MLW Fusion Results (4/21): TJP Vs. Bu Ku Dao, Hammerstone Holds A Press Conference, More
Welcome to Wrestling Inc's live coverage of MLW Fusion, which airs every Wednesday on YouTube and fubo Sports Network at 7 PM EST, as well as on beIN SPORTS on Saturdays at 10 pm EST! Be sure to chime in on your thoughts about tonight's show in the comments section below. Additionally, share our live coverage through social media. Make sure to click the REFRESH button to continue to get the most current up to date coverage. Above and below is what's on tonight's agenda for MLW:
MLW Fusion starts with a highlight video that shows the rise and fall of Bu Ku Dao and TJP's partnership and how their "Idol vs. Protege" match for tonight came together. They will take center stage in the main event.
MLW Fusion Commentators Ray Flores and Saint Laurent welcome fans to the show. We kick things off with the first singles match of the evening!
Rocky Romero vs. Gino Medina
Gino Medina begins the match with a standing switch. Rocky Romero turns it around by working on Medina's arm. Medina rolls through and switches it into a tight wristlock. Romero counters with a nice short dropkick. Back on their feet, Medina looks for another standing switch and shifts it into a side facelock. Romero breaks free by heading towards the ropes but finds himself smashed up against a nasty shoulder tackle from Medina.
Both men go for a knuckle lockup. Romero pulls Medina down with a leg takedown and applies an armbar of sorts. Medina escapes but gets his left arm trapped once again. Romero still has a tip grip on Medina's left arm while he perches himself up on the top rope. Romero then drives his knees right into Medina's arm, causing Medina to struggle to get back up. Medina creates some space with a big forearm shot. Romero comes back with another forearm of his own. Both men then tangle with back and forth forearm strikes. Medina gets the upper hand with a 540 kick! Cover. Romero kicks out at two.
Medina keeps Romero down with two more forearms strikes. Romero fights back. Medina lands a well-targeted knife edge chop that sends Romero into the corner. Medina plants an enormous kick, keeping Romero at bay. Romero and Medina duke it out again with another round of back and forth forearm attacks. Romero bests Medina with a spinning heel kick to the gut. Medina recovers a left-hand lockup. Romero taunts "The Untouchable" with a poke to the eyes. Romero goes full Spiderman in the ropes. Medina charges towards him. Romero side steps, which sends Medina out of the ring. Romero fakes Medina out with a low baseball slide. Romero throws Medina back into the ring before planting a chop. Romero sets Medina up with a dropkick between the ropes by keeping Medina down with a combination of forearm and knee strikes. Romero hooks the leg on Medina, and Medina kicks out.
Medina hoists Romero up on his shoulders. Romero slithers out and decks Medina with a heavy European uppercut! Medina staggers over to the corner. Commentator Ray Flores compares Romero's running clotheslines to a locomotive as he rolls on with multiple clothesline shots. Medina breaks Romero's momentum with a huge kick to the side of the head and a close near-fall count! Medina follows it up with a powerful clothesline at two. Romero escapes a tilt-a-whirl attempt with a reverse enzuigiri! Romero keeps Medina down with a vicious kick to the face before missing a tornado DDT opportunity. Medina catches Romero and throws him right towards the top turnbuckle. Medina heads towards Romero in the corner and eats a giant knee. Romero then hits his tornado DDT and holds on to Medina, and sets him up for a suplex/cross armbar combination. Medina has nowhere to go. Medina taps, and the "King of Sneaky Style" captures the victory!
Winner: Rocky Romero
Backstage: Alicia Atout is standing by with Richard Holliday. He wants to show Atout a poster he created. Atout notices there's an inappropriate image on it. She thinks maybe he should take another look at it. Holliday is rather annoyed and refuses to take her suggestion of changing the poster's image.
Los Parks has a message for their manager, Salina de la Renta. LA Park wants everyone to know that he doesn't think Salina should have gone against El Jefe's orders last week. Park says thanks to him and his family's legacy, Salina wouldn't be popular here in the states or Mexico. Hijo de LA Park warns that her actions will have consequences, and if she disobeys El Jefe's orders again, she'll regret it.
Still to come:
* Alex Hammerstone's press conference
* Alicia Atout will sit down with the founder and CEO of MLW, Court Bauer.
But up next, King Mo is in action!
Before King Mo heads to the ring, Saint Laurent reveals who made it on this week's "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" Top-10 Heavyweight list:
10. ACH
9. Calvin Tankman
8. Myron Reed
7. Mil Muertes
6. Low Ki
5. Richard Holliday
4. Mads Krügger
3. Lio Rush
2. Tom Lawlor
1. Alex Hammerstone
Backstage: Last week, Myron Reed called out the MLW Middleweight Champion, Lio Rush, for a title rematch. Now, Alicia Atout is standing with Rush to see if he accepts Reed's challenge or not. The "Man of the Hour" chuckles at Reed's request and says it's "Rush Hour," and he has a lot he needs to do. In other words, he rejects Reed's request for a title rematch.
King Mo (w/Dan Lambert) vs. Robert Martyr
Robert Martyr eggs King Mo on by telling him to give him his best shot. King Mo obeys and puts Martyr in a triangle choke before deadlifting him up and slamming him spine-first on the mat! Martyr tries to fight King Mo off in the corner, but King Mo gets the final say with a tilt-a-whirl drop, followed by a tightly gripped choke. The referee calls for a stoppage. King Mo stands tall with the victory.
Winner: King Mo
Post-Match: Dan Lambert is embarrassed that MLW would find Low Ki to be a top heavyweight contender. Lambert also iterates that King Mo never tapped out to Low Ki during their King of the Knockouts match back in February. King Mo then takes the mic and says, where he comes from, people like him don't tap. He lays down another challenge at Low Ki before violently throwing the microphone and leaving the ring.
- After causing some tension with El Jefe last week, Salina de la Renta receives a phone call about a meeting for next week. Could she be meeting with El Jefe, perhaps, and will we get to see who this mysterious owner is?
Coming back from the break, "Filthy" Tom Lawlor is sick and tired of this back and forth exchange he has had with Marshall Von Erich and his family for the last two years. He wants to settle their differences once and for all in a grudge match next week!
Still to come tonight:
* Alex Hammerstone's press conference
* And the main event that will see Bu Ku Dao take on his former mentor, TJP.
But first, Alicia Atout speaks with the founder and CEO of MLW, Court Bauer.
After it was announced earlier this week that MLW is moving to VICE TV this spring, Court Bauer reiterates just how thrilling it is to have such a massive TV deal. He is excited to report that MLW will arrive at its new TV home next month in May!
In addition, he adds that on Wednesday, May 5, MLW will close out's current season with Lio Rush defending his MLW Middleweight Championship against Myron Reed, despite Rush rejecting Reed's offer earlier in the show. Bauer says Rush hasn't entirely cleaned out the middleweight division yet until he faces "The Young G.O.A.T."
During their interview, Atout noticed that Bauer used the words "closing out the season" and asked if he could elaborate on that. Bauer says he wants his fighters to rest up because, on Saturday, July 10, his promotion will be performing in front of crowds for the first time in over a year at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia! He promises there will be several major title fights and a reloaded roster. Tickets are available now at this link.
- Just as they're about to wrap up the interview, Josef Samael cuts into their feed with an important message. Samael warns Bauer that his company will become his empire when MLW returns. He wants the fans in Philly fans to see with their own eyes just how potent CONTRA Unit has become.
- Now that he's cleared to compete in the ring again, Marshall Von Erich accepts Tom Lawlor's challenge from earlier tonight.
Following that statement from Marshall Von Erich, Ray Flores announces the upcoming fights and events in store for fans:
* Next Week (April 28): Marshall Von Erich vs. Tom Lawlor
* Wednesday, May 5: MLW World Middleweight Championship No. 2: Lio Rush (c) vs. Myron Reed
* Saturday, July 10: MLW's new season begins at the 2300 Arena.
- Earlier today, Myron Reed created a message for Lio Rush. Reed says while Rush runs his mouth online, "The Young G.O.A.T" is training and preparing to reclaim his Middleweight Championship. He promises to manifest his dream into a reality by becoming the two-time champion.
And now, the main event! Will the idol outdo the protege?
TJP vs. Bu Ku Dao
Bu Ku Dao wildly misses a swing just after the bell rings. TJP catches Dao's leg and shoves him down on the mat. Both men shift towards a knuckle lockup. TJP sends Dao down on the mat again by pressuring Dao's left leg. Dao turns it around with a side headlock. TJP reverses by pinning Dao's shoulders to the mat. Dao pops free at one. Both men go back and forth with side headlocks. TJP finds his way out by shifting Dao's body towards the surfboard position. Dao breaks free with a well-scouted dropkick.
On the apron, TJP bounces Dao's face off the apron and drags him to the outside before driving Dao's back into the apron. TJP rolls Dao back into the ring and lands a nice shoulder tackle. TJP looks for his first cover in the match, and Dao kicks out. TJP stomps away on his former student before slingshotting himself over the ropes with a massive body drop. TJP goes for another cover, and Dao kicks out! Dao counters a powerbomb attempt but finds himself on the receiving end of a big clothesline. TJP traps Dao with an Indian Deathlock. TJP looks again for another pin attempt, and Dao breaks it up. TJP continues dishing out more punishment on his former protege by locking him up with an inverted anchor. Dao slides down, but his shoulders get pinned on the mat. Cover. Dao gets his right shoulder up at two. TJP goes for two more near-fall attempts before quickening the pace with a big boot kick and a vicious European uppercut.
Dao side steps TJP in the corner and catches his former mentor with a huge crossbody. Dao continues with a sunset flip attempt, but TJP shuts it down with a powerful powerbomb! TJP contorted Dao into the surfboard position again. Dao slides backward breaks free from the pin attempt. Dao winds up on his feet after going for a ride with a partial tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. TJP kills Dao's momentum with a heavy elbow to the neck. Dao sends TJP out of the ring with a pinpoint enziguri before launching himself through the ropes with a tope suicida! Back in the ring, Dao crashes into TJP with a tackle. TJP gets back up and falls right back down with a dropkick. Dao ducks the line and sends TJP face-first into the mat with a running bulldog. Dao trades rights and lefts on his former instructor. Dao perches himself up on the middle rope and flies right into a well-scouted dropkick. TJP catches Dao with another inverted anchor. Dao tries to scurry out. TJP keeps hold of him and turns it into a facebuster for just a near-fall!
TJP climbs to the top. Dao throws him off. Dao heads up top and TJP meets him up there with a massive superplex! TJP traps Dao with another submission. Dao makes his way over to the bottom rope for a break. Dao and TJP do a call and response towards each other's shots. TJP hoists Dao up in the fireman's carry and starts spinning. TJP accidentally knocks the referee out. Dao finds an opening for a rollup, but the ref is out. Dao crawls over and checks on the ref. TJP shoves Dao into the turnbuckle. TJP sets Dao up on the top turnbuckle. Dao throws TJP off. Dao waits for TJP to get up so he can hit his spinning flatliner! Dao hooks the leg. 1-2-3. The protege has just defeated his former idol!
Winner: Bu Ku Dao
- Seconds before the show ends, Alex Hammerstone holds his press conference. He is tired of fighting over who is the best champion on the roster. He wants to squash that debate by facing the MLW World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu! He tells the "Samoan Werewolf" that the ball is in his court just as the show concludes.