MLW Fusion Alpha results: Davey Richards vs. Bobby Fish

Ahead of next week’s War Chamber show, this week’s edition of MLW Fusion: Alpha saw the first Opera Cup semifinal match as Davey Richards took on Bobby Fish, a chaotic Los Parks vs. 5150 trios match, and a massive 12-man survival tag team match.  

The show opened with MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone, EJ Nduka and Richard Holliday entering the building. Emilio Sparks tried to get words from them ahead of the upcoming War Chamber match, but they all blew him off. Holliday was on the phone with former Dynastic member and current AEW star MJF, joking about Sting not being over since he was with The Police and agreeing he is too busy to team with them in the War Chamber match as they searched for two new members.

Cesar Duran confronted them and reminded them they are currently two men short for their “Hammerheads” team against CONTRA. Duran said they all have an opportunity to get rid of CONTRA Unit once and for all and wants to work with the MLW Champion and his team. He said he has a man for their team, but “they need to use a key to unleash your dreams.”

5150 (Slice Boogie, Rivera and Homicide) (w/ Konnan and Dr. Julius Smokes) vs. Los Parks (LA Park, El Hijo de LA Park and LA Park Jr.) went to a no contest in a trios match

This was a great action-packed way to start the show: a wild no disqualification brawl that harkened back to the ECW days with the entrance music continuously playing in the background, weapons and all-out mayhem. Storyline-wise, it built to a future title shot for 5150.

The ring announcer announced this as a trios match and the commentary team even picked up on this as only Hijo and LA Park Jr came out. Rivera and Slice Boogie followed as the match started as a standard two vs. two.

Rich Bocchini said he had word from Sparks that LA Park was involved in an altercation backstage which is why he wasn’t there. As the four men in the ring brawled, 5150’s music hit and Homicide entered the fight. Bocchini then went out on a limb to say Homicide was the reason LA wasn’t out there.

Seconds later, Los Parks’ music hit and the other half of the Tag Team Champions, LA Park, entered the match with a steel chair. Los Parks cleared the ring and hit a triple dive at the same time to the delight of the Philadelphia crowd.

After more brawling on the outside, Slice Boogie power bombed Hijo through a wooden board in the corner of the ring. LA Park then entered and smacked a chair over Boogie’s head as the referee had seen enough and called for the bell. For his troubles, he then got taken out with a slapjack by Smokes.  

Homicide and Rivera took out LA and LA Jr., followed by Rivera landing a corkscrew plancha and Homicide landing a cannonball tope con hilo through the ropes. The bell continued to ring as LA Park returned and took out Boogie with a spear as Hijo smacked the rest of 5150 with the broken pieces of the wooden board.

After an ad break, the brawl was still going on backstage which now included Jacob Fatu. It ended with 5150 pulling off Hijo’s mask.

Zenshi, Warhorse, Savio Vega, The Blue Meanie, Richard Holliday & EJ Nduka defeated Beastman (w/ Kim Chee), Kevin Ku, Gino Medina, KC Navarro, Ikuro Kwon & King Mo in a 12-man survival tag team match

Nduka looked impressive again here as he eliminated the entire heel team on his way to being the sole survivor.

The faces cleared the ring of the heels to start us off. Ku eliminated Warhorse early with a gutwrench power bomb. Nduka then eliminated Mo and Ku with a spinebuster and power bomb. Navarro and Zenshi had a nice, fast exchange that ended with Zenshi laying out Navarro and Kwon with a handspring backflip double kick.

The style changed as Beastman tagged in to slow Zenshi in his tracks. The 300-pounder threw Zenshi across the ring with a fallaway slam and then squashed him with a massive corner cannonball to eliminate him. Vega came in with his kendo stick, but ended up being eliminated after a Beastman big splash.

The crowd chanted for Meanie as he entered and slammed into Beastman. Kim Chee held Meanie’s leg which let Beastman squash him in the corner and eliminate him after another big splash. Nduka then came in to take out Beastman with a spinebuster to make it three on two.

Holliday and Medina came face-to-face to reignite their feud. After a nice exchange, Holliday was counted out as they brawled on the outside followed by Kwon taking Holliday out with a superkick. This left Nduka on his own against Medina, Navarro and Kwon but he took all three of them out in quick succession to become the sole survivor.

— Duran met Willow Nightingale backstage and said she was the favorite to be the first MLW Women’s featherweight champion. Nightingale said she plans to both take the title and make the title. Duran thinks this is the start of a very productive relationship.

— After a break, an enraged Fatu entered Duran’s office and demanded a championship rematch against Hammerstone. Duran brought up Josef Samael’s contractual control over Fatu’s matches and Duran said that clause was still in effect. However, Samael had not yet granted Fatu’s rematch. Fatu was confused as Duran tried to plant another piece of doubt in a member of CONTRA Unit’s head, but Fatu said no one could come between him and Samael.

Davey Richards defeated Bobby Fish to advance to the Opera Cup finals

This was a great 15-minute battle of survival filled with stiff strikes and great submission battles. The commentary team played up the possibility of Fish taking the Opera Cup back to AEW and handing it over to Tony Khan.

After a nice chain wrestling opening, Fish attacked Richards’ knee when they went to the outside. Fish continued his stiff strikes and kicks that made Richards crumble to the floor.

Richards fought back and showed some impressive submission transitions and innovations. More strikes followed which woke both men up and kickstarted a standoff, but Fish again attacked Richards’ legs, this time adding in a dragon screw leg whip.

Richards got his knees up on a springboard senton from the apron, but Fish locked in a heel hook to add more pressure on the lower limbs. Richards reversed the heel hook into a sharpshooter.

Both got to their feet and connected with kicks and boots at the same time. Richards reversed and rolled through an exploder suplex into an ankle lock. Fish pushed Richards off, but he used the momentum to bounce off the ropes and take Fish’s head off with a soccer punt. Richards then nailed Fish with a brainbuster but Fish kicked out. Richards went straight to another ankle lock, grapevined the leg and forced Fish to tap out.

After the match, the two grizzled warriors shook hands. This sets up the Opera Cup final between Richards and the winner of TJP vs. Calvin Tankman.

— Alicia Atout interviewed Hammerstone, Nduka and Holliday backstage and they announced Savio Vega as joining their team in addition to Holliday being granted a future title shot against Hammerstone. Hammerstone questioned if Duran is playing games with them by making the friends face one another. They also wondered who their team member could be and said because Duran mentioned a key earlier, it could be Duran’s brother, Matanza.

Next week:

CONTRA Unit (Jacob Fatu, Ikuro Kwon, Josef Samael, Mads Krugger and a Sentai Death Squad member) vs. MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone, EJ Nduka, Richard Holliday, Savio Vega and a mystery partner) in a War Chamber match