1.No Ropes, No Holds Barred: Gotch vs DBS ***1/4
2.MLW Middleweight Title: Reed(c) vs Drago **
3.Marshall vs MJF **1/2
Thoughts:
First things first, I want to give a major shout out to MLW for their new partnership. IMPACT made NOAH pick sides last year and MLW got the shaft. Sadly, that happens a lot to them. It was a great move to align with Dragon Gate now, and I am very excited to see where this goes. Note that visas can be an iffy thing, especially right now as 45 continues to use fear mongering tactics that have already proven to effect visas from time to time.
Someone tell Smith that's not how to use quotation mark fingers. I'm glad to see him getting to showcase the style he excels at, by the way. Utilizing the fact that they had a barbed wire ropes match on last week's episode/this set of tapings to set this up was very smart. So, I missed when Teddy left, by the way. Is the Hart Foundation 2.0 basically done now? They seem to have suggested they're more loosely aligned now than anything but perhaps I'm wrong. I mean, last week's Fusion was the first time I had tuned in for a while.
Anyway, the gimmick in the opener was used well and the outcome was fairly good. Your experience will vary greatly as this is very niche stuff, but I was entertained with the outcome.
Following that, Hammerstone showcases his lack of knowledge on how the currency exchange rate concept works. The Dynasty group is okay, but feels a bit flat still.
Mancer has his target on Hammerstone and his strap.
By the way, MLW currently has the following championships:
-MLW World Heavyweight (held by Fatu)
-MLW National Openweight (held by Hammerstone)
-MLW World Middleweight (held by Reed)
-MLW World Tag Team (held by the Von Erichs)
The World is the top prize, the National is their midcard, and the Middleweight is basically a Cruiserweight belt. The roles of those singles belts aside, and as much as it may be iffy adding another, I could easily see a hardcore style gold being a logical idea to be added as well as a women's when they finally get the division going. Just something I wanted to get out there but maybe adding a specific gimmick type belt would undermine the Fusion concept.
Dominic and Lawlor's Condom Depot sponsored Dallas knockoff segment was certainly something...
While in East Texas, I tried hard to come up with the most obscene country accent I could around the natives and not once did they look at me strangely. That seemed relevant right now.
Oliver with a cheap heat promo prior to the title defense.
There were a few decent spots, like the catch/dive and the like, but there was also too much Injustice bullshit tacked on and the ending was weak. Overbooked and disappointing. Average at best.
Low Ki and King Mo had a moment.
Next, it seems Air Wolf has been taken out backstage by CONTRA. The heel unit also had a decent little promo package here. The Sentai Death Squad?
Perhaps the DBS match should have main evented this episode? Would've fit better if you ask me. Instead, Marshall Von Erich and MJF fought for a shot at the tag division belts. MJF's promo was decent. While the current MLW Tag Champs are both still rather green, they play their roles in matches well enough. Decent main event.
The point of Fusion is supposed to be a showcase of a wide variety of content and styles, ensuring that there's always something for every type of fan. While this mixed bag gimmick can sometimes lead to a...mixed bag, and despite the issues that I still see existing within MLW, I still find myself largely enjoying the series every time I watch. I'll check them out when time allows as well as when I want to in general, and I again want to just give them credit for being one of the better shows in the game right now, even with the above minor flaws I referenced. This episode wasn't must-see, but if you have some time to kill there are far worst ways to spend an hour.
Overall Rating: 60/100%
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