MLW Fusion, anyone watching it?

[Coffey]

So Tony Schiavone is coming back in the summer? Are we going to get a 2-man commentary booth of Tony Schiavone on play-by-play and Jim Cornette on color commentary in 2019? If so, I'm here for it.

https://mlw.com/2019/06/19/tony-schiavone-returns-to-the-broadcast-booth-this-summer/?fbclid=IwAR3YbgvQNxBbm2LGpzYicjn84Xaf6ZMjmp9pbvbxd1CXljDofqBbkltnRv4

The article says that Schiavone returns alongside Rich Bocchini but I'm holding out hope for Schiavone/Cornette. 

[The Thread Killer]

Yeah I just saw that press release from MLW.  It looks like the July TV tapings fall during the July All Star Break, so Tony gets to do one night of work for MLW that equals an entire month of Television.  I was hoping we were going to get the Schiavone/Cornette combination as well, but the press release says it is Schiavone/Bocchini.  Not sure if that means Corny will just be working backstage, or maybe he won't work those tapings at all. He's always bitching on his podcast about how he doesn't want to work full time and that Court Bauer had to make him the proverbial "offer he couldn't refuse" to agree to work the dates he has, so maybe he was telling the truth and Cornette is really only there as a placeholder, to do the dates Schiavone doesn't.  Hearing Schiavone do play-by-play with Cornette on color would be such a great throwback, but maybe it's not to be.  Or maybe Court Bauer doesn't want to come across as too "old school."  I can see how he'd be worried that those two together wouldn't appeal to younger fans and would remind hardcore fans too much of post JCP WCW.

EDIT:  So it turns out that MLW only has two more TV tapings scheduled for this summer, July 6 in Chicago and July 25 in New York.  Cornette is doing the Chicago taping but announced he won't be at the New York taping at all, because Tony is available and Cornette hates going to New York so it works out perfectly.  Also, it turns out that the taping Tony is back for isn't a date that falls during the All Star break, but it does fall on one of Tony's days off from his baseball gig.  After these tapings, they don't tape again until September in Dallas, so who knows what the plan will be by then.  Could be Tony will be back for the Fall/Winter by then.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

On 6/19/2019 at 11:55 AM, Laz said:

We don't deserve David Starr. That is all.

The fucking man.  Court Bauer is one of the biggest tools in the business but he knows how to talk out of his ass with marketing lingo well enough that he somehow got the MLW thing up and running again.

[Laz]

Watched the latest Salina produced episode. Holy SHIT she is hot. It's just so damn refreshing to have a headstrong woman on a roster who doesn't have to step into the ring, a great manager with natural attitude and charisma...I'm just awe struck whenever she starts off. 

Mance Warner is garbage. I watch CZW on/off and he's been a skip when he's in the ring. Fun promo and character, but sub-Sandman worker. Somebody in this thread said he was like a better Necro Butcher and I have to ask what the shit they're smoking because no, pal, he isn't. His matches make the yardtard shyte a friend and I used to do in high school look like 6/4/94 in comparison. Sami was natural in the backstage promos and I loved him spitting on Corny (awesome heel move), but he's been such a mixed bag post-NXT that I've no problem with people who aren't into him. It's like he took the promo lessons to heart while in NXT and forgot that his constant intensity is what drew people to his work, because playing to the crowd over and over between generic hardcore spots...nah, not working. Glad he's out if this is what he's been bringing.

The finish to Ki/Martinez was the right kind of OUT OF NOWHERE but I wish it felt more like that first Ki/Joe match in ROH with the finish instead of a random Axe Bomber. The face off between Ki and Salina after was a perfect visual way to let us know this isn't over by a long shot.

Lawlor has natural fire in his promos but can't string the words together right, and he's a fucking embarrassment when he starts working. I still don't think Gotch is a good addition to Contra and loved him as Lawlor's mouthy foil, but if Tom is a face then I guess he needs to stand on his own.

Did I mention that Salina is smoking hot yet?

[fakeplastictrees]

Salina is not my cup of tea, but I can see why some find her attractive. A bigger question, has MLW created any bonafide stars since its return? I am talking about people who can be considered originals as it doesn't seem as Martinez, Brazil, Reed, etc. have taken off in any real capacity. 

[Laz]

Not really, but Pillman Jr. could be it for them sooner than later. They're getting by with Promociones el Dorado (I likely butchered that spelling) right now and are trying to make Contra a thing, but the irregular taping schedule and AEW becoming a thing sapped a lot of the names they could use. I'm wondering what the July tapings will look like and who shows up.

[El-P]

Well, that Contra vs Lawlor & Von Erich brawl was a whole lot of not a whole lot. Like, a decent little brawl with Ross Von Erich especially looking all fired up, but pretty dire next to the terrific Callihan vs Warner brawl of the previous week. They try to make it like it's a super heated issue, but the reality is that Contra still have expressed zero motivation and the Von Erich's have been thrown in there from nowhere. No idea about the Von Erich boys as this match really didn't allow much of a talent showcase, but sorry, using the fucking claw in 2019 looks really dumb. It was cheesy as shit already in the 80's, even as a cosplay in 2019 it's really pushing it. The post-match was all wild with Contra attacking officials, but really, what the fuck are Contra to begin with ? Also, Lawlor brought back the lighest balsa wood board ever, Kevin Sullivan would be proud (and yeah, it looked stupid but funny).

Well, MLW doesn't seem to be heading anywhere interesting in term of direction. The shows seem to have more and more replays of angles (seriously, three times in a 48 mn show ?) and video package and feels light on actual content (which is not always very good either, that Jordan match was rough and reeked of indy greenness). Warner vs Salina's stable is the only thing I kinda look forward too. I hope Wagner Jr. is gonna be thrown in this, because otherwise, no idea where his old ass would fit out of the lucha context.

Where the fuck is Austin Aries already ? Maybe he quit before he debuted...

[The Thread Killer]

I'm not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed in that Main Event too.  I had heard from three different people (including a couple who were there live) that this was a great match and almost like the second (or third, I guess) coming of the Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl.  Meh, not so much.  This match was okay, at best.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad - it just wasn't as good as I'd been led to believe. 

There was some good stuff in there. Jacob Fatu is a beast, he's great and is going to be a big star wherever he ends up.  Considering his lineage, I'm actually pretty shocked he didn't end up in NXT/WWE right off the bat.  Simon Gotch was okay in this match, but some of his "brawling" offense looks a bit soft.  His strengths are obviously mat wrestling and submissions, and you're not going to get a whole lot of that in an Unsanctioned 6 Man Tornado Tag Team Match. I've always been a big Josef Samael fan, since he was the Almighty Sheik.  This dude is so old school, and I love it.  Great look, great promo and a great overall aura.  He did fine.

One problem I had with this match was that a lot of the weapons shots and "violence" in this fight looked really weak and unconvincing.  I don't want to see guys hammering the crap out of each other and getting hurt - but conversely if you're going to do a match like this, you pretty much have to "lay your shit in" as Steve Austin would say.  Some of the kicks, punches, chairshots and especially that nonsense with the board looked really lame.  The only one who used it properly was Samael, when he turned it into a spike.  Speaking of weak looking, I am sorry but Tom Lawlor did not come across like a badass in this match.  Firstly, I hate to say it but he needs to do something about his look.  It appears as if he is wrestling in his boxer shorts.  I know he is a former MMA guy - I saw in UFC long before I ever saw him in MLW - but his look in MLW is just goofy.  Also, his promos are very wooden and unconvincing sounding.  The spot where he got duct-taped to the ringpost and had to be rescued by the referee was just stupid and did him no good if he is supposed to be tough. Finally, he is obviously afraid of really hurting somebody because his worked punches and kicks are very obviously being pulled - they look really fake.  I respect him but I do not think he should be the top guy in MLW.

On the positive side, I thought the Von Erich brothers looked pretty good.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever seen them - I think I might have seen them once in a match from NOAH, but that was ages ago. Either way, they looked pretty good here.  They look like stars.  They certainly have a family history (good and bad.)  Unlike a lot of hardcore fans, I was a pretty big fan of the Von Erich family and I'm old enough to remember them from World Class. Unfortunately, I missed the Freebird feud, but I saw a ton of their stuff in WCCW and I always liked them.  I was really happy to hear Kevin's sons were coming to MLW and are finally getting some exposure in North America.  I agree with @El-P that the claw is kind of goofy and outdated, but they're the Von Erichs, so what are you gonna do? It's expected.  We can't say what they're like in a traditional Tag Team match, because this was anything but.

I did think this was kind of a stupid way to debut the Von Erichs in MLW. I get the whole angle leading up to this...Contra are some weird faction who have come in and are terrorizing MLW, nobody knows why they're here, they don't even technically work for MLW, they have some mysterious "benefactor" and we don't know who that is.  Fine.  To make a statement, they attack the MLW Champion a couple of times, and cut his hair.  Fine.  But in response, Lawler challenges them to a 6 Man match, and basically says "You guys outnumber me...so I got the Von Erichs." Uh...right. Great storyline.  Good buildup. Nice details. And then they stand there and don't say shit.  I assume they're like their Dad and Uncles and can't cut a decent promo, but they could have said something, rather than just standing there.

The post match brawl was okay, but strangely laid out.  Fatu leaves, threatens the announcers, then he comes back.  Contra beat up a bunch of officials, including putting a referee through a table, while the babyfaces stand in the ring and give each other high fives.  I don't get it.  I guess that was meant to help Contra keep their heat, but all it did to me was make Lawlor and the Von Erichs look either heartless for letting those poor guys get beat up, or scared.  Or maybe stupid because they somehow missed it?  I don't know.

Finally, @El-P was dead on about how poorly paced this show was.  They start off the show with an angle, which they then show a bunch of times on a replay throughout the show.  Then Low Ki has a really lame looking squash match, which the fans don't care about.  We have to sit through a ton of promos, and then the Main Event.  Very poorly laid out, for whoever produced this episode.  I like MLW a lot, probably more than Impact.  They have a ton of talent and a lot of potential, but I am finding the quality of their shows tend to fluctuate wildly.  For this show I guess the lesson is, don't believe the hype.  Maybe I would have liked this week's episode of Fusion if I hadn't heard so much about how great it was, ahead of time.
 

[sek69]

1 hour ago, The Thread Killer said:

I assume they're like their Dad and Uncles and can't cut a decent promo, but they could have said something, rather than just standing there.

Hey now, David was a great promo. But yeah, I hope those kids' mom has the gift of gab because they sure weren't going to get it from dad.

[El-P]

6 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

Finally, he is obviously afraid of really hurting somebody because his worked punches and kicks are very obviously being pulled - they look really fake. 

Agreed. Reminds me of Don Frye. Those kicks were Miz-level soft. Raised on Aja Kong punting the shit of of smaller girls, I have no idea why those guys these day don't lay their shit in. No one asks them to be Aja nor Kawada, but still. You're spot on about the look too, the MMA shorts are ok, but sometime he really look like some random goof and not a world champion MMA style fighter.

About the booking of the Von Erich's debut, could not agree more. Didn't made sense, but nothing involving Contra does. Plus, they should really spot inserting the Contra logo randomly during the broadcast, like they were hacking the program, it reeks of "let's do the nWo" cosplaying, without any actual direction and without any reason either. I mean, they are terrorist, they hack the feed to put they logo on, they abduct the champ and cut his hair, then they attack officials after being chased off by the babyfaces....

Honestly, the booking of most of the show has been pretty lame lately, and the way the show are structured reeks of the 90's. I don't want to point out Corny, because MLW always had that retro feel to it, but still, in the last few weeks it has really struck me. That Low-Ki squash was lame as fuck and a complete waste of time. It's Low-Ki, he's established. You can establish is new finisher in an actual competitive match. Oh, they already did it BTW, so why waste everybody's time like it's some RAW from 1994 ? The show is 50 mn of "content" on Youtube and it still drags. They are running thin on regular talent too it seems, honestly. Too much really young indy kids running around, although some have potential. And one last thing, the lack of women really feels odd in the current scene. I mean, even ROH has a women's division, as depleted as it is. Bauer can't find four good workers on the circuit ? I'm still watching because it's on Youtube and doesn't take time, but my interest has gone way down. Salina should get more air-time, she's the only in-house star.

[Log]

There are two things I'd love to never see again in wrestling:

1) Invading factions that "don't work for the company".

2) Evil authority figures.

I don't have any suggestions as how to do it, but I really want to see wrestling move away from these two things.

[El-P]

12 minutes ago, Log said:

1) Invading factions that "don't work for the company".

Did gigantic business in Japan with UWF and UWF-I, and in the US with nWo, which Bischoff TOTALLY NOT COPIED FROM UWF-I NO HE DID NOT. So it can still be the hottest thing if done right, which isn't that hard to do. Contra, however, is not that at all. It's a poorly drawn sketch of an invasion angle with people with no motivation.

12 minutes ago, Log said:

2) Evil authority figures.

Unless your name is Dario Cueto, yes, please, never again, not before at least 30 years.

[Migs]

I watched the episode after reading these comments, so I guess my expectations were properly set, because I liked the six man for the most part, even if it wasn't as good as the initial hype. The Von Erichs had good fire. The stuff with Lawlor getting taped was goofy (and didn't really have an impact on the match) and the post-match did have a really weird energy. Why is Lawlor watching when the ref goes through a table? Maybe try and stop them? 

The rest of the episode was total filler, the result of trying to get 5 weeks of shows out of one taping. I do think Jordan Oliver works as an undercard guy - he's got a personality that's easy heat, even if he's a really indie-riffic worker. 

Looks like Aries debuts next week, which I think is the last big match in the can.

Honestly, MLW's only ahead of Impact for me right now because Youtube plays better on the iPhone than the Impact app, so it gets to be the show I watch on the treadmill.

[Log]

3 hours ago, El-P said:

Did gigantic business in Japan with UWF and UWF-I, and in the US with nWo, which Bischoff TOTALLY NOT COPIED FROM UWF-I NO HE DID NOT. So it can still be the hottest thing if done right, which isn't that hard to do. Contra, however, is not that at all. It's a poorly drawn sketch of an invasion angle with people with no motivation.

Those worked because UWF and UWF-I were actually separate companies from New Japan and US audiences had never seen anything like nWo before.  Don't forget, early stuff when it was just Hall and Nash was totally presented as them still working for WWF.  Fans, in general, weren't as knowledgeable as to who was signed to who and that kind of stuff.  Then you throw in the Hogan heel turn, and that's why it took off.  

Nowadays, everyone is aware of who has signed who as soon as it happens.  No one watching MLW believes that Contra aren't on the payroll.  

[Laz]

That's why the last invasion storyline to actually work was ROH/CZW. If Bauer wants Contra to be taken seriously then they need to have somebody in the company be the ones funding them, maybe intentionally sabotaging security so Contra can run wild. I hope it's not Salina, she has her own stable to take care of, but even doing a long con and revealing Lawlor as the one behind it all so he could look that much better would be interesting and get some attention.

This has been a problem with MLW since the original iteration, though, because the ideas and presentation have always been top notch (the old MLW green logo canvas was gorgeous for television) but the details either don't add up or aren't particularly interesting. The production and presentation, though...that's the good stuff.

[El-P]

Ok. MLW has officially jumped the shark with me. They're probably going the way of ROH in my weekly pro-wrestling regime. I watched this week's show live, and it was terrible. Again, very very few actual content in an entire hour. The shows drags like hell. The two only enjoyable moments were Fatu killing jobbers, he's terrific but needs to go the fuck out of this purgatory, and Salina calling Mance a "goat fucker".

Aries big debut. Now he's got a beard and shaved hair on the sides, so he looks like every guy on the planet in 2019. With plain black trunks, to look even more generic. And they re-debut him in a long, drawn out, competitive guy against Adam Brooks, who''s as generic himself as his name indicates. 50/50 match with a guy no one knows, including some death spots like an almost botched death valley driver on the apron. I mean, Aries is a great worker, but that looked sloppy and useless in such an irrelevant match. And then, a promo in which he talks about the "wrestling war"... Against "sports-entertainment" but also "cosplay wrestling".  Oh for fuck's sake Corny... Because of course, it can *only* come from Cornette and his ridiculous stance on modern wrestling. Anyway, talking about "cosplay pro-wrestling" is pretty rich in a promotion which itself has done more actual "cosplay booking" than any other current promotion and which includes Mance Warner aka a guy playing Bunkhouse Buck and Josef Samael aka a guy poorly doing some Sheik cosplay.  Except cosplay is supposed to be fun and self-conscious, not being taken seriously and actually pretend it's 1994 or something. Speaking of which...

The main event of Lawlor vs Samael was awful. Like, awful, boring, dreadfully boring mid-90's pre-ECW brawling style, on which the crowd totally shit on BTW. And ending with a DQ. Which the crowd shit on even more.

This has Corny's footprint all over it. The guy didn't get ECW. He didn't get ROH apparently judging from the people who followed his stint as booker there at the time. He doesn't get Omega and the Bucks today. And MLW has turned into a sad parody of crappy mid 90's TV pro-wrestling, with lesser and lesser content, poorly defined character and poor matches. It's not like it's hard to have a really good TV show even with a somewhat limited talent pool, look at iMPACT (granted, they have much better talent overall).

What was fun about MLW was Tony Schiavone calling crazy indy spotfest and marking out to LA Parka brawling all over the place and cool luchadors fighting the fight of Konnan vs Salina de la Renta. This time has gone. So am I, I'm afraid. 

[The Thread Killer]

On 7/1/2019 at 8:11 PM, El-P said:

And then, a promo in which he talks about the "wrestling war"... Against "sports-entertainment" but also "cosplay wrestling".  Oh for fuck's sake Corny... Because of course, it can *only* come from Cornette and his ridiculous stance on modern wrestling...This has Corny's footprint all over it. The guy didn't get ECW. He didn't get ROH apparently judging from the people who followed his stint as booker there at the time. He doesn't get Omega and the Bucks today. And MLW has turned into a sad parody of crappy mid 90's TV pro-wrestling, with lesser and lesser content, poorly defined character and poor matches.

Dude, I think you're way off on this one for two reasons.  Firstly, Cornette is just a Color Commentator and Part Time producer. I don't think he has anything to do with creative in MLW. He can't really, because he doesn't even work for them Full Time.  And even if he did, the second reason I think Cornette had nothing to do with this is that Cornette and Austin Aries hate each other. It's well documented that Austin Aries and Jim Cornette have big time heat from Cornette's time in ROH when he actually did have input into creative. I really can't see Jim Cornette going to Austin Aries and telling him what to say, and Aries happily agreeing to say it. I believe that promo may actually have represented Austin Aries' actually feelings on the current state of the Pro Wrestling industry.

[El-P]

It's hard not to see a correlation between how MLW has been evolving into a more and more dated and boring product and the fact Corny works here as a producer. Also, that "cosplay" reference feels awfully convenient and timely with Corny's current AEW vents.

That being said, now that you mentioned the fact it may be Aries' feelings, I doubt Corny even knows what "cosplay" means, although it still feels exactly like what Corny thinks about what's going on (in his dated, biased mind). Anyway, it was completely ridiculous, as was the audience midly booing the reference to Aries' "former employer". Talking about cosplaying being hostile to an "opposition" that isn't even one (how long have they been sharing talent like Lucha Brothers, Callihan, Swann, AAA guys etc...) like they are an ECW crowd from 1998... As far as Aries goes, well, although I really like his work, his new look sucks, this match was ill-conceived and he way he left iMPACT was the epitome of unprofessional, so, there you go, have a blast working in the official SMW cosplay league...

[SPS]

EI-P it seems you really just dislike Jim Cornette and what you believe he did to ROH (which wouldnt be around today or since 2009 without him, a fact few seem to remember when slagging off his work there) and anything you perceive he represents that falls into those categories in the show you perceive as Corny's fingerprints all over the product.

I personally enjoyed this week's episode and thought less was more and made it an easy hour to watch. If I wanted to watch a ton of angles and stuff jammed into a wrestling show there are plenty out there doing that.

I do agree having Aries go so even with an unknown in his big redebut was foolish and his look is not very flattering (despite his vegan diet I thought he looked particularly emaciated compared to his last appearances in IMPACT). I enjoyed seeing the old style brawl in the main event and didn't see a big issue with it as it helped build towards next week's big title match with Fatu and Lawlor. It was exactly what it needed to be.

If what you preferred was the luchadors and Konnan then you can't expect a guy like Konnan to be available all the time with his workload in so many different companies. Also MLW still has new luchadors coming in and LA Park returning. Not every week is going to feature the same crew which is what I like about MLW. 

If it's jumped the shark for you that's fine but to rant and rave about it like it's all Cornette' s doing is silly, at the end of the day he's only a part time executive and final says lies elsewhere. I don't believe these perceived changes will hurt MLW at all and is a smart way to go in today's climate where all the available established talent is being snapped up. 

[El-P]

7 hours ago, SPS said:

EI-P it seems you really just dislike Jim Cornette

Actually I'm a pretty big Corny fan if you except some (most ?) of his views of modern pro-wrestling. I dunno, MLW always had that annoying kinda dated cosplaying stuff anyway (the Robert Parker guys from the early shows which thankfully are gone), but I think the show has been a lot worse lately, and some of the stuff really reeks of mid-90's mentality and presentation in a bad way, so I put two and two together. Maybe I overstate Corny's influence on the product, but the result is there, it's been pretty boring/bad lately to the point of me barely wanting to check it anymore. That Lawlor vs Samael match was awful, really.

[Laz]

10 hours ago, SPS said:

EI-P it seems you really just dislike Jim Cornette and what you believe he did to ROH (which wouldnt be around today or since 2009 without him, a fact few seem to remember when slagging off his work there)

Calling bullshit right here. If you're going to argue that Corny helped devise a better business strategy in terms of cost cutting? Sure, I'll bite. If you're trying to say the quality during/after Corny is anything worthwhile? Uhhhh...no. Not even close. 

[Migs]

Aries looked really bad aesthetically - just really skinny and bland. In the ring he seemed a bit lacking in explosiveness as well. Not a great showing.

Hopefully they're only looking to get 4 weeks out of these next couple of tapings, they've really stretched the last couple thin at the end. 

Curious to see what they build to for this first PPV in November - Lawlor vs. LA Park might be the best bullet they have in the chamber and I'm not sure that's enough to draw buys.

[sek69]

Georgia Smith is joining the company in a "correspondent" role, sounds like they want to use her broadcasting background to make her their Mean Gene. Also it's apparently Court's plan to have every non Nattie member of the Hart clan working for him in some form. 

[The Thread Killer]

I have to be honest, I don't get @El-P's hate of this past week's episode of Fusion.  It wasn't exactly "must see" TV or anything, but it was what I would have expected for what it was supposed to accomplish.  This episode was pretty much designed to do two things: reintroduce Austin Aries and hype up Kings of Colosseum.  It accomplished both of those goals, in my opinion.

I do agree with El-P and @Migs wholeheartedly, there were some issues with the way Austin Aries was added back into the mix, but not all of those can be blamed on MLW. I agree that Aries just didn't look good, physically.  He has lost a noticeable amount of weight since the last time I saw him, including muscle mass. He's never been huge to begin with, but on this show he looked a bit puny.  I assume during his time off he wasn't doing a ton of weight training - not to say he looked out of shape, don't get me wrong. Secondly, his overall physical presentation was awful.  I'm sorry, but he needs to have a serious word with whoever gave him that haircut.  Having his head totally shaved on the sides combined with an epic beard is just a weird look for anybody, especially him.  Add that to his new thinner look and the basic, plain full length black tights and he did not look like the Austin Aries I remember from a purely aesthetic point of view.  He didn't look like a star.  If you compare how he looked on this show to how he looked in WWE or even Impact, it's a significant change. On this show, he looked like enhancement talent, honestly.

As far as the match goes. I don't know who Adam Brooks is, but all I know is that Austin Aries gave this kid WAY too much in their match. That match had no business going that long (12 minutes) and I can't believe some of the offense that Aries unloaded on this kid, only to have Brooks fight it off.  That Death Valley Driver on the ring apron was insane, and a spot like that should be reserved for a PPV match against a name opponent, not a TV match. And then on top of that, Brooks fights his way out of a submission hold which Aries has clamped on. If Aries wanted somebody to be really competitive against him during his first match back so he could show everything he could do, then they should have put him in there against an established name, not some new kid nobody has ever heard of making his debut.  That just made it look like Aries had way too much trouble putting a kid away.  As for the post-match, like I said previously, I don't think Jim Cornette had anything to do with that post-match promo.  I think that was all Aries.  I am somewhat intrigued by the potential Aries/Teddy Hart match they seem to be heading towards.

I thought the Fatu squash was great.  It made him look like a total monster, which he needed going into the next show.  Jacob Fatu is so damn good.  That moonsault was crazy.  As far as the Main Event goes, it also made sense leading into Kings of Colosseum.  There's no way they were going to have their champion lose, and they also want to keep Samael and Contra Unit strong, so having a brawl that gets out of control made sense to me.  It was what it was - a TV Main Event leading into a big show.  Then again, I really like Josef Samael so maybe I am more inclined to enjoy stuff he is involved in.  This is a guy who has patterned himself after the original Sheik, and it shows.

My only major criticism of this episode (aside from Aries giving Adam Brooks too much offense) is that they are overdoing it with the constant inserting of the Contra Unit clips throughout the episode.  It's making it look like an nWo ripoff, or something.  I like the Contra Unit as a stable, but they probably don't need to have their logo flashing across the screen every five minutes, it's overkill to me.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

Writing this before I've seen Kings of Colosseum, as I've just been catching up on the past few weeks of Fusion.

Overall I think I'm more positive about the company than some posters here, but I can definitely understand the criticisms. In terms of Cornette's level of input, then there's things that look like some of his hallmarks, although that slightly updated version of an old wrestling territory is the vibe they've been going for before he came, and I guess is why he's happy to be involved with them compared to other companies. I generally like the way they present things - a good example being, scrambling for an alternate match when the Teddy Hart/Richard Holliday match didn't happen, although as others have noted, their current talent pool is being stretched pretty thin.

I really enjoyed the Contra vs Lawlor and Von Erich's match, when combined with the post match, loved the intensity of it. Personally I'm much more of a fan of this level of 'chaos' rather than people using staplers and other random weapons which really takes me out of things. I'm sure it's not a coincidence and the vibe they were going for, but it did remind me of a 6 man match you would've got in World Class with the energy and brawling. 

Just in terms of last weeks show then I'm more in The Thread Killer's camp than El P's - it was a functional episode of TV to build up the Lawlor/Fatu match, although I agree there was nothing must see or exceptional about it. The finish was tried and true in terms of being there to build to another match, although agree very much with El P in that it was massively boring and almost sent me to sleep.

I'm still an interested weekly viewer of the company but do agree that they need to give some of the stale parts of the show a bit of an injection of life. I'm a big Aries fan and hoped he could be that, and a match with Teddy Hart is intriguing, but his return did leave me pretty uninspired, although not helped by him having to be in there with Adam Brooks who I've seen wrestle a few times here in the UK and is just a guy that does moves with no emotion or fire. Hopefully Aries can get back into the groove. I'm also missing the Konnan/Salina storyline of them being competing firms trying to dominate the pipe line of talent from Mexico which I was a big fan of. Finally on Contra, I like the guys together and appreciate them going all in to make them a threat, however they need to highlight what their actual motivation/end game is otherwise it's hard to get invested in.