MLW Fusion Results, Highlights, and Grades: Highs and Lows for MJF & Aria
After the show intro, The Stud Stable make their way to the ring for a Hurricane Tag Match against The Hart Foundation. The Stable tonight is composed of The Dirty Blondes and Parrow as they look to make an example out of the debuting Brian Pillman Jr. Colonel Parker’s Men will also be looking to get back on track after a failing effort against Tom Lawlor and Team Filthy over the past several weeks.
The Hart Foundation vs The Stud Stable
The rules of a Hurricane Tag Match are that of a Tornado Tag Match, though geographically it makes more sense for the former than the latter. I don’t think I’ve heard that name used before and it’s kind of clever.
Hart and Smith jump The Blondes before the bell rings while Parrow stands idly on the apron and watches on. Pillman cheeses it out of the ring and slinks around on the floor to sneak up on Parrow and pull him off of the apron.
Once in the ring, Pillman is largely ineffectual and even played off for laughs a bit. Smith and Hart whip him into Parrow where he meets a big boot before scrambling to his feet, trying again, and meeting a chokeslam the second time around.
The rest of the match is exactly how it needed to be – fast, messy, and short enough to not lose its momentum. The Hart Foundation stays in control of things for the most part until The Blondes are able to isolate Teddy in the ring.
As Brien and Patrick scale the top rope, Parrow steals their thunder with a big splash on the prone Hart. Pillman makes the save before he and Smith dispose of the Blondes leading to a Calgary Stampede power slam from Smith on Parrow for the win.
Grade: Good. The match was under ten minutes and if it had gone longer, it probably would have lost its legs and have begun to feel disjointed. Keeping it short helped keep things fresh.
It was a bit disappointing seeing Pillman in his MLW in-ring debut only to have him used so little. He did have an advertised singles match against Vandal Ortagun at the War Games taping so I totally get saving a more robust performance for more of a spotlight encounter, though I am anxiously looking forward to what he can bring to the table.
After the match, Parker reads Parrow the riot act and blames him for the loss. This is the final straw for Parker who hastily fires Parrow which leads to a two-on-one beat down from The Blondes.
The writing has been on the walls here for the past few weeks ever since the Dojo Fight between Parrow and Lawlor, and now the question of where Parrow goes next comes up. Does he go it alone against Parker’s Stud Stable, or does he seek out allies against the trio?