MLW Fusion Results, Highlights, and Grades: Death of The Death Machine

Credit: MLW Instagram

Fightland is upon us! MLW’s Chicago debut rocked the Cicero Stadium and we’re seeing the first matches from that night of action this week on MLW Fusion with a big main event between Tom Lawlor and Sami Callihan in a Chicago Street Fight. Will Lawlor be able to get his revenge for the backstage assault weeks back, or will Callihan add yet another name to his list of victims?

Low Ki’s Challenge

As Konnan entered the arena, he was met with the trio of Low Ki, Salina de la Renta and Ricky Martinez. Ki reminded Konnan of everything he has done in his short time as MLW World Heavyweight Champion, including the trophies he has already accumulated – Rey Fenix’s mask, Daga’s ear and Strickland’s pride.

Low Ki made a simple warning to Konnan in the way of telling the legend that he is the next trophy he wants to add to his case. The Champion told Konnan that it was time for Konnan to handle things like a man and step into the ring to settle things once and for all.

Konnan reminded Ki that he’s not in ring shape and doesn’t train anymore, so he won’t be accepting his offer. Salina had some choice words for Konnan as he attempted to exit, and he returned the saltiness to the trio before making a final promise to Low Ki: “keep yapping and you may just get what you want.”

Grade: Fine. Low Ki is a bit long-winded for my tastes.

I don’t know if it’s the pace at which he speaks that makes it feel like everything drags out forever – or if he just tries to fit too much into one promo – but it felt like Low Ki talked forever here before Konnan responded. I like the idea of the promo, though. Konnan has been bringing wrestler after wrestler from Mexico to try to take out Promociones Dorado, but so far he’s been unsuccessful.

If Low Ki keeps poking the bear, though, will it be Konnan himself who finally does what he has sought out to do since pulling the Lucha Bros out of Salina’s camp?

Lawlor Seeks Vengeance

In a segment taped earlier in the day, Tom Lawlor laid out his intentions to dominate Sami Callihan and remove him from MLW in their main event Chicago Street Fight. Lawlor also had words for Low Ki, suggesting that the World Heavyweight Champion is scared of him as Superfight looms in the distance.

Lawlor made it clear that he would do anything to walk out of Chicago victorious, including using Callihan’s own bat against him and shoving it into… the most personal of areas. Lawlor admitted that Callihan got his job done when he attacked him backstage before the Fightland media day event, but that he’s going to finish the story with Callihan once and for all.

Grade: Fine. As usual with Lawlor, good fire and movement.

Lawlor moves the needle on both the Callihan and Low Ki feuds here in a short promo, but still fumbles here and there when he starts to get into what are probably some of the more rehearsed lines running through his head. I think when Lawlor is more off the cuff and natural he tends to come off a heck of a lot better than when trying to memorize or recite something word for word.

Ricky Martinez vs Dr. Rex Bacchus

Bacchus started off in the ring as Martinez made his entrance with Salina de la Renta by his side. Before the match could begin, Martinez placed some protective gear on his face to protect the broken nose suffered at the hands of Puma King. With the referee’s attention turned away, Martinez started the match with a face-gear-assisted headbutt to Bacchus.

Rich delivers my line of the night when asking Tony if Bacchus reminded him of the singer of the Spin Doctors and, my god, he’s absolutely spot on. Despite my love for 90’s rock, there was no way Bacchus was here to be anything other than a warm body for Martinez to make an example out of.

Despite a slight botch on a Martinez-delivered electric chair drop, the muscle of Promociones Dorado would hit a clean Canadian backbreaker into a piledriver to put Bacchus out of his misery.

Grade: Two Princes (out of a possible Five Princes). A good old-fashioned enhancement talent match but nothing to write home about.

Ricky Martinez is looking better and better each week on MLW Fusion as he grows more into his role both in the ring and on the mic. He’s another wrestler who I feel suffers from not having a clear direction in MLW as of yet aside from being the power behind Salina de la Renta.

If I had one main criticism of MLW, it would be that the only lasting storyline right now is between Konnan and de la Renta while the rest of the roster works micro-feuds which don’t necessarily allow for a lot of spotlight on the lower card from week to week. Given time and opportunity, I think Martinez could grow into a formidable part of MLW. His charisma shines through even in these short matches, so I’m eager to see what he can offer when given something more robust.