August 3rd, 2018
Tony Schiavone and Matt Striker tell us we have three huge main event quality matches on tap for tonight. Tonight’s main event is Shane Strickland vs. Sami Callihan, and we’re sent off to the ring for action!
Brody King vs. Jimmy Havoc
Brody King looked like an absolute giant in this match, but I really question him taking the loss here. Jimmy Havoc is someone who isn’t flown in for every TV Taping, and Brody King has been presented as the big Bounty Hunter, but still hasn’t picked up a win. The match itself was solid, with a fun start, then it slowed down in the middle, and the crowd really died. There wasn’t a great closing stretch, however the finish made sense, as Havoc found an opening and rolled up the big man to steal the win. Still, I question why Jimmy Havoc gets this win, because Brody King really needs a few singles wins. Overall, the middle portion dragged on for a bit, but this was solid.
Winner: Jimmy Havoc
Match Rating: **3/4
Brian Pillman Jr. is interviewed, but Kevin Sullivan quickly interrupts, and puts over Brian. Sullivan calls Brian the hottest thing, and says he’s seen him compete all over the country without a defeat. Sullivan will always be there for Brian if he needs anything. Brian appreciates the praise, but says he has a lot of work left to do. They shake hands, and that could be an interesting pairing moving forward.
Salina De La Renta and Low-Ki are seen handing Sami Callihan some money in the back. Callihan says he doesn’t like Low-Ki, but he sure does like money. They shake hands… Finalizing the deal.
Highlights from last week’s Battle Riot match are shown. Lawlor then celebrates the victory at Fenway Park.
Col. Robert Parker introduces Jake Hager before our next match.
Jake Hager w/Col. Robert Parker vs. Simon Gotch w/Team Filthy
This was pretty much just an extended squash, but definitely not an entertaining one. Hager dominated Gotch for the first two minutes, Gotch hit a couple of uppercuts and a forearm, then got beat down, kicked out of a big move, spit in Hager’s face, and then got nailed with a big boot for a super flat finish. This match just wasn’t needed. It was there to continue Team Filthy vs. The Stud Stable, but I would’ve just preferred a wild brawl between all of the teams. Maybe we’re getting Filthy vs. Stud Stable in WarGames? I hope not… Because Simon Gotch and Jake Hager are two of the LEAST interesting things MLW has done. I’m not even going to bother rating this one.
Winner: Jake Hager
Match Rating: NR
Next week, MJF makes his first defense of the MLW Middleweight Championship against Joey Janela in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Aria Blake is interviewed, but MJF quickly interrupts it. MJF says he has a bet going on with some rich dude, and the bet regards Aria Blake. MJF is still trying to pick up Aria… But it isn’t working. We’ll see what happens moving forward, because I could totally see Aria ending up with MJF.
MLW Top 10:
10. ACH
9. Rey Fenix
8. Teddy Hart
7. John Hennigan
6. Jake Hager
5. Sami Callihan
4. Pentagon Jr.
3. Jimmy Havoc
2. Shane Strickland
1. Tom Lawlor (third month in a row)
Konan finds Fenix in the back, and mentions some contract with money. Salina De La Renta walks in, and Pentagon follows. Salina tells Fenix that he shouldn’t be talking to Konan, and she then tells Konan to mind his own business.
In October, LA Park returns to MLW.
Jason Cade and Wheeler Yuta are interviewed, Cade says there’s no tension between the two. Yuta says the only issue is Cade is all about himself, and the two get into a shoving match. Cade says he’s sorry, Yuta is about to walk off, but Cade hits him in the back of the head with a microphone! Why are they still announcing these two as a team? They announced the split months ago on social media…
On next week’s Fusion, MJF faces Joey Janela in a falls count anywhere match for the MLW Middleweight Championship, along with John Hennigan vs. Teddy Hart
Teddy Hart runs into Rich Swann and ACH in the back, and he thinks they’re laughing at him. Teddy Hart wants to know what’s so funny, because he’s been in the business for 20 years. Are we getting a Hart/Swann or Hart/ACH feud moving forward, or was this just a time filler?
Sami Callihan w/The Death Machines vs. Shane Strickland
This was a pretty solid match, easily the best thing on the show. Sami got the upper hand early on by hitting a low blow, he then worked the leg of Strickland, which Strickland sold here and there. The crowd was alive for some parts, but definitely not everything like you’d hope for in a big match like this. I’m glad Callihan picked up the win, as it keeps the business relationship with Low-Ki and Salina going, along with the fact that Strickland now dropped two straight big matches, and he really needs to rebound. Good stuff here, nothing great that you need to see, but it was a fine main event.
Winner: Sami Callihan
Match Rating: ***
Final Thoughts:
This was definitely an off-week for Fusion. They are airing the matches that took place at Battle Riot, in-front of the New York crowd. I expected change, but not much feels different, as the crowd is still very dead, and takes away from these matches. There was a huge part of the show in the middle that dragged on, as it was interview after interview, video package after video package. Usually MLW is better at spacing things out, but it just wasn’t too great here. As for in ring action, Brody King lost again, which still doesn’t make sense to me. Jake Hager got a fine win, and who knows if the Stud Stable/Filthy feud is continuing. We now have a business relationship with Sami Callihan and Salina, while Salina tries to fight Konan off from partnering with the Lucha Bros. Callihan won a good main event, but Callihan/Strickland can do so much more in the ring. There’s a lot of solid things that make the show interesting and keep me here every week, but the in-ring stuff usually isn’t anything you need to go out of your way to see, which is a real shame. Hopefully Fusion rebounds next week, as we have two solid matches set.
Final Rating: 5.5/10