MLW Fusion, anyone watching it?

[Migs]

Tony and Cornette as a team should be pretty fun when Tony makes a taping again.

I liked the Lawlor-Ki cage match on the whole, although the long stretch towards the end on the cage (where either could have dropped down to win) was a bit overkill. The reveal of Contra was... underwhelming (although the splash off the cage was fun).

[El-P]

21 hours ago, Migs said:

I liked the Lawlor-Ki cage match on the whole, although the long stretch towards the end on the cage (where either could have dropped down to win) was a bit overkill. 

You're awfully generous. To me it killed the match, which had been quite good until the "let's escape" point. They stayed forever outside that cage like complete fools, especially when at one point Lawlor's leg was trapped into the cage. Why didn't Low-ki just jumped at this point ? And it went on and on and on forever, only to do that stupid "both guys almost fall at the same time" spot, which was cute the first time it was done in the 80's (70's maybe), but there it was completely idiotic considering either one could have simply dropped to the floor at any time for seemingly ever (to the point the crowd began to boo just before they went home). I have no time for this kinda cutesy nonsense, it reeks of bad 80's cosplaying.

The Lucha Bros match vs Laredo Kid & Taurus was good but kinda sloppy, and the AAA guys looked worse than they usually do in their own promotion. Kinda funny that the first guy Corny talks about when he's back at doing color was Taurus, who's basically the same gimmick as Mantaur. Corny sounded kinda lost in that match too and was much more at ease during the cage match.

I dunno, I still enjoy MLW, but there's too much cutsey shit like the cage match finish and underwhelming performances from guys who look better elsewhere to really get excited about anything they do. I miss the whole Konnan vs Salina stuff, it gave the promotion some dynamic in term of promo and story. The whole Contra stuff, well, they look like some indie guys thrown together (damn, without the stache, he looks so odd and... generic)... Maybe I'm getting blase with all the wrestling available, but I ended up being disappointed with this episode too.

[SPS]

On 3/4/2019 at 7:43 PM, El-P said:

You're awfully generous. To me it killed the match, which had been quite good until the "let's escape" point. They stayed forever outside that cage like complete fools, especially when at one point Lawlor's leg was trapped into the cage. Why didn't Low-ki just jumped at this point ? And it went on and on and on forever, only to do that stupid "both guys almost fall at the same time" spot, which was cute the first time it was done in the 80's (70's maybe), but there it was completely idiotic considering either one could have simply dropped to the floor at any time for seemingly ever (to the point the crowd began to boo just before they went home). I have no time for this kinda cutesy nonsense, it reeks of bad 80's cosplaying.

The Lucha Bros match vs Laredo Kid & Taurus was good but kinda sloppy, and the AAA guys looked worse than they usually do in their own promotion. Kinda funny that the first guy Corny talks about when he's back at doing color was Taurus, who's basically the same gimmick as Mantaur. Corny sounded kinda lost in that match too and was much more at ease during the cage match.

I dunno, I still enjoy MLW, but there's too much cutsey shit like the cage match finish and underwhelming performances from guys who look better elsewhere to really get excited about anything they do. I miss the whole Konnan vs Salina stuff, it gave the promotion some dynamic in term of promo and story. The whole Contra stuff, well, they look like some indie guys thrown together (damn, without the stache, he looks so odd and... generic)... Maybe I'm getting blase with all the wrestling available, but I ended up being disappointed with this episode too.

I agree with you on them being on the side of the cage way too long, I just got frustrated after a while and lost all interest. Shame that Lawler and Ki's 2 big matches have both been very underwhelming considering how I enjoyed both guys in their other MLW work. Overall I enjoyed the show though.

[El-P]

Well, listening to Corny call a (good) Ace Auston vs DJZ match is quite surreal.

Alexander Hammerstein, the look, the name, everything screams like a guy who would get jobbed out to Goldberg on Thunder in 1998.

I do enjoy MFJ and Holliday though. As I do the prospect of Mance Warner vs El Hijo de LA Park. I wonder if that's gonna be a redux of Sunny vs the Godwinns though, as Mance already spill some liquid all over Salina...

Contra does nothing for me. It's random as fuck. Yet another Samoan from the family, Simon Gotch looking like some dude without his moustache (nice "where's the moustache ?" chant btw), and a nondescript guy named Joseph Samael wearing a super nondescript outfit with the Sheik's boots doing a Sheik cosplay. Yeaaaaah, not sure about that one. I miss Konnan and Salina insulting each other in spanish and getting luchadors to fight their battles. AEW should sign Ace Romero yesterday though, the guy is a legit Adrian Adonis for the 2020's.

[Migs]

5 hours ago, El-P said:

Contra does nothing for me. It's random as fuck. Yet another Samoan from the family, Simon Gotch looking like some dude without his moustache (nice "where's the moustache ?" chant btw), and a nondescript guy named Joseph Samael wearing a super nondescript outfit with the Sheik's boots doing a Sheik cosplay. Yeaaaaah, not sure about that one. I miss Konnan and Salina insulting each other in spanish and getting luchadors to fight their battles. AEW should sign Ace Romero yesterday though, the guy is a legit Adrian Adonis for the 2020's.

He's in the battle royal at Double or Nothing.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

Thought this weeks episode of Fusion was pretty good with a lot more energy to events. So far I'm enjoying Mance Warner and you could tell that both he and Cornette were enjoying the back an forth's between them. Next week with him against LA Park should be fun. 

As other's have said, I'll need to be won over by the Contra angle and what their motivation is meant to be. As EL-P says, they are a random set of people, but I enjoyed their debut - I'm a sucker for a beatdown post match in a cage when security and officials are locked out - and this week with all the bottles and rubbish flying into the ring like it was a 96/97 episode of Nitro was pretty cool. As I say, I'm on the fence at the moment as to whether this has any legs behind it, but from his couple of appearances Jacob Fatu looks like an absolute Beast. The splash he did from the top of the cage a couple of weeks ago was impressive and then this week he was absolutely nailing the double jump moonsaults. He looks to have a ton of potential.

I was really digging the main event as well before the DQ ending but the addition of Hammerstone to MJF and Holliday looks promising and should lead to some fun six man tags with the Hart Foundation. I don't know if Teddy Hart puking in the ring was legit or not but given the storyline was all about him wrestling with broken ribs, it added some visceral realism to things and I thought, even with the unsatisfying ending that this was a much better match than the Hart Foundation/Lucha Bros title switch which was largely a mess. In particular thought Davey Boy Smith Jr looked miles better here than his performance trying (and failing) to work with Pentagon and Fenix.  

[El-P]

Yeah, best episode in a while. Last year I said MLW looked like SMW to LU's ECW, and really with Corny announcing and this Contra squash/slaughter with people cosplayingly throwing shit in the ring, he did look like some old territory stuff re-enactment. And Jacob Fatu is impressive. Plus I like the fact he's wearing the old SST kinda outfit.

Teddy Hart is just comically goofy, cutting insane promos, selling his ribs like crazy walking to the ring them not so much at the beginning of the match, then puking, then getting annoyed at Holliday not taking a bump right. MJF is just awesome, there's no two ways about it. That promo about Stu Hart, short as it was, just Heenan-like funny. Yeah, DBS is much more at ease working that US style and he looked really good here with bumping people to beat up.

The lucha opening was quite good too and Mance vs LA Park could deliver something really cool. And damnit, Salina's outfits are just getting better and better. And believe me, that shit she was wearing tonight is expensive. She's still the best character on this show.

[El-P]

This week's episode was all about Mance Warner vs LA Park. Not sold on Mancer just yet, at times his gimmick appears too... gimmicky to me. Still, very fun match, with LA Park being his impressive self, at 50 years old and overweight as he is, he still does the best spear of anyone in pro-wrestling today, does a totally explosive plancha and more or less doesn't give a fuck. Lacked blood to me, which is odd considering they've been using tons of blood in angles before, that kind of match should be the time to get out the blade. Salina doing the strut during the intro was quite cool.

[El-P]

I have been critical of the promotion lately, but Battle Riot II was a very good and very easy two hours to watch ! And it looked slick as fuck too, awesome production, easily the best of the Mania week-end this side of NXT.

The Battle Riot itself ran a little long, and there weren't any crazy surprises, although Dan Severn showing up in the beginning and actually throwing some people around a bit was really cool, also one unexpected tag team showed up to a huge pop. Much better than the Honor Rumble. The backstage vignettes with Salina chasing for better spots for her guys were very good and funny, she's really the life of the promotion in term of character.

The first hours flew by with two good little matches. Myron Reed turning heel did wonder for him, he paces himself much better and shows character instead of just flying around. Minoru Tanaka ! Damn, they just don't age in Japan or what ? Wonder if she's still married to Yumi Fukawa. Havoc vs Lawlor I enjoyed a lot, for once, probably the first Havoc match I can say that about. The fact it was about brutality and not comedy papercuts and stuff helped a lot I guess. The Contra stuff attacking him at the end was also quite heat-seeking in a very old-school style. Lawlor vs Fatu could be really, really good. Also, more Daga vs Low-ki on the horizon, which looks excellent. And the right guy won Battle Riot

And finally, Corny is awesome. Finally got into his groove, and he's like the best color man today. I liked the fact he didn't hide his distaste for Havoc's style, but he worked it inside the story of the match. So yeah, well done, I recommend this show.

[El-P]

Is no one here watching MLW anymore ? I mean, it's on Youtube, it's only 55 mn a week and there is some fun stuff there.

I do not get why they keep on giving wins to Gringo Loco, who still hasn't shown one bit of character or personality, don't even mention charisma, and doesn't look very impressive in the ring anyway. Also, the Contra stuff still looks weak and random to me. Josef Samael loading his boot his pushing toward the cosplayish stuff, really.

On the other hand, Mance Warner vs Sami Callihan was a terrific brawl, really down and dirty. I enjoyed the fact Cornette channelled his actual distaste for Callihan going back to the Eddie Edward incident to put him over as a disgusting and dangerous individual. It went to the point of Callihan interacting with him, flipping the finger, while Corny was standing up basically cheering for Warner. Nice old-school interaction between Corny & Rich too, it felt organic and real. Also, I'm all for a Warner & Callihan vs Salina de la Renta feud, as this is clearly the direction they are going toward. Salina & Warner's promo backstage was quite good. Salina has improved a lot too. Can't wait for more interaction between the two dirty brawlers and her crew.

Dynasty vs Hart Foundation next week should be quite fun. Teddy smoking a blunt with Pillman & DBS Jr. in MJF's car was cool and weird, as always.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

I actually just started watching this last week. I'm enjoying it enough to keep going at this point, but already I'm a bit concerned about the amount of garbage wrestling, interference and beatdowns there seems to be on the show. There also seems to be a few too many random guys in masks on the show. However, I'm enjoying the presentation, and I like Cornette on commentary a lot.

Can someone explain the beef Cornette has with Callihan? I vaguely know where it comes from, but would like it explained more fully. 

[El-P]

32 minutes ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

Can someone explain the beef Cornette has with Callihan? I vaguely know where it comes from, but would like it explained more fully. 

It comes from the incident when Callihan injured Eddie Edward with a sloppy chair shot spot (although I guess some of the blame could have been put on Edwards too for moving when he wasn't supposed to or something, but that's beside the point). Corny went all batshit on Callihan, calling him unprofessional and garbage wrestler and stuff. Well, of course Corny really had probably seen no Callihan stuff before this, and really Edwards ended up being fine and it led to a really excellent feud overall. No idea if they talked and made up now that they are actually working together, but I thought it was pretty interesting and a sign of the genius of Cornette to actually use his own anger (true or fake, at this point) to get Callihan's *character* over.

[Migs]

58 minutes ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

I actually just started watching this last week. I'm enjoying it enough to keep going at this point, but already I'm a bit concerned about the amount of garbage wrestling, interference and beatdowns there seems to be on the show. There also seems to be a few too many random guys in masks on the show. However, I'm enjoying the presentation, and I like Cornette on commentary a lot.

Can someone explain the beef Cornette has with Callihan? I vaguely know where it comes from, but would like it explained more fully. 

To be fair, they've main evented with Callihan two weeks in a row, and he's by far the most likely to have a garbage match (and I think he's usually enjoyable in those, although YMMV). They are going way too in on groups and beatdowns of late, though - not sure they really need three heel groups in a promotion this small.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Thanks, guys.

[Coffey]

On 4/24/2019 at 6:58 PM, El-P said:

Is no one here watching MLW anymore?

I watch it most weeks. It's a lot of fun. I'm loving Contra, Selina, & a few other people. Liked Schiavone when he was on commentary, like Cornette on commentary. It's a fun watch. There's just not a lot of discussion about it around here & the shows feels like they're happening in a vacuum & really don't mean anything.

The roster DOES frequently use people that I will never give one single iota of a fuck about though. Guys like Sami Callihan or Jimmy Havoc. Just not gonna happen.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

Just catching up on the last few weeks of MLW, and after the massive letdown of the big Lawlor title win over Low Ki, it feels they are hitting their stride again and I really enjoy the flow of the shows at the moment with the right balance between segments and matches. 

Battle Riot II was much better than the first version of the match. It had less surprise entrants than last year, which although getting a quick pop when they came out meant the match was all over the place, but was much better at advancing existing feuds and playing off previous interactions. I was surprised both Lucha Bros went out so early to little real fanfare, but then I guess they were wrestling multiple matches over the next few days. 

I haven't really been impressed with LA Park's matches in the last few weeks as he just looks way out of shape, but his charisma is still magnetic and I'm intrigued about what him and Lawlor can do. I also thought MJF was tremendous in the match and he had me buying he could win coming in not knowing the result. 

Co-sign on El-P's praise for Cornette on commentary. Despite generally enjoying him, I was hesitant when it was announced he was coming in due to his disdain for so much of modern wrestling, but I agree with the point that he is doing a good job of getting over stuff he doesn't like - e.g. Jimmy Havoc - bit still getting him over in the match and not shitting on him. On a commentary note, does anyone know if Tony is done now with MLW? If so I'll be gutted as I've really enjoyed his run doing Fusion.  

[Migs]

3 hours ago, TonyPulis'Cap said:

Co-sign on El-P's praise for Cornette on commentary. Despite generally enjoying him, I was hesitant when it was announced he was coming in due to his disdain for so much of modern wrestling, but I agree with the point that he is doing a good job of getting over stuff he doesn't like - e.g. Jimmy Havoc - bit still getting him over in the match and not shitting on him. On a commentary note, does anyone know if Tony is done now with MLW? If so I'll be gutted as I've really enjoyed his run doing Fusion.  

The last I heard was he had a stretch of conflicts. I think we'll know more after the next tapings.

[El-P]

The Dynasty vs Hart Foundation Tables match from Ep55 is a must see. They beat the shit out of each other, Teddy Hart did some of his truly insane stuff, really good, intense brawl with a sense of purpose (if you follow the weekly TV). And the announcing of MLW is the best today with Corny on the mic, he works very well with Rich. Pro-wrestling should have a whole lot more of this. Looking forward to watching Salina's produced episode from this week.

I wonder how Teddy's cat can be so laid-back...

[sek69]

Kevin Von Erich's sons signed a deal with MLW. It always amazes me that they would want to be involved in wrestling after what their family went through. 

[Coffey]

On 5/7/2019 at 5:05 PM, El-P said:

Looking forward to watching Salina's produced episode from this week.

 

I'm watching it right now & I'm pretty entertained. Got about twenty minutes left but the first two matches were fine & the Selina stuff has been fun. Looking forward to Park/Pentagon 2.

 

EDIT: Main event was fun!

Seeing L.A. Park's big ass still hit a suicide dive like that was sick! Also, Pentagon when all out on his dive. Some cool stuff. And Salina was looking great.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

This ep was a lot of fun. I love it when a wrestling show has a concept like this. And I'm never gonna complain about seeing more Salina on my screen.

I'm assuming we get Hammerstone Vs Pillman in the finals of the Openweight tournament, with Pillman winning the belt. Weird that they had Gringo Loco job here, when he's going to be in that tournament too. He sucks anyway, so whatever. I'd prefer them to have done an 8-man tournament. They have a big enough roster to pull it off.

I've never seen Jacob Fatu wrestle, so I'm looking forward to that next week.

[C.S.]

Austin Aries is MLW bound.

Whether this is a good signing for them, I'll leave for others to debate.

Speaking for myself, I personally don't bother getting excited for anything he or Low Ki do anymore, because they never last anywhere.

 

[Migs]

11 hours ago, C.S. said:

Austin Aries is MLW bound.

Whether this is a good signing for them, I'll leave for others to debate.

Speaking for myself, I personally don't bother getting excited for anything he or Low Ki do anymore, because they never last anywhere.

 

Ki's been in MLW for a year and had an excellent run?

I'm not the world's biggest Aries fan, but I think he's a nice veteran addition to a roster that has a lot of younger guys with underdeveloped characters.

[C.S.]

10 hours ago, Migs said:

Ki's been in MLW for a year and had an excellent run? 

You might have a point. Teddy Hart too. While the jury is still out on Austin Aries, maybe Court Bauer has a magic touch with this type of personality?

[The Thread Killer]

One of the most interesting things with Aries going to MLW is the fact that Jim Cornette is working as a promo coach behind the scenes, in addition to his role as Color Commentator.  I know Aries isn't going to need help with his promos, but they're going to run into each other and there is a significant amount of heat between Aries and Cornette.  Neither seem the type to avoid confrontation or put it aside, either.