MLW Fusion recap for April 20, 2019: Defying gravity

The Lucha Brothers returned, rivals became allies, Contra struck again and 4/20 was celebrated on the latest episode of MLW Fusion.

The latest episode of MLW Fusion, which aired April 20 on beIN Sports and April 22 on MLW’s YouTube channel, kicked off with probably its strongest match.

The Lucha Brothers (Pentagón Jr. and Fénix) returned to take on the new team of Rey Horus and the recently-debuted Air Wolf and reminded everyone who hasn’t seen them on an indie and/or lucha show why they’re one of the top tag teams in the world right now. Though all the individual opponents had good exchanges — especially Penta and Horus — the tag teamwork of the former MLW tag champs (and just about everywhere else tag champs) put them over, with a combination piledriver/diving double stomp getting them the pin.

Jim Cornette Line of the Week

Jim Cornette on his fear of New York City’s Holland Tunnel:

"“You’re not meant to go underneath a hundred million gallons of water for God’s sake, especially in something man-made, ‘cause I trust no man.”"

Runner up: Jim Cornette on high-flying wrestlers:

"“They defy the laws of gravity. Isaac Newton to them was just a Fig Newton. “"

The most lukewarm cat

The show’s least over match also featured two usually-popular figures from the lucha libre world: Puma King and Gringo Loco. Both wrestlers were hot at the beginning of the match, but crowd enthusiasm had fizzled by the end. Both King and Loco have had better matches in the past and almost certainly will in the future.

Shoegaze

The steady rise of Contra Unit as a threat in MLW continued this week with a match between Ace Romero, the 403-pound original victim of the faction, and Josef Samael. They seemed evenly-matched outside the ring, but inside it, Romero used his size to score offense on his opponent. However, it was Samael who achieved victory with the help of his pointy-toed shoes. In the words of Buddy the Elf in the movie Elf, “He’s an angry elf!”

Though Contra came out of this match on top, they gained more enemies for the future. The massive Barrington Hughes tried to stop a post-match attack by the group and failed, but MLW World Heavyweight Champion Tom Lawlor delivered a more threatening challenge. He challenged Contra to any kind of match as long as it’s in the ring, said the group must have forgotten he deserves the “filthy” in front of his name and hinted he had friends on the way.

Are these other MMA guys? What’s the over/under on his pals being, like, Dan Severn and Dominic Garrini? We should find out in the weeks to come.

Dude, where’s my car?

Last week, it seemed like the Hart Foundation’s theft of MJF’s car was meant to be somewhat lighthearted revenge for MJF getting Teddy Hart arrested, but this week the angle took a darker turn. Brian Pillman smoked weed in the car (appropriate for the April 20 episode) and we were told but not shown Hart’s cat had peed and was having sex in the back seat. The Harts also implied planting drugs in MJF’s glove box, Hart brought up his time in jail and jokes about MJF getting attacked in prison abounded. It’s weird that this was the take of this segment that made it to TV.

Oh yeah, they also challenged the Dynasty to a six-man tables match and the Dynasty later accepted.

Freaky friendship

After last week saw Mance Warner and Sami Callihan become unlikely allies against Promociones Dorado, it was clear the faction would play a role in their main event match this week. Salina de la Renta interacted with both men earlier in the show — a near-altercation with Callihan at a press conference and an attempted-seduction with Warner — but neither this nor their temporary alliance seemed to defuse their desires to throw down. Any possible newfound respect wasn’t going to stop eye-gouging with these two.

The match quickly became the hardcore brawl everyone always knew it would be, featuring the use of a beer can as a weapon, disgusting spitting by Callihan, chairs and a table. Callihan dying by chop the second he unzipped the tactical vest so thick it makes Roman Reigns’ gear look like Finn Balor’s was a very satisfying moment.

The weakest aspect of this match was when it seemed like Callihan had been disqualified for hitting Warner with a chair because a bell rang, but the bell had not been called for by the ref. It seemed like that might signal some outside interference at the time, but in retrospect was more like a production mistake.

However, the inevitable interference still came just when it looked like Warner was about to finish Callihan with a knee. Ricky Martinez and Hijo de L.A. Park invaded the ring but were thwarted by more teamwork by Callihan and Warner. The two hardcore wrestlers solidified their newfound partnership with a spit-covered handshake before they closed the episode brawling with Martinez and Park. Their chemistry is such that it seems like they might be better friends than enemies — and they might need to be as their feud with Promociones Dorado inevitably continues.