November 16th, 2018
All of the reports from Low Ki ripping open Daga’s cauliflower ear are shown, and it leads to a confrontation between Low Ki and Konnan. Low Ki ends up CHALLENGING KONNAN TO A MATCH! Konnan begins to walk away, but Salina calls him back and Konnan tells Low Ki to be careful what he wishes for.
Tom Lawlor can see the fear that Low Ki and Sami Callihan have, and that’ll all come to a head tonight when Lawlor ends Callihan once and for all. Also tonight is Size Matters vs. The Dirty Blondes.
Ricky Martinez w/Salina De La Renta vs. Doctor Rex Bacchus
Ricky Martinez wore one of those protective nose pieces, similar to what you see NBA players wear, and most it’s what Cody wore for part of his WWE run. This was yet another squash for Martinez, who needed a rebound win after losing to Puma King recently. Martinez has a good look, cool finisher, and a manager in his corner. We saw shades of some great things in that match with Puma King, and I continue to wait for Martinez to face some actual competition and be able to impress.
Winner: Ricky Martinez
Match Rating: NR
Lawlor is warming up with Simon Gotch backstage, and Gotch says he has Lawlor’s back no matter what.
Joey Ryan comes out with his arm in a sling, and announces that he tore his pec muscle the night before in Texas. He never had the chance to see a doctor yet, because he flew to Chicago immediately in the morning. He’s in some pain, but he promised Swoggle he’d be his partner, and there’s no way he’d miss this show.
Dirty Blondes vs. Size Matters (Joey Ryan and Swoggle)
This was short, and didn’t accomplish much. Joey should’ve never been wrestling here, but he wrestled a very smart match. It’s pretty sad how The Dirty Blondes went from one of the most focused teams on Fusion to jobber territory. Ryan and Swoggle have potential to be a fun team, but I don’t expect them to be Tag Champions, just a fun team for the live crowd. This was really skippable.
Winners: Size Matters
Match Rating: NR
Joey Ryan takes off the sling and shows off A TON of bruising on his arm. He needs to take time off, and puts over Chicago some more.
Promo time with Sami Callihan, who says he doesn’t care about the trolls on social media. He’s getting paid to do what he loves, and that’s injuring and taking out other people. He’s taken out Shane Strickland, MVP, and Jimmy Havoc, and Tom Lawlor will be next. Lawlor may have been a UFC fighter, but Callihan isn’t scared of that, and you can’t prepare for the Death Machine. Callihan plans on sending him back to UFC because this is his business, and he is MLW.
THEY’RE ALREADY HYPING BATTLE RIOT II
Konnan is apart of “a press conference”, and they confirm he will face Low Ki in Konnan’s hometown of Miami. This leads us to hype up the Miami cards, featuring PCO vs. LA Park in a Falls Count Anywhere match and Rush vs. MJF at Never Say Never. On Zero Hour, MJF defends the Middleweight Title against Marko Stunt, Kotto Brazil, and Jason Cade in a ladder match.
Tom Lawlor talks again, as Lawlor says it’s time for him to go to work. He insults Callihan, but Gotch creepily comes out of a door as he walks out with Lawlor.
Rush will debut soon!
Next week is MLW’s “Friday Night Throwdown” special, featuring Kotto Brazil vs. Trey Miguel, and Shane Strickland getting his rematch for the MLW World Title against Low Ki.
They try to interview Shane Strickland, but he walks out without saying a word.
Chicago Street Fight: Sami Callihan vs. Tom Lawlor
This was a fine main event, but another huge disappointment from MLW, that featured a mostly dead crowd, and two individuals who I KNOW can deliver better. The match felt quite long, and it was slow and lifeless, with little to no near falls, and a flat finish. Callihan tends to deliver in gimmick matches, but tonight felt like an off night, as it was mostly a brawl that had a big spot or two. The crowd wasn’t behind Lawlor like usual, which really sucks, and while far from bad, just an overall disappointment.
Winner: Sami Callihan
Match Rating: ***
Gotch takes Lawlor to his press conference, because he deserves it. The door has a suspicious “Do Not Enter” sign, but Gotch leads Lawlor into it, and we see LOW KI, RICKY MARTINEZ, LA PARK, AND SALINA! Gotch quickly closes the door and has a smile on his face when he hears Lawlor getting beat down.
Final Thoughts:
This certainly wasn’t a great episode of Fusion, and only one thing really stood out. The opener was a fine squash for Ricky Martinez, the tag match was total filler that just wasted time, and the main event was really disappointing, knowing the two involved. Thankfully, we have two solid matches set for next week, but there’s ZERO BUILD to Strickland getting his World Title rematch, they really dropped the ball on that one. Anyways, the big highlight from this week was the show closing angle. Gotch turns heel, and is yet another wrestler to be paid off by Salina, as they try to take out Lawlor before Super Fight. While this is going on, it seems like Low Ki will be facing Konnan at the Miami show in December, but we’ll see what happens to that match. Overall, a week episode, but highlighted by the great closing angle.
Final Rating: 5.5/10