It's the first episode of Fusion following MLW's PPV debut Superfight. Who walked away victorious? Did we see new champions get crowned? We'll find out all about it and more, so let's waste any more time and dive into what should be an entertaining show.
Contra Unit Opening
The entirety of Contra Unit (Josef Samael, Simon Gotch, Ikuro Kwon and current MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu) come to the ring, much to the surprise of the commentary team, who were expecting to the show to start with Timothy Thatcher and Low Ki. Samael cuts a promo where gloats about Contra Unit dismantling Promociones Dorado following Fatu's successful title defense against L.A. Park, Contra Unit's global reach and a desire to procure all of the gold in MLW.
Samael in particular calls out MLW Middleweight Champion Teddy Hart, who comes to the ring flanked by his Hart Foundation stablemates Brian Pillman, Jr. and Davey Boy Smith, Jr. The two groups scuffle before it gets broken up.
An entertaining enough segment and a decent way to start the show. Samael brought the bombast in his promo and he delivered it well. Kayfabe-wise, it makes sense for the top heel stable to demand all the gold, and it'll be interesting to see how they handle it going forward.
Timothy Thatcher/Low Ki
Unsurprisingly, it's a 100% technical bout from the start as both grapplers trade holds and counters in a effort to gain an advantage. Thatcher gets Ki up on the top rope, who answers back with a hanging triangle armbar. Back in the ring, the two trade Greco-Roman knucklelocks with Thatcher using his size advantage to gain the upper hand. Ki stays on the mat and attempts to ward off Thatcher with some low kicks, only for Thatcher answer back with a single-leg boston crab, then transitioning into a bow and arrow hold.
Contra Unit interrupts the match as Samael addresses the new Tag Team Champions The Von Erichs, promising he has an offer The Von Erichs "will be unable to refuse." Back to the match, Thatcher is still solidly in control, grounding Low Ki and wearing him down. Ki fights back with a series of hard chops, which Thatcher responds with a european uppercut. He then slams Ki to the mat then hits him with an elbow drop. After a knee strike/suplex combo, Thatcher sends Ki to the outside with an uppercut.
The two trade chops and uppercuts before Ki attempts a springboard maneuver; Thatcher responds with another uppercut and sends Ki back to the outside once again. Ki manages to avoid both a countout and a pinfall attempt, then counters a catapult with a second-rope double stomp. Gaining some momentum, Ki hits Thatcher with a couple of shoot kicks. He attempts for more offense, only for Thatcher to respond with a side belly-to-belly suplex, then a double underhook suplex.
Thatcher attempts another suplex, only for Ki wriggle out and chop-block him. Ki then attempts a dragon sleeper, only for Thatcher fight out and get Ki upon his shoulders. Unfortunately for Thatcher, Ki manages to lock in a triangle choke of sorts in this position and submits Thatcher for the victory.
If you like technical wrestling, you'll get a kick out of this match. The holds were crisp and superbly delivered, and you really felt the weight of each strike delivered. The counters were beyond impressive, and I'm really impressed how innovative they became as the match went on. Thatcher looked like an absolute beast, and Ki managed to keep his badass credibility while still managing to be vulnerable and plausibly vincible in the process. A damn fine match through and through.
Myron Reed vs. Teddy Hart (c), MLW World Middleweight Championship match
Hart starts the match out in a technical manner, applying various holds before going to the outside to fight the other members of Reed's stable Injustice (Kotto Brazil and Jordan Oliver). Back in the ring, Hart eats a superkick from Reed, who follows up with a slingshot leg drop. Hart is back on the outside fighting Brazil and Oliver, only for Reed to take advantage of the distraction with consecutive tope suicidas through the second and over the top rope.
Back in the ring, Reed springboards only for Hart to avoid it; Reed handsprings out of a clothesline attempt and hits Hart with a springboard cutter/falcon arrow combo. Hart dodges a springboard 450 splash attempt from Reed and drills him with a canadian destroyer. Gaining control for the time-being, Hart then hits Reed with a straight-jackhonoret backstabber, then a split-legged corkscrew senton. Hart then connects with a moonsault, which Reed kicks out of. Hart then plants him with a powerbomb/backstabber combo, only for Reed to kick out of that as well.
Hart then pulls out a hammerlock DDT, then ascends to the top rope to drill Reed with a diving DDT. Oliver and Brazil distract the referee, prompting Hart to toss Reed onto them, then connect with an asai moonsault. Back in the ring, Hart drills Reed with a top-rope canadian destroyer. Oliver and Brazil pull the referee out of the 3-count once again, and during this distraction, Josef Samael hits Hart with a fireball. Reed connects with the springboard 450 splash to become the new MLW Middleweight Champion.
A great match with an odd finish. It was a well-executed spotfest, with both competitors displaying breathtaking agility and pulling out some damn good sequences. Don't get me wrong, I like Reed and he definitely deserves the W, but I'm wondering why it came from the assistance of Contra Unit's Josef Samael, who explicitly said he's coming after Hart and his Middleweight title. It wholly contradicts what he said at the beginning of the show, so I'm wondering if Reed's reign will be short-term and will just serve as a platform to a Hart Foundation/Contra Unit rivalry. Time will tell, I guess. Anyways, a great match and a solid way to end the show.
This was a damn good episode, all things considered. Despite the wonky ending, I still dug the hell out of the main event, and Thatcher/Ki was athletikino, definitely garnering MOTN honors from me. If I were you, I'd definitely check this episode out ASAP.
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