, tries to hit the buckles but Holliday stops him and goes after the eyes. A back body drop from Vega then he clotheslines Holliday out of the ring. Holliday is able to tie up the strap and keep Vega from hitting the corners then hangs up Vega over the top rope. To the rope for Holliday and he hits a flying clothesline. Holliday after the buckles, but takes way too long and Vega rolls away from the last buckle. Vega goes for the corners now but Holliday stops that and goes for the buckles himself. Vega winds up hitting a clothesline and starts choking Holliday with the strap.

Some whips from Vega, he tries to tie up Holliday and drag him around the ring. Vega gets through 3 corners before Holliday is able to draw him in and kick him in the face. Holliday with some offense now, he tries a cover on instinct then remembers the rules and tries the corners but Vega stops him and they hit the old double clothesline spot. Both men up, Vega after the buckles, Holliday behind him hitting them as well. There’s some confusion as the ref is in Vega’s way. Oh, that’s intentional and as Vega tries to argue with the ref Holliday hits the last two corners to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Richard Holliday retained the Caribbean title at 8:57

Rating: 1 star

That might be a generous rating. What an absolute bore of a match, somehow made worse but the incredibly tired heel ref cliché. I’m not sure whether Vega or Holliday deserves more of the blame here, but it’s worth noting that Holliday hasn’t exactly been impressive in the ring during my time covering MLW.

In the back Holliday is with Alicia Atout. He downplays the talk of controversy, calls the ref by his first name. The ref says this was just like 2007 when the Lakers played the Kings, on the up and up. An angry Vega crashes that party and ends the episode.

5.6
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
Slightly below average show this week, the whole thing was dragged down by the main event which was a total bore. Just not a whole lot here this week all in all, hopefully things pick up next week.
legend

article topics :

MLW: Fusion, Robert Winfree