MLW FUSION RESULTS/REVIEW
5/18/2018

This week’s MLW Fusion beings with a recap of Pentagon Jr’s attack on Shane Strickland in which he sprayed mist in Swerve’s eyes. As a result, Pentagon was forced to defend his #1 contender-ship in a match against his brother Rey Felix this week. Per usual, MLW does a really good job of hyping the main event for the evenings show. It gives the matches added significance and helps to give the audience a reason to stick around.

Next, we cut to Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini hyping the evenings festivities. I’m not sold on the announce team. Having Schiavone and Bocchini feels redundant as they both serve the exact same purpose. MLW is trying to present itself as a legitimate sport. In legitimate sports, you typically have a play by play announcer and a color commentator(someone who either played or coach in said sport). With MVP winding down his in ring career, I feel him and Tony would complement each other well, with Mr. Porter being able to provide the viewer with an insider’s prospective while the allowing the veteran Schiavone an opportunity to do what he does best. While there’s obviously still time for the duo to establish chemistry, I feel a traditional announce team would best serve the product.

Kotta Brazil Vs. Trae Miguel

The “Fresh Prince of Mid-Air” Trey Miguel just lived up to his name …

WOW!

High-flying action here in our opening match tonight!#MLWFusion pic.twitter.com/ZKiHcb5oAW

— #MLWFusion on BeIN Sports Fridays (@MLW) May 19, 2018

The opening bout pits Kotta Brazil(who looks like a bootleg Rich Swann) verses Trae Miguel(a bootleg Ricochet). The two put on a highly athletic bout with action you would see on a typical episode of 205 Live. While Trae was more over with the crowd, Brazil delivered an excellent performance as well. In the end, Miguel escaped with the victory after a double knee maneuver from the top rope.

Winner: Trae Miguel

Our own @RichBocchini got a chance to catch up with @salinadelarenta at her home in Puerto Rico earlier this week.

Rich made a splash …

And then Salina made a huge splash, announcing she will now be representing both @PENTAELZEROM and @ReyFenixMx! #MLWFusion pic.twitter.com/3QjPnu2zoc

— #MLWFusion on BeIN Sports Fridays (@MLW) May 19, 2018

Up next we get a hype video for tonight’s main event followed by an interview with Salina de la Renta at her home. She establishes herself as the plug to MLW’s influx of Hispanic talent. The segment ends with her push Mr. Bochinni into her pool. MLW is clearly all in (pun intended) with the de la Renta character and it’s a smart choice. Regardless of genre, the hot, bitchy shot caller character has always played well on television. And while her promo work does leave much to be desired, she’s one of the few established characters in the MLW universe. The more comfortable she becomes in her role, the more MLW will improve as Ms. de la Renta is one of MLW’s tent-pole characters.

We then get a recap of last week’s match-up of Jimmy Havoc vs. Joey Janella, with the post match beat down of Havoc by Tom Lawlor and Simon Gotch. WWE fans will remember Gotch as one half of the Vaudvillians. Lawlor and Gotch cut a somewhat weird promo in a hotel pool.

The Dirty Blondes (W/Colonel Parker) Vs. Team TBD (Yuta and Cade) In An Elimination Match

Col. Parker interfering?

Double-team by a man who had been eliminated?

Classic @DirtyBlondesTag tactics … but they get the ‘W” tonight on #MLWFusion! pic.twitter.com/SN6SGY6G2v

— #MLWFusion on BeIN Sports Fridays (@MLW) May 19, 2018

We get a prematch tease of tension between Yuta and Cade. The match itself was nothing special. The Blondes are clearly the premier team in MLW. They’re an old school, throwback of a team who rely on a tried and true gimmick in the wrestling business. By far the weakest match of the night. In the end, the Blondes pick up the with a little help from the good Colonel.

Winners: The Dirty Blondes

After the match we get a glimpse of more tension between Yuta and Cade. We’re clearly heading towards a match between the two.

Right before the main event, we get a tale of the tape between the two combatants. Again, we’re going for a legitimate sport feel here, and this was a nice touch.

Main Event: Pentagon Jr. Vs. Rey Fenix

Penta driver on the apron … you know, that’s the hardest part of the ring!

Have we mentioned these guys are brothers? Yikes!#MLWFusion pic.twitter.com/412gbbOGhO

— #MLWFusion on BeIN Sports Fridays (@MLW) May 19, 2018

The crowd was hype for this one and they weren’t disappointed. I frankly don’t think it’s possible for these two to have a bad match with each other. If you’ve read the spoilers, you know how this one ended. However, it was solid back and forth Lucha action, with enough near falls to keep the crowd invested. In the end, Pentagon picks up the win with the Pentagon Driver to go on to meet Shane Strickland next week for the MLW Heavyweight Title.

Winner: Pentagon Jr

Overall, another solid effort out for the MLW banner. While the tag match left something to be desired, the opening bout and main event certainly delivered. The jury is still out on MLW. I like the diverse cast of characters which are representative of the changing demographics of our society. In the ring, the action is always solid at worst. However, they still seem to lack that one dynamic personality which will ingratiate the audience with the product. Overall, the it’s still a highly digestible hour of wrestling every week and I still look forward to see where they go from here.