Originally published at MLW FUSION REPORT: New tag team champions, debut of Mil Muertes
MLW Fusion #117 – “Salina de la Renta’s MLW Fusion”
January 13th, 2021
GILT Nightclub – Orlando, FL
Commentary: Rich Bocchini & Saint Laurent
Salina de La Renta’s MLW Fusion
We are welcomed to this Salina de la Renta executive produced episode of Fusion, by having her and Promociones Dorado plastered all over the intro as well as her interrupting the opening by Bocchini & Laurent. Salina tells Bocchini to grab the mask she told him to wear to cover his ugly face as well as announce tonight’s World Tag Team Title main event of the Von Erichs vs. Los Parks, with Tom Lawlor as the special guest referee. Salina ends by finding fur on Bocchini’s shoulder and yells to him to go to the booth.
Low Ki vs. Budd Heavy
The second the bell rings, Low Ki charges at Heavy in his corner with a devastating running forearm to immediately knock him out and have the referee call off the match.
Winner: Low Ki by referee stoppage at 8 seconds
Siino Vision: Well, somebody is a bit angry. Low Ki speaks after the match and says how that’s one of the fastest knockouts ever in MLW and says especially on Salina’s special. And if anybody knows how to satisfy Salina quickly, it’s him. Low Ki then calls out King Mo, Dan Lambert, and their entire Team. Poor Budd.
The 25-Year-Old Piece of Gold
We hear from the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion, the Man of the Hour, Lio Rush. We are also accompanied by ‘Facts by Lio’ on the screen that say; Lio’s title win trended on Twitter last week, he stars in MTV’s reality series “The Challenge” and Myron Reed is a Hoe. Rush says the title proves why he’s the right man, at the right place at the right time. All this is said while his new single, ‘Do You Remember?’, is played underneath.
What Happened to Konnan?
We cut back to Bocchini & Laurent who say they were supposed to be joined by Konnan, but they aren’t sure what happened, and Laurent hasn’t heard from him in a couple of days. Salina comes back in and says she says she might have an idea what happened to him and tells them to roll the footage. We go to a video from San Diego, California as we see Salina in a black cloak holding a prayer candle sitting in front of a house. She asks Konnan if in his last moments he thought of her when the Man of a Thousand Deaths arrived. For years Konnan threatened her power, her money and ashamed her, but he ultimately paid the highest price. So, she hopes the last name on his lips was hers because Konnan’s name will never pass her lips ever again. And the only thing he’ll be remembered for is the monster she was forced to unleash upon the world. And now everyone who has wronged her in MLW will pay.
Tom Lawlor’s Filthy Island – February 17th
We see a short video of waves of water as it’s announced that Tom Lawlor’s Filthy Island is coming on February 17th, followed by a burping sound.
The Lair of CONTRA
Rich Bocchini goes over the Salina video implying that Konnan might be dead? He also goes over last week’s show-ending brawl between Alexander Hammerstone and Mads Krugger before being interrupted by a video from CONTRA Unit where Krugger says ‘Hammerstone, I am impressed by your size, strength, and ability, but I saw something. I saw something in your eyes. Was it fear? I think it was fear. Prove me wrong. Bring me your National Openweight Title. Bring it to the lair of CONTRA, deep in the underground. Hail Contra!”
Mil Muertes (w/ Salina de la Renta) vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
Muertes comes out presented by Salina de la Renta decked out in a silver dress along with a skull with money sticking out of it, as well as another gentleman in a suit acting as some sort of security with an earpiece on. Pillman looks hesitant before coming in and immediately escapes the ring as the bell rings. Pillman finally comes in ducking and dodging Muertes before leaving the ring once again. Pillman chops Muertes who doesn’t even flinch delivering a chop of his own followed by a clothesline. Muertes mounts Pillman with punches and strikes until the referee has to step in. Muertes is able to hit a side suplex followed by knees to his back. Pillman tries some strikes again but runs right into a powerslam. Muertes hits a barrage of strikes in the corner and follows with what he calls the Straight to Hell (a leaping reverse STO) for the win.
Winner: Mil Muertes by pinfall at 3:26
Siino Vision: Mil Muertes goes right back to his dominant self he showed on Lucha Underground here with a quick finish. A bit surprised they used someone as established as Pillman to not only take the quick squash fall, but also to look scared and hesitant against Muertes, but I can see why they want to push Muertes right to the top of the card with a win such as this. Interested if this is the actual end of Konnan on screen, or if it’s an explanation, but by the looks of it you would think that yes, Konnan was killed off. Very Lucha of them.
IWA Puerto Rico, The Caribbean Champion & The Filthy Referee
Bocchini announces that MLW has joined forces with IWA Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Champion Richard Holliday has something to say. Holliday is live from Westport, Connecticut, and thanks Salina for having him on her show but says he doesn’t get proper recognition though from MLW, IWA and others. They don’t respect him as the Caribbean Champion, and it irritates him before he curses out Savio Vega saying he got a bit worked up. He calls out Savio for any time and any place and they will finally settle why he is the MLW/IWA Caribbean Champion.
They show some upcoming fights, with next week; Jacob Fatu defending the MLW World Heavyweight Championship against ACH, and Tom Lawlor’s Filthy Island on February 17th. Tom Lawlor backstage says he’ll be a fair referee tonight before going on about how ACH gets a World Title shot before him, the Opera Cup winner. He will take care of that, but first, he has a tag team title match to officiate.
Justice Will Be Served
#Injustice is shown upset with Myron Reed saying he’s not happy because he lost his title, and on top of that, they kicked him while he was down and destroyed his vest. Jordan Oliver chimes in saying not only that but they took out his friend. They challenge any member of CONTRA Unit and tell them to step up so they can serve them some justice.
Promociones Dorado Sold?
Salina is proud of tonight’s show and asks Bocchini and Laurent how it’s going. Laurent says he wished he would have done that to Konnan back in the podcast days. Bocchini says he just heard some breaking news that Promociones Dorado has been acquired, Salina puts on a fake smile before yelling and leaving.
Hammerstone Accepts + PWI Top 10
Alexander Hammerstone responds to Mads Krugger and says he jumps over hurdles and kicks them down and the only thing he’s afraid of is what he can do and how bad you will beat Krugger down. He accepts his invitation to the lair of CONTRA. This week’s Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Top 10 is 10) Laredo Kid, 9) ACH, 8) Myron Reed, 7) Mads Krugger, 6) Richard Holliday, 5) Lio Rush, 4) LA Park, 3) Low Ki, 2) Filthy Tom Lawlor, and 1) Alexander Hammerstone.
MLW World Tag Team Championship – Tornado Match: The Von Erichs (Marshall & Ross) (c) vs. Los Parks (LA Park & Hijo De LA Park) (w/ Salina de la Renta) (Special Guest Referee: Filthy Tom Lawlor)
They showed Lawlor opening up a Christmas present that is a referee shirt with the note ‘SDL’, Salina again out with her security guard. Los Parks attack the Von Erichs before the bell rings, as the Von Erichs music cuts off and doesn’t play throughout the match. Hijo takes his weight belt off and starts choking Ross out, while LA Park takes his belt off and starts whipping him before he starts to choke Ross out himself. LA Park goes and grabs a metal stool from the outside and starts hitting the Von Erichs away with it. Hijo takes Ross to the outside and starts whipping him away with his belt. Los Parks starts double teaming Marshall as Lawlor is siding in Los Parks favor. Von Erichs with a comeback hitting a pair of suicide dives to the outside on Los Parks. Marshall and LA Park end up back inside as Lawlor gets in the way holding Marshall back. They start trading chops back and forth followed by clotheslines. Ross and Hijo come in and brawl until Ross hits a superkick and Falcon Arrow on him for an extremely slow count by Lawlor. Hijo hits a superkick of his own followed by a Code Red, as Ross kicks out from an extreme fast count. Hijo attempts a moonsault on the outside but gets tripped up by Ross. Back on the inside, LA Parks hits a cutter on Marshall followed by a flying Skull Bust. Hijo then does the same to Ross. As all four men get back in the ring, Lawlor crumbles to the floor teasing a cramp and as both Von Erichs roll up Los Parks for pins, Lawlor slowly counts and then stops right before 3 showing a cramp in his arm now. As Los Parks reverse it, he all of a sudden fast counts but the Von Erichs kick out. During their brawling, Lawlor attempts to clothesline Marshall, who ducks, and Lawlor goes flying on the outside. After some more brawling, Ross is able to hit a Claw Slam on Hijo but there is no one to make the count. Salina comes in and sprays Ross in the face with what looks like mace. As Marshall goes to check on his brother, he gets hit by a spear from LA Park. Salina’s bodyguard raises the apron skirt as LA Park Jr. comes in dressed just like his father and helps his dad connect with another spear on Ross. Lawlor crawls back in to make the fast count as Los Parks gets the win.
Winners: Los Parks by pinfall at 10:36 to become the NEW MLW World Tag Team Champions
Siino Vision: Well, that was exactly what it looked like it was going to be. The heel referee helps the heel wrestlers cheat and win the titles from the babyfaces. Not sure why we needed the LA Park Jr. spot as Los Parks already pretty much had the match won, and Junior didn’t really do much and why even attempt to hide from Lawlor as he’s a heel and this match is a tornado match anyway. Regardless, it advanced the overall story arc tonight built around Salina.
The show ended with a graphic labeling Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado as “a subsidiary of Azteca Underground Inc.” indicating a continued crossover with the remnants of Lucha Underground.
Although the wrestling tonight wasn’t the main focus or wasn’t necessarily good, even, I have to admit the show flew by and the non-wrestling stuff really kept my attention. With them announcing a new owner for Promociones Dorado I can see an overturn of the titles or a swift rematch. It was great to see Mil Muertes back, but something is definitely missing without the cinematic presentation that Lucha Underground was able to provide making Muertes more mystic. Tonight, just looked like what it was; a big luchador in a mask winning a squash in an empty arena. Hopefully, they can do more, as Muertes is a big plus for them to have. The story of Konnan is interesting, and I feel like he could be behind the purchase. The working relationship with IWA Puerto Rico is one that interests me as we should get new faces out of it, and although they didn’t straight up say it, I’m assuming this is the partner they were talking about for the upcoming Super Series replacing AAA. I’m intrigued by the upcoming Filthy Island and hope they go the extra mile on it and it’s not a cop out. I want to see a ring on a beach, sand, spots off of trees and everything! Between Filthy Island, the Lair of CONTRA, and Mil Muertes, MLW could definitely benefit from having some cinematic style matches and would give them a much-needed buzz online.
7 prayer candles out of 10