Previewing MLW’s First Fusion LIVE & End of Year Shows

2018 has already been a monumental year for Major League Wrestling. This past April, beIN Sports began airing MLW Fusion, bringing another option to wrestling fans seeking an alternative product. Not content with a TV deal and a highly active YouTube channel with nearly 40,000 subscribers, the promotion added its weekly show to Fite TV in October. Showing that there is always room to grow, MLW is now embarking on its first live episode of MLW Fusion on beIN Sports December 14th.

The clock is ticking down on 2018 and Major League Wrestling is approaching the new year with a pair of back-to-back shows in Miami. On December 13th, MLW presents Never Say Never headlined by Teddy Hart and Pentagon Jr in singles action with a potential World Tag Team Title shot hanging in the balance.

Sami Callihan will take the place of PCO, having just signed a deal with Ring of Honor, to battle LA Park in a Falls Count Anywhere In Miami match. Callihan has been doing the bidding of Salina de la Renta for the past several months, but ‘The Draw’ now has his sights set on one of the key components of Promociones Dorado in a match that promises to be as brutal as it will be unpredictable.

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Stemming from the actions of Simon Gotch turning his back on his former Team Filthy partner, Tom Lawlor and Gotch will go to war in a No Ropes, No Holds Barred Fight in Miami. Despite defeating Sami Callihan in Chicago, Lawlor found himself with no time to celebrate the huge victory as Gotch would lure him into the bowels of Cicero Stadium where Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado were waiting. So far, Lawlor has been unable to get his hands on Gotch, but there will be no more running for ‘The Snitch’ in Miami.

Shane Strickland made his intentions in MLW clear at Fightland – that he had zero intentions in MLW. After suffering a loss to Low Ki in a World Heavyweight Title match, Strickland derided the company and its CEO, Court Bauer, before verbally terminating his contract. Despite that outburst, Strickland will find himself in the ring with one of the biggest new names in MLW, Rush. The leader of Los Ingobernables is fresh off a debut win over Sammy Guevara and will be looking to continue his upward momentum.

In other action set for Never Say Never, DJZ will make his official MLW debut against El Hijo de LA Park while Andrew Everett and Dezmond Xavier make their debuts against one another. In yet another first-time appearance, Dragon Lee will debut against Rich Swann in singles competition. Fred Yehi has also been slated for the pair of Miami shows, though his potential opponents have not yet been announced.

On December 14, MLW presents Zero Hour which will be partially aired as the first-ever live episode of Fusion. Three matches have been announced for the televised version of the broadcast capped off with a four-way ladder match for the MLW World Middleweight Title. With MJF’s shattered elbow keeping him out of action, the championship has been vacated and a new champion is guaranteed as Kotto Brazil, Jason Cade, Dezmond Xavier, and Andrew Everett clash with the title hanging high above the ring.

For Xavier and Everett, this is a chance to make crucial first impressions on the Fusion audience. For Brazil, this is an opportunity to leap back into the limelight he enjoyed in the build-up to War Games as part of Shane Strickland’s team. Brazil had some shining moments in the weeks prior to the two-ring cage match, but hasn’t been featured as heavily since. A win for Cade will solidify him as a singles star after his split from Jimmy Yuta earlier this year, and if Rhett Giddins is at ringside with Cade, he’ll have a clear advantage over the others.

Co-headlining the show will be Rush making his second Fusion appearance as he battles Rich Swann. Swann looks to have put the feud with The Hart Foundation in his rear view as he sets his sights on two nights of singles action. Can Rush ground another one of MLW’s prized high flyers, or will Swann pull off what would have to be considered a massive upset in Rush’s second televised appearance?

Finally, in another set of Fusion debuts, DJZ will light up the ring with Dragon Lee. With potentially more eyes than normal on this week’s episode thanks to the promotion of it as the first-ever live broadcast, both men will be pulling out all of the stops to make sure they leave the ring with their head held high. With the World Middleweight Title being contested later in the evening, will a win for one of these fighters put them into title contention?

Credit: MLW.com

Outside of what will be televised live on beIN Sports, Zero Hour will also feature a main event months in the making as Low Ki defends the World Heavyweight Title against Konnan in No DQ Match. Can the lucha libre legend come out of retirement to not only teach Ki a lesson, but to finally be the one who takes the title away from the Promociones Dorado camp, or will Salina de la Renta’s cadre continue to dominate Major League Wrestling?

Tommy Dreamer looks to beat some respect into Brian Pillman Jr in a Singapore Cane Match after feeling the brunt of Pillman’s walking cane on a recent episode of Fusion. With some underhanded (and below the belt) tactics, Dreamer was able to steal a win out from Pillman in Chicago, but the Hart Foundation member is coming to collect on Dreamer’s transgressions in Miami.

MLW’s super heavyweights will collide as Barrington Hughes welcomes newcomer Ace Romero to Miami. Romero picked up a win over Marko Stunt at Fightland in a highly competitive match, though the shadow cast by Hughes alone weighs at least twice as much as Mr. Fun Size. Romero won’t have to contend with the same acrobatics he encountered with Stunt, though he will need to use his size and speed to counteract the power of Hughes in The Caramel Colossus’ hometown.

Could the live broadcast of MLW Fusion on December 14 be a step toward more live events for the promotion in 2019? With Fusion now airing on Fite TV in addition to beIN Sports and YouTube, MLW has a built-in network of options to broadcast live to different and unique sects of the wrestling community.

What may come in the new year is still in question, but one thing is for sure – December 14’s Zero Hour broadcast is a chance for Major League Wrestling to showcase its talent and programming in an entirely new way.