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MLW FUSION – EPISODE 79
OCTOBER 12TH, 2019
TIJUANA, MEXICO
AIRED ON BEIN SPORTS NETWORK
REPORT BY JASON STOVALL, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Rich Bocchini, A.J. Kirsh
The show opened with Salina de la Renta walking into the arena. As she is entering the door, The Dynasty, reunited with Alex Hammerstone from his Japan travels, are exiting. Salina and the cameraman catch Hammerstone at the punchline of a joke he was telling, where he was finishing with, “Mexico? More like Mexi-can’t!” MJF and Richard Holiday laughed uproariously. Salina did not find the joke funny, and asked why that was funny to them. Hammestone went on to say that Mexico was a complete joke. Holiday followed up by saying Mexico was a joke within a joke. Hammerstone stated all of Mexican wrestling is awful. Hammerstone said all the luchadors aren’t any good and MJF added they were all ugly so that’s why they wear masks. Salina noted she heard they had a match with The Von Erichs but Holiday’s dad got them out of the match. Holiday asked her to speak in proper context, it was his lawyer slash father that got them out of the match. Heavy emphasis on the “slash.” Salina said that since they had no match, she wanted to challenge them to face Los Parks. They stumbled and mumbled, not wanting to accept the match. She asked, “What’s the problem guys? It’s just two Mexicans.” MJF and Holiday continued to not want to accept the challenge until Hammerstone spoke up and accepted on their behalf. The Dynasty walked away with MJF and Holiday hollering at Hammerstone for accepting her challenge. Salina said “Bye! Hope you don’t get kidnapped.”
-The MLW intro then aired to officially start to the show.
-Rich welcomed us to the show as the camera panned around the arena getting shots at different fans. This show looked to have more fans than a usual MLW taping with Rich noting that they had about 5,000 fans on hand to watch the show. The lighting and stage was different than past episodes and the ring read “Crash” on it’s apron so definitely a Crash promotion vibe than a typical MLW vibe. Rich also took the time to welcome A.J. Kirsh to the broadcast team. Kirsh thanked him for the welcome and said he was looking forward to tonight’s show as he ran down the card. He said Crash Heavyweight Champion Rey Horus would face off with National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone in a Title Vs Title match tonight. Rich also stated that were originally set to have The Dynasty versus The Von Erichs for the MLW World Tag Team titles but Richard Holiday’s lawyer/father successfully argued them out of the match in front of Connecticut Superior Court for an injunction against the match taking place. Rich said he would update more on that situation later tonight.
(1) ORACULO vs BLACK DANGER vs RICKY MARVIN
Strobe lights surrounded the ring and two women stood at the entrance ramp as wrestler’s made their way out the back and came out between the two women. Rich noted that Ricky Marvin had competed all over the world and held titles in numerous regions. Rich and A.J. talked about Oraculo originally wearing a mask but he lost his mask two years ago to Black Danger. The show cut to a commercial before the match could begin. [c]
The show came back with the match in progress. Black Danger planted Oraculo in the center of the ring with a double underhook piledriver. Oraculo made a quick comeback by nailing Black Danger with a Canadian destroyer. Ricky Marvin leapt from the top rope at Oraculo but Oraculo caught him in mid air with a drop kick. Oraculo hit Black Danger with a reverse poison hurricanrana. Oraculo hit Black Danger with a 450 splash for the three count.
WINNER: Oraculo
(Stovall’s Thoughts: Not much to comment on this one. It felt like the commercial break gutted the entirety of the match. After we came back from break, we had less than two minutes before the finish occurred. With little background and nothing to note about the personality or the characters of the performers in the ring, this match was just kind of there as a time filler. The little we saw showcased Oraculo in a positive light but the same can’t be said about Black Danger or Ricky Marvin.)
-MLW recapped Austin Aries win over Brian Pillman Jr last week. Kaci Lenox stood by backstage with Brian Pillman Jr to ask what was going through his head after he failed to gain payback on Austin Aries after his attack on Teddy Hart. He said payback was a pretty light term to use, as he compared Austin Aries to a buzzard roaming the corpses of the Hart family and taking them down piece by piece. He said it was his time for vengeance and he let his emotions get the best of him and it cost him his chance at revenge. He said he doesn’t know what to do right now and he doesn’t think he deserved the name of the Hart family. Low Ki stepped in to offer advice to Brian Pillman Jr. Low Ki asked Bryan if he did not recognize the linage he represented or the company he kept. He said Bryan has every opportunity to succeed but his emotions will cause him to fail every time. He said Austin Aries was the “belt collector” and possibly the greatest wrestler to ever live. He said he is opportunistic and used every advantage at his disposal to succeed. He said Austin’s success was due to him not being in his own head and letting his emotion get in the way. He said that this is not checkers, this is chess. Brian Pillman Jr exclaimed that Low Ki doesn’t even know him and stormed off. Low Ki looked on at the retreating Pillman with a dumbfound but curious expression.
-A segment aired from “earlier today” that showed The Dynasty coming out of the a convenience store wearing street clothes. The cameraman started shouting “Hey Dynasty, what are you guys doing?” MJF and the rest of the crew told the cameraman to pipe down, that they weren’t The Dynasty today. The cameraman asked if that’s why they weren’t wearing the suits. Holiday asked the man if he understood where they were right now. He said if they wore those suits, the poverty line would be lined up around the block trying to get some money out of them. MJF stated he wasn’t trying to get stabbed. The cameraman asked them what they were doing at the pharmacy. Hammerstone lit up and tried to show the man what he had in his duffel bag. MJF and Holiday quickly stopped him and told him not to open the bag. “It’s legal here!” Hammerstone exclaimed. The Dynasty persuaded Hammerstone not to open the bag and they walked out of camera view. [c]
-A promo video aired of MLW’s upcoming live events which included the live pay per view event Saturday Night Superfight from Chicago on November 2nd, the Blood & Thunder TV tapings from Orlando on November 9th, the 2019 Opera Cup on December 5th from New York City and the Zero Hour TV tapings from Dallas, TX on January 11th.
-Rich welcomed us back from commercial break with breaking news, stating that the MLW World Tag Team titles will be on the line tonight when The Dynasty square off against Los Parks.
(2) ALEXANDER HAMMERSTONE vs. REY HORUS – MLW National Openweight Champion vs. Crash Heavyweight Champion
Hammerstone came to the ring wearing a white leather jacket and a pair of white pants that had the American flag imprinted on them. He came to the ring flanked by The Dynasty. Rey Horus came to the ring as Rich compared this title versus title match to Rhodes/Graham and Bockwinkel/Lawler. (I think that was the biggest overstatement I have heard in quite some time.) Rich reminded us if he was successful against Horus, Hammerstone would defend his title against Davey Boy Smith Jr at MLW’s first pay per view. Kirsh informed us that Rey Horus defeated Austin Theory to win the Crash championship back in May. The Dynasty took their sweet time in the ring getting Hammerstone prepared his for match. Horus got tired of them waiting and took Hammerstone’s white leather jacket and threw it out of the ring. MJF freaked out and fled the ring to retrieve it. The Dynasty grabbed the jacket and headed back to the locker room. The ref called for the bell.
Horus tried to leap on Hammerstone but Hammerstone caught him and slammed him into the turnbuckles and began to pound Horus with shoulder tackles. Hammerstone stayed in control by initiating a ground and pound attack. Hammerstone used his strength to carry Horus around the ring and delivered a pump handle slam to Horus center ring. The fight carried to the outside of the ring with Hammerstone still firmly in control. The show cut to commercial just as Hammerstone rolled Horus back into the ring. [c]
Back from break and Hammerstone had Horus down in the center of the ring with a headlock. Horus was able to power out of the headlock and mount a small comeback after escaping a suplex attempt from Hammerstone. Rich reminded us that Hammerstone had recently competed in Japan where he dominated the competition. (Technically, Hammerstone only won two matches in the Pro Wrestling Noah tournament.) Horus ducked a clothesline and back elbow attempt from Hammerstone and then slide between Hammerstone’s legs. When Hammerstone bent to grab Horus, Horus gave him a kick to the temple. Hammerstone charged at Horus and Horus moved, causing Hammerstone to do a slow lumbering fall over the top rope to the outside. Horus nailed a somersault plancha over the ring post to the outside on top of Hammerstone. Hammestone got back in the ring first and tried to met Horus at the ropes, but Horus nailed Hammerstone with an enziguri. Horus connected with a splash over the top rope on Hammerstone. Horus nailed a crossbody off the top rope and followed it with a leg drop on Hammerstone that was good for a two count. Hammerstone went for a bicycle kick, but Horus ducked, and bounced off the ropes only to eat an elbow to the face from Hammerstone. Hammerstone went for the bicycle kick for a second time and this time it connected. Hammerstone then hit Horus with a sit out powerbomb that got him a two count. Hammerstone sold frustration over not getting the three count and began to argue with the ref.
Hammerstone went back to shoulder blocks in the turnbuckles. He backed off and went for a running shoulder tackle but Horus moved and Hammerstone went shoulder first in the ring post. Horus slid through the ropes and nailed Hammerstone with a kick between the eyes. Horus jumped back in the ring and charged at Hammerstone with speed but Hammerstone clocked him with a hard right fist. Horus rebounded off the turnbuckles with a springboard DDT for a two count. Horus also got frustrated with the ref for not giving him the three count and began to argue with the ref. Hammerstone tried to take advantage of Horus having his back turned so he charged in at Horus. Horus moved at the last second and Hammerstone splashed the ref into the turnbuckles. Hammerstone got Horus up in the torture rack and dropped him off sideways on his head. He covered for the pin but the ref was still down. Hammerstone had more than a five count of Horus. Hammerstone went to revive the official but instead went to the outside and got a chair. Hammerstone brought the chair into the ring and planted Horus over the head with it. Hammerstone revived the official and made the pin but Horus kicked out at two. Hammerstone wedged the chair in between the turnbuckles and went for a powerbomb on Horus into the chair. Horus countered the powerbomb into a Code Red and got a two count. Hammerstone charged at Horus and Horus hit a drop toe hold on Hammerstone, slamming him head first into the chair. Horus climbed the turnbuckles and nailed Hammerstone with a 450 splash. Horus went for the cover but as the ref made it to two, The Dynasty reemerged from the back and pulled Horus out the ring and began beating Horus down at ringside. The ref called for the bell, awarding the match to Horus via disqualification. Since titles can not change hands on a DQ, both champions kept their titles.
Winner: Rey Horus by DQ
(Stovall’s Thoughts: Not a bad match, but not a great one. Some parts were impressive and exciting and other parts were clunky and seemed the timing was off. I would chalk it up to a simple clash of styles. The finish made sense in order to get out of a title change, and MLW gets a pass for that because they rarely have those types of finishes.)
Rich plugged that the main event of The Dynasty versus the Los Parks was next, and then threw to commercials. [c]
-MLW ran a video package advertising the arrival of Gino Medina debuting this fall in MLW.
-Rich welcomed us into the Saturday Night Superfight Control Center where he ran down the card so far for the event. Signed matches so far included: Teddy Hart vs. Austin Aries for MLW World Middleweight Championship; Injustice vs Gringo Loco, Septimo Dragon and Puma King; MLW National Openweight Championship match of Alex Hammerstone vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.; Timothy Thatcher vs “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and a No Disqualification match for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship with Jacob Fatu vs L.A. Park.
-Rich threw to Salina de la Renta backstage. Salina said that she knew her destroyer L.A. Park was going to bring her the title on November 2nd. She said there was a lot of talk about Jacob Fatu being undefeated but she reminded everyone that L.A. Park was also undefeated. Suddenly, Contra Unit’s Josef Samael approached Salina. Samael said Salina had a lot to offer and he thought she could get the power she craved by joining the Contra Unit. He said she can either pick violence or she can say two words, “Hail Contra!” Salina said she chose violence. Jimmy Havoc then approached the both of them and said he heard the word “violence” mentioned and he tended to turn up whenever that word was mentioned. He reminded them both he had been made executive producer of the Slaughterhouse Halloween special from Tijuana. He said he wanted to book a match for that show. A Tijuana Street Fight between a member of Contra Unit and a member of Promociones Dorado. Samael said he knew exactly who he was going to pick and that person was him. Salina said she had just the right person for him to face.
(3.) THE DYNASTY (MJF & Richard Holiday) vs LOS PARKS (El Hijo de L.A. Park & L.A. Park Jr.) – MLW World Tag Team Title match
Los Parks came out in the traditional skeletal garb. Both wore shown wearing unique monster masks over their traditional masks. Salina de la Renta accompanied them to the ring. Rich noted that tonight’s team of Los Parks will be made up of El Hijo de L.A. Park and L.A. Park Jr. The Dynasty came to the ring, attempting to dance with the women who were standing near the ramp area. Rich noted this match would be contested under lucha rules. MJF asked for a mic to address the crowd and was originally denied. MJF finally got the mic and the crowd started to chant a derogatory chant towards him. MJF exclaimed, “I can’t wait until Donald Trump builds that wall!” Holiday got on the mic and said even though the crowd may not understand him, they needed to settle down. He said his “boy” Donald told him that the only thing you need to understand in life in order to succeed was English. But he knew something that is translated through a universal language, and that’s when The Dynasty is in the building they are all breathing unified air. Holiday said “Because we’re better than you…” and MJF finished, “…and you know it.” L.A. Park Jr got the mic and told them to shut their mouth in a very explicit way. L.A. Park Jr started a Mexico chant. Rich informed us that the Dynasty was supposed to face the Von Erichs for MLW tag titles on this show, but the rumor going around was that Holiday’s lawyer/father allegedly paid off someone on the commission to have the match pulled. The ref called for the bell and the action began.
MJF tangled with El Hijo de L.A. Park for a short time before he retrieved to the outside of the ring. Rich advised us that L.A.Park Jr. was the youngest of the two sons of L.A. Park and also marveled that he looked more like his dad than Hijo did. MJF got back int he ring and quickly tagged in Holiday who began a lock up with Hijo. Holiday got the better of Hijo with a shoulder block and The Dynasty sold it like they won the match. Quick exchange between the two that ended with Holiday hitting a sideways slam on Hijo. Hijo hit Holiday with a lung blower and then tagged in L.A. Park Jr. Hijo and Jr. took turns splashing Holiday in the turnbuckles and then hit a series of low dropkicks as Holiday laid perched in the corner. MJF and Hijo tagged in with MJF in control of the offense. Holiday tagged in and brought a slow and basic moveset for dominance that included stomps to the mid-section and forearm smashes. Fast tags from The Dynasty that ended with a double suplex on El Hijo de L.A. Park. The Dynasty started strutting across the ring and slapped hands to execute a double elbow drop on Hijo. Salina de la Renta jumped on the apron to argue with the ref as The Dynasty mocked her with dance moves seemingly in trouble to Eddie Guerrero. The Dynasty was so absorbed with taunting Salina that it allowed Hijo the chance to tag in Park Jr. Park Jr. quickly took control with Hijo at his side, delivering double drop kicks to both members of The Dynasty. Los Parks used a flapjack as a tag team move and go for a double pin on Holiday that was broken up by MJF. Los Parks double teamed MJF with a somersault neckbreaker with a Samoan drop. Both Parks then hit stereo suicide dives on The Dynasty into the guard rails. The two teams began to brawl on the outside with Holiday beating L.A. Park Jr back in the ring first. When L.A. Park Jr tried to get in the ring, Holiday kicked the ropes to injury the lower region of Park Jr. Holiday hit Park Jr with a gut wrench powerbomb he called the “Market Crash.” The Dynasty hit a double pin on Park Jr. and it was enough for the win.
WINNERS: The Dynasty
-Rich plugged next week’s episode being the Jimmy Havoc executive produced Slaughterhouse Halloween episode. The card for next week includes a triple threat match of Jimmy Havoc vs Damian 666 vs Savio Vega. (I believe this was originally supposed to be a tag match of Havoc & Damian 666 vs Mance Warner and Savio Vega, but Warner’s collapsed lung kept him from competing in the match.) He also plugged the Tijuana Street Fight with Salina de la Renta choosing a member of Promociones Dorado to go up against Contra Unit’s Josef Samael. After running down the card, Rich quickly noted the broadcast was out of time and the show ended abruptly.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A very heavy Dynasty episode of MLW Fusion which isn’t a bad thing at all. The Dynasty segments prove to be amusing and entertaining. While MJF is the clear standout in terms of personality and character of the trio, Holiday and Hammerstone are coming into their own and closing the gap. At this point, the whole team is running at a smooth capacity. The tag team main event was a decent match. A nice debut for L.A. Park Jr. but this team didn’t gel as well as the father/son tandem of last week. It could also be just another case of a clash of styles. The Von Erichs seemed to be poised to be the future of the tag division so I am all for The Dynasty getting a few title retentions before the inevitable happens. As an enthusiast for everything Halloween, I am looking forward to next week’s Slaughterhouse special. It will likely be a violent extreme match affair but at least we know what we are getting into before we get there. This episode did make me miss the traditional lighting MLW offers its Fusion broadcast but I can live with the difference over the next few weeks before MLW gets back to its solo groove. Oh, and a question, now that A.J. Kirsh is part of the broadcast team, is that the end of Tony Schiavone on MLW events? Time will tell.
Feel free to contact and follow Jason Stovall on Twitter @JaySnovall
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