MLW Fusion Results, Highlights, and Grades: Filthy’s Revenge

No Holds Barred: Tom Lawlor vs Simon Gotch

Before we get to the match, we get Lawlor’s pre-taped thoughts for Gotch. Lawlor vowed to choke his former partner unconscious to wipe the sinister smile from his face and to put an end to his endless joking about the Filthy Betrayal.

Lawlor started quickly with a takedown on Gotch before pummeling him with blows and transition from hold to hold in an attempt to end the contest quickly. Gotch countered out of a potential choke with an armbar with Lawlor escaping out of the ring to the arena floor. Gotch broke the hold by kicking Lawlor into the steel railing before joining him on the floor to continue the fight.

Gotch’s attempt to control Lawlor was met with brief resistance as the two laid into one another with heavy punches and chops. Making the most out of the ropeless ring, Gotch suplexed Lawlor from the arena floor into the ring before joining his opponent back inside.

Once again, Lawlor would fight back against Gotch but would be met with a series of kicks and running knee strikes as Gotch temporarily thwarted the #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Title. Gotch looked for the Gotch-style piledriver but Lawlor was able to backdrop him out of it. As Gotch made one last-ditch effort to lock Lawlor into a submission, he found himself suffocating in Lawlor’s rear-naked choke before passing out to end the match.

Grade: Very Good. This could have easily been a rough watch utilizing a unique gimmick, but these two made it work extremely well.

Post-match, Lawlor ran down Low Ki who had been sitting on commentary for the main event. The future challenger for the World Heavyweight Title mocked Low Ki’s nickname of “The Professional” by claiming it wasn’t exactly professional the way Ki has been avoiding him and running from him.

At Superfight in February, the running will be over for Low Ki as he steps into the ring one-on-one with Lawlor.

Tom Lawlor has been built up since Battle Riot last summer as the next big star of Major League Wrestling. He’s been the only man to put Sami Callihan in his place with a huge victory in their Chicago Street Fight, defeated Shane Strickland in “The Battle of the Aces”, and has now pulled yet another thorn from his side in the form of Simon Gotch.

Lawlor now stands the chance to become the first man to deliver a loss to Low Ki in a 14-year run in MLW. Better yet, he can become the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion in the process. Will 2019 be the year of Team Filthy or the year of Promociones Dorado in MLW?

Before we can get to Superfight, though, Low Ki has to get through another challenger in the form of Konnan. What will happen if the lucha libre legend can somehow end Low Ki’s reign early? Next week, Konnan will have his chance as he battles Low Ki in a No Disqualification Match in his hometown of Miami with serious implications for 2019 hanging in the balance.