Andrew’s MLW Fusion Results & Match Ratings: 8.1.2026

Well, MLW has been getting progressively worse every week. Stupid finishes, interference, Squashes, DQs and just a cavalcade of idiocy. Let’s hope that maybe that was just working out the rhythm for the first few episodes since they haven’t had a weekly product in a few years. Maybe we can get something that resembles a cohesive story without cornball heel tactics every other segment.

My expectations are very low, and both TNA and JCW performed really well this week. So MLW has a fairly decent bar to live up to.

Ratings:

• Austin Aries, Ultimo Guerrero & Douki vs El Desperado, Diego Hill & Mistico: Mistico wins via La Mistica – *
• J-Unit (Okumura & Ikuro Kwon) vs Glasgow Boys On Top (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) w/Joe Coffey: GBOT wins via Shotgun F5 – SQUASH
• Mads Krule Krugger w/Shotzi Blackheart vs Big Damo: Krule wins via Disqualification – 1/4*

Results:

As usual, @AustinAries has something to say!

▶️ https://t.co/hOGAzl3iks pic.twitter.com/vK7JladhKH

— MLW (@MLW) August 1, 2026

Austin Aries, Ultimo Guerrero & Douki vs El Desperado, Diego Hill & Mistico

Ultimo Guerrero whips Misitco with his ring jacket during Mistico’s entrance, and it pisses off Mistico. Aries and Mistico start, but Aries tags out immediately to Douki, because…no crap, they’re heels. They’re using Lucha rules, so tag are optional. Mistico and Douki trade Headscissors takeovers but when Douki looks to grab Mistico, he just falls, so Douki kicks him and we go to a Danny McBride and Don Gato commercial.

Back in, somehow Mistico is on top, Gamengiri into a Crossbody and a Frankensteiner. Mistico looks to fly but Douki goes to a different side so Ultimo comes in and Desperado changes places with Mistico. They go for an Overhand Chop off, just absorbing strikes from each other, but Ultimo gets the best of it, Despy tries to use the ropes to knock down Ultimo, but fails twice, tells Ultimo to hit the ropes, so Despy goes for a few Arm Drags since he’s losing the power game. Ultimo wants a Corner Splash, misses and goes over the top. Despy looks to follow, but Ultimo moves, so Aries and Diego are in now. Aries tells him to leave, they’re just jawing for the first 40 seconds before Aries slaps him. Diego shoots the half and starts the Ground and Pound. Aries tries to get away but Diego pours it on in the corner with 10 Count Punches, but Aries pushes him off at 9…tries to catch his breath and eats a Chop as 10. Ultimo got in a Cheapshot to slow down Diego and then things turn into a schmoz. We go to commercial again.

As we come back, Douki, Ultimo and Aries are working on Diego fluidly, Last Chancery from Aries, but Despy breaks the submission. Now Despy is getting worked over. Stun Gun from Douki lays out Despy on the apron and Ultimo hits the Baseball Slide sending Despy flying to the floor. Mistico eventually comes in after the count starts, triple teaming Mistico begins. Mistico starts clapping after getting beaten on to rally the crowd, but it looks stupid. Mistico pulls off a Double Mexican Arm Drag on Ultimo and Douki as Aries was too busy pandering. Diego comes in and flies at Aries to take him out. Sloppy Tiger Feint because Diego didn’t get Diego on the flying attack, so that looks bad.

Douki and Ultimo try to take out Despy but Ultimo gets dropped just to stand back up and get used as a weapon against Douki, too choreographed and illogical. There’s a nice Spinebuster spot, but a good bit of the last few minutes have been bad. Mistico and Aries look stupid by trying to quiet the crowd and just swinging Chops at each other. It just doesn’t make sense given the story. Too many stupid style gimmicks just because it’s using Lucha rules. Mistico hits a Leap Frog Frankensteiner, and slows things down for his Knuckle Lock into the Corkscrew Arm Drag. Stupid Dives spot, and now Ultimo and Mistico are spending more time playing to the crowd than wrestling…in a match that has gone on for 20 minutes. Stupid…Mistico hits La Mistica because…reasons.

Christ this was awful 

Mistico challenges Aries for the MLW Openweight title, he says now but Aries of course is okay with doing it on his time. Let’s hope their singles match doesn’t suck because I have yet to have ever seen a Mistico match that impresses me. I don’t get why he’s so over in Mexico. 

The CONTRA Mercs are ready for Mads Krule Krugger to take on Big Damo (@DamoMackle) TONIGHT!

▶️ https://t.co/hOGAzl3iks pic.twitter.com/YY3Uai8gGx

— MLW (@MLW) August 1, 2026

J-Unit (Okumura & Ikuro Kwon) vs Glasgow Boys On Top (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) w/Joe Coffey

All four just throw hands but Kwon and Okumura get the best early on Wolfgang with a Dropkick and Northern Lights Suplex combo before Wolfgang just levels them both, they isolate Kwon in the corner, Mark gets tagged in, he batters Kwon, Wolfgang gets brought back in, Diving Shoulder Tackle. Kwon eats a Suplex, before another tag, and they drop knees in Kwon’s face. Quick tags and a ton of isolation, Kwon is just getting massacred. Wolfgang with the Uppercut into a Scoop Slam…and yet another tag as Mark with the Kitchen Sink, Wolfgang with a Senton, but Okumura finally breaks things up. Okumura hits a Cozy Cutter on Wolf, they try a Double team on Mark, but Okumura makes it look obvious that he goes towards Wolf on the apron. A sloppy finish as GBOT hits a Shotgun Kick/F5 tandem move.

It was just a beatdown with a bad finish…the one thing that needed chemistry sucked ass. 

LaBron Kozone (@KozonePro) had strong words for Teddy Long’s mystery attacker!

▶️ https://t.co/hOGAzl2KuU pic.twitter.com/kak3q2hZyI

— MLW (@MLW) August 1, 2026

Mads Krule Krugger w/Shotzi Blackheart vs Big Damo

They tie up and shove off each other, no one gets any space early. Damo and Krule strike and charge into each other. Every match doesn’t need these stare down “manly hit each other” spots. Does it make sense here, sure, but we just saw like 4 of these spots in the 6 man. You can’t book matches on the same card with similar spots.

Krule tries a Crossbody like an idiot when you’re 7 feet tall. Damo catches him, Slams him and then Lariats him outside, but Krule lands on his feet and pulls out Damo. Like I said on the JCW article, Krule has no aura, and his matches make no sense. Ugh, and ugly counter where he tries to drop Damo on the apron and it looks sloppy. Krule things he has an advantage, walks back in and eats a Fun Splash. Damo starts Whipping Krule from corner to corner. Krule looks like he’s reeling, but tries a desperation goozle, but Damo fights it off, Pop-Up Spinebuster into a Senton, but Krule kicks at two.

Damo looking for the Fun Splash again, but Krule catches him, tries a Sack of Shit, but botches it and Damo lands on Krule’s head. Krule still tries to continue his comeback even though he screwed up the spot, Damo grabs him and executes the Belfast Blitz, but during the Vader Bomb, Krule goozles him, and Choke Slam. Kananga, Kwon, Kushia and Okumura come out as well as Sentai Death Squad who are also attacking the Good Brothers and Shotzi.

Lights go out, Josef Samael appears and breathes fire at Krule. So Samael is officially back, but we end with another garbage finish.

Overall Score: 2.5/10

God…these matches were hot garbage. While I can say, I enjoyed the Contra Mercs vignette, I enjoyed the Josef Samael reveal that I’ve been calling for weeks, and at least some of the stories feel like they’re building to something. But hot damn, the matches were terrible. Krule has negative aura for being a 7 footer in a mask, he also looks insanely weak when he can’t execute moves against other big hoss wrestlers. The tag match was mostly just a showcase for GBOT, and a reminder that Okumura is too old and half crippled looking to be wrestling. He moves worse than Jado 5 years ago.

The trios match had a chance to be decent, but it devolved into dumb spots, lucha style slow downs, which makes zero sense when Aries has been goading Mistico for weeks and Diego literally got overkilled a few weeks ago. Diego’s botched Tiger Feint into just doing it again is bad wrestling. So much awful psychology and poor execution because modern wrestling relies too heavily on choreographed crap and people don’t know how to just have a fight.

The backstage work was more in line with things I talked about last week, we even got a Don Gato and Danny McBride commercial…but the match quality brings the entire show down to nearly unwatchable.