Winfree’s MLW Underground Episode 4 Review 8.02.20

Hey there everyone, I’m Robert Winfree still your host through the re-airing of MLW’s old Underground show. Ahead of the usual intro we have another Raven sighting, still hyping up his confrontation with Vampiro.

Powerman 5000 bring us into the show proper. Joey Styles welcomes us to the show and runs down 2 of the 3 participants in the Tag Team Title finals as well as what we’ve got on his upcoming card.

Match #1: Fuego Guerrero vs. Super Crazy

Fuego Guerrero is better known now a days as Amazing Red. This is a fairly prime Super Crazy so we could have some fun in our future with this match up. They tie up then Guerrero sends Crazy outside with an arm drag. Crazy back in the ring and starts laying in the strikes but Guerrero takes him down with another arm drag. More strikes from Crazy, Guerrero hits the multiple rotations headscissors take over. Crazy is outside again trying to figure out how he wants to approach this. Guerrero with strikes then a sunset flip but Crazy lands a drop kick.

We come back from commercial as Guerrero counters a powerbomb into a tornado DDT. Guerrero tries for the Code Red but Crazy escapes. Guerrero with strikes, Crazy cuts him off with some corner clotheslines. Brainbuster from Crazy but that only gets a 2 count. Guerrero with a tornado kick, Crazy is outside now and Guerrero with a corkscrew suicide dive from the top rope all the way to the outside. Back in the ring now, standing shooting star press from Guerrero gets a 2 count. Guerrero top rope, but misses the swanton bomb and runs into a sitout powerbomb and Crazy picks up the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Super Crazy pinned Fuego Guerrero at about 6 minutes

Rating: 2.5 stars

I think this match was probably better than that if unedited, but I can only rate what was presented. That said the work was solid, if a bit spotty and lacking narrative. Even if all you want is the athleticism of these two on display I think this probably falls a little short, either due to editing or just match related decisions. Still pretty solid.

Styles hypes up the upcoming match between Masata Tanaka and Mike Awesome. Next week will feature the title match between Vampiro and Satoshi Kojima. EXTREME Horsemen time, Steve Corino is on a car phone talking with Simon Diamond. Good Lord, everything about this gimmick is dated. Corino addresses Terry Funk now, he wants to give him a taste of how the elite live as opposed to Funk who lives on a farm and has to deal with animals. Corino examines all the lovely houses in his neighborhood and tells Funk the Horsemen are all about the glory.

Back with Styles, next week Fuego Guerrero and Super Crazy will rematch along with a mystery third man. Video bit with Steve Williams and PJ Friedman working in the ring. Williams says they will be the next Tag Team Champions, and that they’re the toughest tag team in the world. Styles with an update on who attacked Los Maximos, he runs down a few of the suspects but we’ll find out who did it at an upcoming event.

Match #2: La Parka vs. Shocker

La Parka plays to the crowd a bit at first, then offers a hand shake. Shocker accepts, but La Parka sucker punches him. Some mat wrestling, they trade arm drags, leg sweeps and covers then stand off. Fairly typical sequence there. They shove each other, then Shocker kicks La Parka out of the ring. Shocker sets for a dive, but decides against it just to annoy the crowd. La Parka avoids a baseball slide then intercepts Shocker with a knee when coming back into the ring.

Back from break with La Parka hitting a top rope splash for a 2 count. He grabs his trusty chair, but Shocker avoids the swing and drop kicks the chair into La Parka’s face. La Parka sent to the outside, Shocker sets for another dive but flies into a chair shot. Heck of a spot there. La Parka back into the ring and calls for a count out on Shocker. Shocker back up and into the ring, La Parka with the old side Russian leg sweep then climbs the ropes. Shocker counters a double stomp then hits a modified avalanche. Sentons from Shocker get a 2 count. Up top for Shocker but he flies into a drop kick. La Parka to the top rope, hits a drop kick to Shocker but still can’t put him away. Back up to the top ropes, Shocker crotches him this time though. Shocker up with him, superplex connects and both men are down. Chops from Shocker then a corner clothesline into a bulldog but he can’t put La Parka away either. Shocker with a la majistral cradle but La Parka kicks out again. Bronco buster from Shocker, he sets for it again but crotches himself on the foot of La Parka. La Parka swings Shocker around, hits the corkscrew moonsault and finally ends the match.

OFFICIAL RESULT: La Parka pinned Shocker at about 9:30 shown

Rating: 2 stars

I don’t know if this was the crowd not biting on the near falls, the lack of psychology, or the editing or what but this really didn’t click with me. Personal mileage will vary but this felt long and didn’t hold my interest.

Back to Joey Styles, who hypes a couple of upcoming matches between Jerry Lynn and Mike Awesome as well as how whoever wins that match will defend their number one contender status one more time. If Lynn wins he’ll defend his title shot against Paul London, while Awesome would be trying to hold off Masato Tanaka. Whoever comes out of that with the title shot will then battle Kojima.

Simon Diamond and CW Anderson talk about Dr. Death and Friedman now, mentioning that Friedman has been labeled a blue chip prospect but despite that being true he lacks experience. They plan on exploiting that lack of experience, especially since his partner has the most iconic name in tag team wrestling, Anderson. Anderson says nothing compares to being trained by an Anderson. He says that at the end of the night the name EXTREME Horsemen will be in their nightmares. I mean, probably true but not for the reason he means.

Terry Funk now. He runs down Corino a bit, saying Corino isn’t a god and he (Funk) doesn’t consider himself much of a legend. He’s just an ornery old bastard with tough old skin who knows what’s going on. Corino wont just step over him and move on, he’ll give Corino a wrestling lesson at their upcoming match. But if they want to get extreme, then yee haw cowboy.

Styles again hypes the Tag Team Title finals coming up.

Match #3: Sabu w/ Bill Alfonso vs. Taiyo Kea

Kea is rocking a very different look from the last time we saw him, he’s shaved his head and gone darker in color scheme to reflect his new heel persona after turning on The Great Muta in Japan. Sabu dives after a few low single legs, then they trade some mat wrestling. Sabu laces a leg and Kea has to get to the ropes. Back from break and Sabu is on the outside. Kea misses a dive and Sabu starts beating him around the ringside area. Sabu back in the ring, calls for a chair to help a triple jump dive onto Kea on the outside. Fonzie brings over a table and they set that up but Kea cuts him off. Kea back in the ring, Sabu catches him on the top rope and hits a hanging DDT from the top rope. Sabu then tosses a chair into the head of Kea then hits the flying leg lariat in the corner. Sabu tries a triple jump moonsault but Kea ties up his leg and drops him onto the chair.

Kea super kicks the chair into Sabu’s face. Some power offense from Kea but he can’t put Sabu away. Kea to the top rope, but Sabu cuts him off. Sabu up top and hits a top rope hurricanrana. Springboard leg drop only gets 2 and Kea heads out of the ring. Baseball slide from Sabu then they set up the table. Kea set on the table, Sabu to the top rope and leg drops Kea through the table. Kea back into the ring, Sabu covers him for a 2 count. Another chair flies into the ring, triple jump moonsault into the knees of Kea still only gets a count of 2. Rights from Sabu but he runs into a hurricanrana from Kea. Another chair is in the ring, Kea with a series of kicks that take Sabu down. Sabu avoids the Hawaii Five Oh and then chucks the chair into Kea’s head again. Kea is set up in the corner, Fonzie holds the chair over Kea’s face and Sabu lays in stomps. Sabu locks in the camel clutch for a bit, then runs into a TKO from Kea after letting go of the hold. Kea hits the H5O for the finish.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Taiyo Kea pinned Sabu at about 13:30 shown

Rating: 2.5 stars

The lack of story or psychology is really starting to become apparent in a lot of these matches. Sabu got the hits in and wasn’t as physically limited as he’d become, and Kea winning was a pleasant surprise given that they’d been hyping up Sabu vs. La Parka for a few weeks. The work was all good but nothing really exceptional.

Raven with another video promo. He thinks Vampiro wants to be a martyr to the pain of Raven, he wants to antagonize him until he hurts him. Raven promises that if anyone will be a martyr for the dysfunction and pain of society it will be him. On that horribly emo note, the show comes to an end.

6.7

The final score: review Average

The 411

The in ring action this week was much better, all three matches never really kicked into high gear but all showed promise and were perfectly serviceable TV matches. Nothing great, but thankfully nothing horribly offensive either. Given how up and down these shows have been I'll take that.