June 15th, 2018
Col. Robert Parker goes over his “Tag Team Strategy” with the Dirty Blondes in the back.
Rich Bocchini and Tony Schiavone run down the card for tonight, and then Shane Strickland is walking towards the arena, asked about the bounty placed on him. Brody King attacks Strickland, and we will hear from King tonight.
MVP is asked about MJF, and tells him that he’s going to school tonight, and MVP will be his teacher. He’s going to teach MJF how to want, and after this victory, MVP will focus on Sami Callihan.
MJF vs. MVP
The finish here makes complete sense, as MJF used his heel tactics to pick up the win, but Callihan ultimately costed MVP the victory. As for the match, it was fine, nothing special, nothing terrible. Perfectly average wrestling match, which is what I expected from the two involved. Right as MVP was about to pick up the win, Callihan and his heavy distracted MVP, which caused MVP to attack them both. Once MVP got back inside, MJF hit a low blow, and then put his feet on the ropes to secure the win. MVP and Callihan’s feud continues, as we near the Boiler Room Brawl.
Winner: MJF
Match Rating: **1/4
They run down the rules for MLW: Battle Riot, as they continue to hype this show up big time. There has been rumors of this show actually being on PPV, but we’ll have to see. They also confirmed the first four entrants: Jake Hager, Barrington Hughes, Johnny Yuta, and Pentagon Jr. More entrants have been announced on social media, including the likes of Kevin Sullivan and Davey Boy Smith.
Barrington Hughes is interviewed about Strickland’s bounty. He says the bounty isn’t cool, and calls Salina De La Renta a terrible human being.
Team TBD is talking about their Tag Title shot tonight, as Jason Cade continues to steal the spotlight.
Simon Gotch’s Prizefight Challenge
Same rules as last time, if you can last five minutes with Gotch, you earn $250. This time, Mike Parrow is out to answer the challenge. Much like the last challenge, there wasn’t much to this, besides Gotch picking up a dirty win. Things don’t seem to be over, as Col. Robert Parker and the Dirty Blondes came out to help Parrow. Next could be Gotch and Lawlor vs. The Stud Stable, but there are ten better ways to set up that match then through an overbooked Prizefight Challenge.
Winner: Simon Gotch
Match Rating: NR
It’s time to hear from Brody King, as he challenges Shane Strickland to a match next week. Court Bauer is now on the phone, saying this is a bad time to talk to Strickland, and they don’t want to sanction a match between Strickland and King. HOWEVER, Strickland wants the match, so next week, it will be Shane Strickland vs. Brody King.
Elimination Tag – MLW World Tag Team Championships: The Dirty Blondes vs. Team TBD vs. Lucha Bros
Things picked up right away, with all three teams going at it. Surprisingly, The Dirty Blondes went out very early in this match, but that gave us a solid ten minutes of Lucha Bros vs. TBD, which was absolutely awesome. While there wasn’t much drama in regards of Team TBD picking up the titles, there were a ton of good falls, filled with great action in the closing stretch. Tag team wrestling is a beautiful thing when done right, and this proved it. I would love for a straight up tag between Team TBD and the Lucha Bros, because this was only a portion of what those two teams could do together. Cade ended up hitting Yuta down the stretch, which will advance into their problems, as it costed Team TBD the win. Very good match here, one of, if not THE BEST we’ve seen on Fusion.
Winners: Lucha Bros
Match Rating: ***3/4
Final Thoughts:
While things didn’t start off with great action, feuds progressed, which always seems to be the focus on each episode. Things are getting more heated between MVP and Sami Callihan, while The Dirty Blondes may have their sights set on Team Filthy. Even if the first portion of this show didn’t deliver, the Three Way Tag is a must watch. The Lucha Bros are always fun to watch, and their interactions with Team TBD were absolutely awesome. Now, we have to see where Pentagon and Fenix go as tag champions, with such a little tag division in MLW. Finally, a $20,000 Bounty match was set for next week, where Brody King will take on Shane Strickland. This wasn’t a terrible episode, but if the first two matches were better, it would’ve been one of the best Fusion’s to date.
Final Rating: 6.5/10