7/14 MLW Fusion TV Report: War Games edition with Team Strickland (Strickland & Hennigan & Dreamer & Brazil & Hughes) vs. Team Callihan (Sami & Havoc & Abyss & Fulton & Scott)

By Kris Karcher, PWTorch contributor

Full results and analysis of this week's MLW Fusion

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

MLW WAR GAMES REPORT
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
TAPED IN FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA.
AIRED ON BE-IN SPORTS NETWORK
REPORT BY KRIS KARCHER, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT

Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini 

A video package played recapping some of the promos from the two teams involved in war games combined with some footage of old MLW war games. They cut to a backstage promo with team Callihan, and Abyss said he was ready to play, Jimmy Havoc said he was here for blood sweat and beer, and Callihan said this is more than a match. He said he is going to end Shane Strickland’s career. He said he has a whole revolution of monsters ready to kick Strickland’s ass. 

They cut to a backstage promo with Team Strickland’s. Strickland said it’s heroes vs. demons and he feels good about his heroes. John Hennigan said Callihan’s team is full of D-bags and D-bags can’t trust each other but his team has his back. Barrington Hughes said no more running or hiding. Kotto Brazil said we all know what they came to do tonight so they are just going to go out there and do it and that’s it. Tommy Dreamer said Dusty Rhodes came up with the concept of War Games and then referenced MLK stating his dream was what he sees right in front of him with old wrestling with new and so on. He said this is their world and your welcome to be in it. 

The Fusion into played. 

Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini introduced and previewed the show. They showed a shot of the War Games ring being set up. 

They showed footage from earlier in the day of Low Ki and Salina de La Renta being interviewed by a gaggle of reporters. They seemed to ignore the English speaking questions and only answered Spanish questions and answered in Spanish so I honestly have no idea what was actually said. At the end when Low Ki tried to exit through a doorway Tommy Dreamer bumped into Low Ki as he came out the door. The two mean mugged each other and Low Ki begrudgingly let Dreamer past him. 

They replayed footage from two weeks ago of the Hart Foundation Attacking Kevin Sullivan. Bocchini said MLW was considering suspensions. They then went to the Hart Foundation with Kasey Lenox. Teddy Hart said that MLW wasn’t going to suspend them and they were cowards. He said the Hart foundation is going to continue to grow. He said that they don’t care about the fine because they will just ask for more money going forward. He said three generations of wrestling run through his veins and his cousin’s veins. Brain Pillman Jr. talked about how the media is lying to the American people. He said they are the big dogs now on top of MLW. He said the new Hart foundation will destroy any thoughts or plots against them and they will take over MLW. They were both drinking out of wine glasses during the promo. 

They announced a few matches for Fury Road on October 4th: 

– ACH, Rich Swann, & Marko Stunt vs. The Hart Foundation 

– PCO vs. LA Park

– Low Ki or Rey Fenix will defend the title. 

– Tom Lawler, Sami Callihan, MJF, Jimmy Havoc, and Tommy Dreamer will also be on the card. 

They announced next week it will be PCO vs. Brody King. They went to a backstage interview with PCO. PCO said King will find out that PCO is not human and that it’s his way or the highway. He looked crazy and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. 

The ring announcer recapped the rules and structure of the War Games match. 

(1) Team Strickland (Shane Strickland & John Hennigan & Tommy Dreamer & Kotto Brazil & Barrington Hughes) vs. Team Callihan (Sami Callihan & Jimmy Havoc& Abyss & Fulton & Leo Scott) – War Games

Kotto Brazil was the first to enter the ring. So I assume this means they won the coin toss. Fulton was the first entrant for Team Callihan. As Fulton started to enter the ring Brazil jumped through the gate and took out Fulton right away. Once the two got into the ring Fulton took over on offense. Brazil started a comeback running hard into Fulton in the corner. Rich Swann went for a wheelbarrow DDT but Fulton caught Brazil and threw him into the cage. Fulton then picked up Brazil and threw him into the other ring. Fulton went to the top rope and hit a huge missile dropkick.

There were some weapons strewn across the ring such as tables and stop signs. Fulton dominated Brazil and put him over his shoulder and threw him against the cage. He then rubbed his face on the cage. Fulton then hit the ropes and ran full speed into Brazil crushing him against the cage. Fulton took Brazil back into the ring and threw him hard against the ropes. John Hennigan was the next entrant for team Strickland. He took his time getting to the ring and even though Fulton stopped attacking Brazil I think Hennigan should have hustled to the ring to take full advantage of the five minutes they have with the odd in their favor. Fulton was in the middle of the two rings when Hennigan faked a jumping kick and instead hit 

Fulton with a hard elbow. Hennigan slugged away at Fulton. Brazil started to crawl back into the action and managed to trip Fulton after Hennigan super kicked him. Hennigan was standing on the top rope and jumping up and down as Fulton did his best to knock him off. He used his athleticism to doge Fulton and then kicked him in the face. Brazil and Hennigan double teamed Fulton until Jimmy Havoc came out as the next entrant. Havoc grabbed Hennigan’s fingers and used an 8×10 to give him a paper cut in between his fingers. He then used the photo to give Brazil a paper cut on the forehead and used it on Hennigan’s mouth. Fulton picked up Brazil and tossed him into the other ring where Havoc was waiting to knock him out the air with a stop sign. Shane Strickland was the next entrant but as he was making his way to the ring Sami Callihan ran out and attacked Strickland from behind.

Callihan tossed Strickland off of a stage and through a table. Callihan picked up Strickland and tossed him through the table again. Fulton held Hennigan in the doorway to the cage and Callihan ran up and slammed the door on Hennigan’s face. Callihan then illegally entered the match. Fulton and Callihan set up a table and held Hennigan on the table. Havoc jumped off the top rope onto of Hennigan sending him through the table. Callihan then sat on Fulton’s shoulders and Fulton tossed him onto Hennigan. Callihan and Fulton started to focus on Brazil. Callihan carried Brazil over his back crucifix style and tossed him into the cage. Havoc was using Hennigan’s shirt to choke him out. Tommy Dreamer came out next and he had a garbage can filled with weapons. The crowd chanted ECW. Dreamer hit Fulton with a trash can, Havoc with a janitor’s sign, and Callihan with a kendo stick.

Dreamer tossed Havoc into the other ring. Dreamer picked up Callihan and hung him upside down in the corner turnbuckle and covered his face with a stop sign. He chewed up some hamburger and spit that in the face of Havoc. Dreamer shouted ECW and did a running drop kick into the stop sign covering Callihan. Hennigan sat Fulton on a chair and hit Futon with a running knee. Havoc was busted open. Bocchini said Strickland was being attended to backstage and may not be able to return. Leo Scott was next out. Scott brought the black baseball bat with him. Team Callihan started to take back control and Callihan placed the stop sign over Dreamers groin area then hit the stop sign with a Kendo Stick. Hennigan and Brazil started to attack Scott but Callihan came in and hit both men with a Kendo stick. Callihan placed a trash can over Hennigan and hit the can with a kendo stick and a chair.

Barrington Hughes was the next entrant. Hughes almost didn’t fit through the gate which was funny. Hughes picked up a kendo stick and started beating Scott with it. The two men squared off alone in the left ring. Havoc came over and started to hit Hughes over the head with the wet floor sign. The impact had no effect on Hughes. Bocchini said Strickland would not be returning to the match tonight due to the injuries suffered at the hands of Callihan. Abyss then came out as the final entrant. Abyss had a small black bag in his hands. Abyss started to take out every member of team Strickland. Dreamer took off his shirt to reveal a yellow polka dot shirt underneath. Abyss hit Dreamer with a Black Hole Slam. Abyss and Hughes started to exchange blows. the two started to choke each other and then all the members of the match got involved in a huge brawl. Kotto Brazil climbed to the top of the cage and jumped off onto all the competitors in one big group. Brazil hit Havoc with a Canadian destroyer and then applied a submission before Abyss came over to try and pull Brazil off of Havoc.

Callihan, Scott, and Fulton had Hennigan in some form of submission in the other ring. Dreamer went to try and stop Abyss from breaking up Brazil’s submission attempt. Hughes grabbed Callihan and then reached out to Dreamer connecting both groups of men together between the two rings. Interesting imagery and all the men in the match were involved in some way with the hold. Bocchini said it was a crazy version of the human centipede. Hughes and Abyss squared off again. Hughes hit a big splash in the corner on Abyss. Abyss came back with a clothesline. Fulton got stuck in between the two rings slipping down to the floor leaving only the top half of his body visible.

Hennigan sent Callihan through a table set up in the corner. Havoc hit Hennigan with a rainmaker and then called for Abyss to get the tacts. Abyss dumped his bag full tacts and attempted to slam Brazil into the tacts but Brazil fought back and eventually slammed Abyss into the tacts instead. Havoc went for the rainmaker on Dreamer but Dreamer was able to slide Callihan into his place to take the move. Dreamer then hit a DDT on Havoc. Brazil brought Dreamer some barbed wire and the two wrapped Hughes up in the wire. Hughes then rammed himself into Callihan in the corner. Hughes then hit a big splash on Fulton. Hughes used the barbed wire to pull back on Fulton’s head. Brazil jumped in and added leverage. Fulton Submitted as his teammates were held back by the rest of team Strickland. 

WINNERS: Team Strickland.

(Karcher’s Analysis: War Games is always a fun concept. This match was no exception. It certainly wasn’t at the level of the NXT War Games from last year but this didn’t have anywhere close to the level of talent in their prime. Abyss, Dreamer, and Morrison have all seen better days and Hughes, Brazil, Scott, and Fulton are talents but not top level guys just yet. Callihan and Strickland were the two guys I was mainly looking forward to seeing. It’s a shame they did the angle where Strickland was taken out of the match. I’m really not sure why they did that. I was absolutely expecting Strickland to return to the match at some point and I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed that he didn’t. The spot was executed well and looked very believable but I’m just not sure what that is supposed to accomplish. Callihan already had major heat and while this will surely add to it, I’m not sure he needed it. There were some really cool spots like Brazil jumping from the top of the cage, Hughes being used as a human barbed wire battering ram, and Havoc cracking Brazil out of the sky with a stop sign. Those moments might not have been enough to make this an all-time great War Games match but it certainly made it worth watching.) 

Callihan and Havoc started to brawl after the match and The Death Machines beat down havoc as the show went off the air. 

FINAL THOUGHTS: Since this week was pretty much just the War Games and two promos there isn’t much more to be said that I didn’t cover in my match thoughts. The small segment with Dreamer and Low Ki seems to be hinting that Dreamer could be a challenger for Low Ki and we could see that match as soon as October 4th at Fury Road. The Pillman and Hart promo was along the lines of what we have seen before, just some random nonsense about how they are being unfairly treated and how they also run things in MLW. Which is it? Are you being held back or do you hold all the power? It can’t be both. I absolutely loved the beat down of Kevin Sullivan a few weeks ago, and the followup has been slightly disappointing. I’d like to see Pillman and Hart out in the arena trying to cut a promo and working off the live crowd. Hart has been getting cheered during his matches and I’d imagine many people will be excited to see Pillman so maybe they are trying to build up their heat with backstage antics before they come out to a live crowd. We’ll find out soon, as he will definitely be in action at Fury Road. Next week we will see MJF with Aria blake going up against Joey Ryan and Taya Valkyrie. I’m looking forward to that match and Valkyrie’s debut for MLW. We will also see PCO vs. Brody King. That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next week for my report on MLW Fusion exclusively here on PWTorch.com. See you next week!


NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: 9/7 MLW TV Report: Fenix & Pentagon Jr. vs. Dragon & Rey Horus, Homicide vs. PCO, Holliday vs. Yeah

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