wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s MLW Fusion (Ep. 167) Review 6.01.23
Image Credit: MLW
Loading...Alright everyone, back to the land of MLW once again. Tonight our big match is a trios affair with Hijo del Vikingo, Psycho Clown, and Rey Horus taking on John Hennigan (I believe going by Johnny Caballero for this match originally), Gringo Loco, and Sam Adonis. As a reminder we’re still drawing from the Super Series tapings from February.
First, Mance Warner is waking up in a hotel room after a night of partying. The rest of the Second Gear Crew is here as well, 1 Called Manders isn’t sure if they’re still in Mexico. Mance looks around for Microman, he’s in the corner with a very large bra on his head. All four men head out for beers before they return to the States. A little disjointed and probably not as funny in execution as it might have been in concept.
Abismo Negro Jr. comes to the ring first, he’s followed by Taurus.
Match #1 – Tag Team Match: La Rebelion (Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf) vs. Abismo Negro Jr. and Taurus
Bestia and Taurus start things off, they tie up and Taurus overpowers Bestia then slaps him. Kick from Bestia then he chops Taurus and tags in Wolf. Wolf with a chop then tags Bestia back in. Taurus counters an arm wringer then they trade arm drags for a bit before both men escape head scissors and we get a stand off. Taurus offers a handshake, Bestia declines a few times before landing a tornado kick. Abismo comes in as Taurus rolls to the floor, lucha tag rules are in place. Wolf tags in and chops Abismo then lands a corner offense before Taurus comes in and wrenches his neck the drills him with a snap powerslam and we get a cut.
Not sure how much we might have missed as we come back, but Wolf and Bestia double team Taurus to send him outside, then hit stereo suicide dives. Abismo is isolated now and takes tandem offense from Wolf and Bestia. Taurus now gets double teamed for a bit. Abismo tries to fire up with chops to both men but the numbers catch up and he eats a sandwich knee strike from both men. Bestia heads up top, but Taurus stops the attempted double team move. Bestia takes what is supposed to be a Code Red from Abismo then Taurus cuts him in half with a Spear. Now it’s Wolf who takes tandem offense, and Taurus drops him with a pop up Samoan drop, then Abismo follows up with a top rope dropkick to the tail bone. Wolf rolls out of the ring after that one, and Bestia has to fight off Taurus and shoves him into Abismo. Abismo runs wild, hurricanrana to Taurus then a knee strike to Abismo. Taurus with a Codebreaker to Bestia, then Wolf hits him with a powerbomb, and Abismo drops Wolf with a back suplex. Bestia wants a Muscle Buster on Abismo, he hits it. Taurus hits Bestia with a sick backbreaker. Wolf with a rebound German suplex then Abismo catches him with a Styles Clash for a 2 count. Taurus headbutts Bestia but Wolf back body drops him to the floor. Abismo and Bestia square off, then Abismo eats some ping pong offense from Wolf and Bestia. Wolf and Bestia then hit the Mark of the Beast (powerbomb and diving top rope backstabber combination), Wolf dives onto Taurus as Bestia pins Abismo for the win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: La Rebelion won in 12:04
Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: A little disjointed, but my main gripe is with the editing. The cutting made this harder to follow than necessary, and there was a clear lowering of the match volume and, given that it sounds like there was an air horn or something similar going off in the crowd, was probably necessary to save everyone’s sanity.
Willie Mack is selling Cesar Duran’s stuff at the venue, but here come Johnny Location, Taya Valkyrie, and Sam Adonis. They want to know where Cesar Duran is, Mack will tell them what he’s heard about the whereabouts of Duran after a shot at Johnny’s title. Again, audio issues present.
Jacob Fatu with a video promo, he calls out The Calling. He notes it took four of them to drop him, but all they did was wake him up, and warns them that the black flag of Contra still lives within him. He’s still coming for John Hennigan, but promises violence for The Calling.
We’re updated on the Never Say Never card, Alexander Hammerstone defending his title against Alex Kane, The Calling taking on The Samoan Swat Team for the tag team titles, and Timothy Thatcher will be there as well.
Alex Kane and Mr. Thomas talk in the back, they dismiss claims about the revenue flow for the Bomaye Fight Club and Kane says they’ll reveal their backer at Never Say Never.
Delmi Exo talks in the back, she was supposed to get a title shot tonight but it seems Taya is dodging her. She says the MLW fans deserve better than Taya. We get a live update, she’ll get her title shot in two weeks in New York City. Delmi says Taya’s reign ends in two weeks, and the God Queen is ready.
B3CCA hype video follows.
To the ring, main event time.
Match #2 – Trios Match: Hijo del Vikingo, Rey Horus, and Psycho Clown vs. John Hennigan, Sam Adonis, and Gringo Loco
Hennigan and Horus start, they trade shoves then Adonis and Gringo jump Horus from behind. We get some brawling between Adonis and Psycho on the floor as Grigno and Hennigan attack Horus. Vikingo jumps into the fray as things are going a little wild. Horus takes some team offense from the heels. Vikingo gets isolated now, Adinos and Grigno set up a facebuster, which Hennigan helps out with a drop kick. Psycho gets jumped now, and Adonis gets the ref to help him stomp on Psycho. Hell ref I guess. Some corner offense to Psycho, including a splash from the ref and we get a cut.
Psycho is still getting isolated and chopped in the corner. Adonis hits him with a back suplex then Hennigan follows with Starship Pain but Horus is here to break up the pin. Horus tries to fight all three men, that goes poorly as the numbers catch up with him. Vikingo’s turn for the save, he jumps from the ring post, bounces off the ropes and launches Gringo and Hennigan with a double arm drag. Vikingo is nuts. The faces all hit dives on the floor now, the Psycho starts landing chair shots to Adonis. Horus chops at Hennigan then tosses a chair into his face. In the ring Psycho hits Adonis with a trash can, then puts it on his head and whacks it with a chair. Hennigan gets doused with a bevy of drinks on the floor. The ref has to run away from Psycho and his chair as Psycho was after vengeance. Horus chops away at Adonis then he takes some corner offense from all three men, Vikingo sets him on the top rope and Psycho drills him with a jumping Codebreaker. Snap powerslam from Adonis but no count on the cover, then Horus and Vikingo hit stereo Spanish Fly’s on Hennigan and Gringo. Now Adonis is the one getting stuff thrown at him on the floor. Horus avoids a lot of Hennigan offense but Hennigan overpowers him with a corkscrew Razor’s Edge for a 2 count. Kicks from Horus now, then a springboard tornado DDT and Adonis has to break up the pin. Adonis drills Horus with a pop up Samoan drop, then Psycho wipes him out with a crossbody then a pop up elbow strike. Psycho sets a chair between Adonis’s legs and cracks it with another chair. La Magistral Cradle from Psycho but a slow count means only a 2 count. Adonis hits a Michinoku Driver for a 2 count. Some punches from Adonis but Psycho pulls out a leather belt and unloads on Adonis and Gringo with it. Shots to Hennigan as well, then the ref gets strapped as well. Gringo dropkicks Psycho but Vikingo now squares off with Gringo. Vikingo with a slick arm drag then hits the ropes and bounces off the shoulders of Gringo and hits a head scissors. Gringo smacks down Viking but Vikingo fights back with a wheel kick then comes out of the corner with a bounce to the top rope, misses his corkscrew head scissors and just head scissors Gringo to the floor. A follow up diving springboard 450 into a head scissors from Vikingo, the man is nuts. In the ring Horus with a DDTJ to Hennigan then he dives onto Hennigan on the floor. In the ring Psycho rolls up Adonis with a Victory Roll, but only a 2 count. Adonis clotheslines Psycho but can’t find a 3 count. Now Adonis up top, but Psycho avoids the Swanton Bomb and hits a Code Red for the win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Hijo del Vikingo, Rey Horus, and Psycho Clown won in 14:04
Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: A little too unstructured for my personal tastes, but the crowd was wild for it. Vikingo is still a total madman, Horus was pretty solid, and while Psycho Clown relies more on presentation than radical athleticism it works for him. Gringo was kind of an afterthought here, while Adonis and Hennigan were genuine heat magnets.
The faces celebrate as the episode ends.
