MLW Fusion results: Rush makes his debut
We opened with a camera catching up with Simon Gotch walking outside Cicero Stadium in Chicago. The cameraman asked why he turned his back on Tom Lawlor a few weeks ago.
Gotch started mouthing off, but we quickly saw Lawlor appearing in the background. He chased Gotch towards the building. Gotch jumped behind a door just as Lawlor was blindsided by Ricky Martinez, however Lawlor dove at him and they both tumbled into the building. Gotch closed the door behind them both as Tony Schiavone wondered what is going to happen this week on MLW Fusion.
After the opening video, Schiavone let us know that Lawlor isn’t going to wait until Miami, where he faces Gotch in a no ropes, no holds barred match, and that the cameras are looking for he and Gotch in the arena tonight. Schiavone also hyped up the debut of the leader of Los Ingobernables Rush as he takes on AAA Cruiserweight Champion Sammy Guevara tonight. Rich Bocchini hyped up the debut of Ace Romero as he will be taking on Marko Stunt.
Teddy Hart (w/ Brian Pillman Jr.) defeated Jason Cade (8:41)
The announcers hyped up Pentagon Jr. and Teddy Hart’s match for next week’s tapings before we caught up with Hart and Pillman Jr.’s visit to the Pro Wrestling Tees store in Chicago. They picked out some of the Hart Foundation T-shirts and also found some Tommy Dreamer shirts that Pillman shoved down his pants. Pillman will face Dreamer in Miami in a Singapore cane match.
A very good, highly athletic contest to open up the show this week with Hart picking up the win after an avalanche Canadian Destroyer from the top rope. Cade took the early advantage after a hard whip to the corner — Hart took the corner front first just like his uncle Bret — and a big jumping neckbreaker.
Hart quickly retaliated with a sunset flip, a lung blower powerbomb, a hammerlock DDT, and a huge moonsault into an elbow drop. Cade got his knees up after an attempted split-legged moonsault and hit Hart with a tiger driver and a handspring codebreaker for a near fall.
They went to the outside, where Cade slapped Pillman for trying to get involved. That distracted Cade just long enough for Hart to hit him with a draping leg drop off the guardrails. Back in the ring, Cade missed a frog splash when Hart got his knees up and took back the advantage. An electric chair Lumbar Check, a Stu Hart special (Gory special flipped out into a sit-out powerbomb), and a piledriver couldn’t keep Cade down as he got a foot on the ropes to break up a pinfall attempt.
Cade fought back with a superkick, a roll-through suplex, and a Death Valley Driver twisting into a Michinoku driver for a near fall. The action then migrated to the corner where the finish came when, after a cane shot from the outside from Pillman, Hart picked up the win after an avalanche Canadian Destroyer from the top rope, called the Hart Rate.
Salina de la Renta was backstage when Konnan showed up and started questioning her, saying that he is going to take Low Ki’s MLW World Championship and then he is coming for her.
The camera then again caught up with Konnan — this time he had stumbled upon a fallen Ricky Martinez. Konnan nonchalantly dropped a padlock emptied out from a sock beside Martinez and swaggered away.
Ace Romero defeated Marko Stunt (8:40)
A really fun and entertaining David vs.Goliath style match which Romero won with a Boss Man slam. Stunt more than held his own against a massively bigger opponent, but the size and strength of Romero shone through in the end. While making his entrance, an in-set promo from Romero aired. He said Stunt is going to be victim number one in MLW in the Pounce World Tour.
Stunt tried to run around Romero in the early going, but Romero took him out with a 400 pound dropkick that sent Stunt flying across the ring. Romero looked to have the match well in control before missing a huge second rope leg drop to the apron, which gave Stunt the opportunity for a comeback.
Stunt got a few shots in on the outside before hitting a suicide dive onto the huge Romero. However, he needed more to faze the big man as Romero just ran through and bulldozed him into the guardrail.
Back in the ring, there was a big elbow drop from Romero — but somehow Stunt barely lifted a shoulder off the mat to avoid the three count. A hard chop echoed around the arena, but that only seemed to wake Stunt up as he began to Hulk up. He hit a dropkick and a running knee before feeling the apparent power of Hulkamania. He tried to lift Romero off his feet. That didn’t happen. But he was able to hit a springboard senton to a standing Romero, knocking the big man off his feet and even managing a quick two count.
Romero quickly got back up, but Stunt reversed a tilt-a-whirl attempt into a facebuster of his own. Stunt went back to the top turnbuckle and had the crowd on their feet when he connected with a top turnbuckle sunset flip powerbomb.
Stunt tried to continue his high-flying offense with a high crossbody off the top — but he was caught and reversed into a huge Boss Man slam for the three count and the win for Ace Romero.
Kaci Lenox was outside Court Bauer’s office. Shane Strickland was inside and we could hear an argument ensuing.
We went backstage with Salina de la Renta and Low Ki. De la Renta told us how she is sick of Konnan trying to step all over her business, calling her names, and how when she said to come fight Low Ki, he refused. Low Ki cut in, but before he could start Ricky Martinez stumbled in with blood pouring from his mouth. He warned Low Ki that Konnan did this to him and that he and de la Renta should leave the building immediately.
Rush defeated Sammy Guevara (9:25)
An excellent match to finish off the week’s action. Rush picked up the win with the Rush driver. Guevara came out with the AAA Cruiserweight Championship belt while the announcers hyped up his talent but also talked about his attitude and arrogance.
This had a competitive opening with both showing off their athleticism with evasions, kip ups, and backflip counters. The action quickly went to the outside. Guevara missed a plancha, so Rush powerbombed him onto one of those extra solid, reinforced Chicago tables that didn’t budge or break. Rush whipped him across the back with camera cables and hit him with a chair.
Back in the ring, Rush threatened the referee which gave Guevara the chance for a roll-up and a near fall. Guevara kept on top of Rush and quickened the pace with a huge crossbody from the top rope followed by a spinning corkscrew suicide dive through the ropes.
Back into the ring again and a springboard dropkick got another near fall. A very loose Spanish fly got Guevara another near fall, but Rush soon made a comeback and hit a huge superplex from the top rope for a near fall of his own.
Both competitors traded superkicks and high knees until Rush knocked down Guevara with a headbutt to the chin. He couldn’t follow up as he missed a senton from the top, giving Guevara a chance to hit a Shooting Star Press of his own. Guevara took too much time though — and Rush got his knees up and quickly followed up with double knees to the face in the corner and finished him off with his Rush driver (a double under hook piledriver) for the win.
Rush took the mic after the match. In Spanish, he called out LA Park. The announcer’s hyped up their previous legendary rivalries from Mexico.
Before we went off the air, Low Ki and de la Renta were seen leaving the arena. But just as their car was speeding away, Tom Lawlor was right behind them and was inches away from catching the MLW World Champion. We went off the air with Lawlor chasing the car as it sped away from Cicero Stadium and out of sight.
Next week: MLW Fusion is live for the first time ever on beIN Sports from Miami, Florida:
- Dragon Lee vs. DJZ
- Rush vs. Rich Swann
- Kotto Brazil vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Andrew Everett vs. Jason Cade in a four-way ladder match for the vacant MLW Middleweight Championship