MLW Fusion Episode 18 Review: Low Ki’s First Defense
Credit: MLW.com
Major League Wrestling is back at it with a fresh episode of MLW Fusion. This week, Low Ki makes his first defense of the MLW World Heavyweight Title against challenger John Hennigan, The Hart Foundation make their in-ring debut as a team and The Stud Stable answer Team Filthy’s challenge for a Dojo Fight.
With just a few more episodes of MLW Fusion left before War Games rolls into Fort Lauderdale on September 6, the pieces are coming together for not only the main event but the rest of the card as well. Who will round out the teams heading into battle? Sami Callihan has already revealed that he will have Leon Scott, Fulton, and Jimmy Havoc on his side against Shane Strickland, Kotto Brazil and Barrington Hughes.
What does the future hold for the MLW World Heavyweight Title? Either Hennigan or Low Ki will walk into War Games with the title around their waist and will be defending the championship. More importantly, who will be the challenger when MLW invades the War Memorial Auditorium? We’ll find out the answer to some of those questions tonight!
The Hart Foundation vs ACH & Rich Swann
The show kicks off with a backstage interview with ACH and Rich Swann as they prep for their match against The Hart Foundation. The trio breaks in to run down the duo with Teddy Hart taking exception to what Hart felt was an incident in Episode 16 with ACH and Swann laughing at the leader of The Hart Foundation. Hart claims that all he sees when he looks at ACH and Swann is hate coming from two men who claimed to be fans of his. Hart’s paranoia is on full display here as Brian Pillman Jr eggs him on in the background.
Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr pick up the victory against ACH and Swann in a match that never totally felt like it got off the ground. More than anything, I think it might have been a clash of styles between the two teams.
ACH had some great performances in this year’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors but doesn’t get the chance to showcase that here as he spends much of the time on the outside waiting for a tag from Swann which never came. ACH becomes the defacto most-hated man in the building when he tries to put Hart in the Sharpshooter before Davey Boy breaks things up.
Brian Pillman Jr, despite being hobbled with a knee injury, makes his presence known by hitting Swann low with his cane as he ascended to the top rope. The interference allows Hart to nail Swann with an Electric Chair into a Lungblower for the victory. The Hart Foundation needed the victory here coming off of Hart’s loss in a great match with John Hennigan on last week’s show.
What stood out to me most here was Matt Striker turning up the fuel on a heel commentary persona. It came on as way too forced for my tastes and made me yearn for Rich Bocchini back on commentary with Tony Schiavone. Striker’s big complaint about ACH and Swann was that they’re too “fun-loving” as they come to the ring. Coming from a commentator known for filling the airwaves with nerdy pop culture reference after pop culture reference and screaming “I’m marking out, bro!” during Booker’s T surprise appearance at the 2011 Royal Rumble, it comes off as disingenuous for him to try to be this type of heel commentator at this point – especially one whose big problem is people having fun in wrestling.