Just when you thought you couldn’t cram more wrestling into your schedule, Major League Wrestling has to come along and mess up all your plans.
The premiere of Fusion was highlighted by terrific wrestling, excellent commentary from Tony Schiavonne, plus solid production and storytelling — all set in a unique fight club like atmosphere. This was, as Sum 41 put it, all killer, no filler.
To sidetrack for a minute, the crew at MLW have to be commended for putting this entire show together. For those of who’ve been following wrestling for a long time, you’ll remember MLW as one of the indie companies who made a big splash in the post-ECW era wrestling boom. Their “hybrid wrestling” approach combined with a roster that blended legends with red hot international and domestic independent talent helped them catch quite a buzz in the 00s. After folding, the company re-emerged as a podcast, then eventually a successful podcast network. Now, they’ve come full circle, and are back in the wrestling game.
And in my opinion — wrestling is a better place because they’re back.
The company’s old school approach to wrestling television is refreshing. In this show you saw not only great in-ring work, but videos promoting big matches, and main event talent not on the show. The Jimmy Havoc promos, in particular, were a terrific throwback to ECW and Jim Crockett era hype videos (in spirit, not production value).
The tone of the show also has to be commended. From the announcers were matching, official MLW Fusion/beIN sports polo shirts, to the MLW branding around the ring, and in the entrance way — this came off feeling big time. This wasn’t another indie who threw a camera up at one of their shows, and sent it off to a TV company. This was a thoughtfully and meticulously produced show.
MLW Fusion also did a smart job by having established television talent like Austin Aries, Pentagon and Fenix in the opening show — giving fans an air of familiarity. The audience didn’t need to breathlessly play catch up in order to figure out who was who. These guys are established. However, including indie sensation ACH (who’s not a TV regular), and behemoth newcomer The “Caramel Colossus” Barrington Hughes made the show feel different. This wasn’t going to be another indie super show (not that there’s anything wrong with that), this was going to be its own brand.
I’d be remiss without crediting Tony Schiavonne as a big reason this episode worked. The longtime WCW play-by-play man, who probably hasn’t called wrestling on a regular basis since WCW’s demise, was at the top of his game. No ring rust for him at all. He told great stories, he was on top of all the moves — it was just a delight to hear him again.
In conclusion — watch MLW Fusion. It’s a fun, terrifically produced show that delivers quality wrestling. And in the grand scheme of things — that’s all we really need in life.
MLW Fusion airs Friday nights at 8 p.m. EST on beIN Sports
Rating: 8 out of 10
