MLW Fusion: ALPHA Review - September 22, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Von Erichs def. Team Filthy (Kevin Ku and Kit Osbourne) in a Bunkhouse Brawl

I had a chance to interview Ross and Marshall Von Erich back in 2019 when they were first getting started in MLW and it seems they've come a long way since then. They're an established team and are a lot of fun to watch. This was a really well-done Bunkhouse Brawl that was even more extreme than the one IMPACT did on their show a few weeks ago with Rich Swann and Karl Anderson. The crowd was into it and it was a hell way to start the season.

Gino Medina def. KC Navarro

I remember Navarro from the few appearances he made in IMPACT earlier this year as well as on AEW's Dark shows soon after. I'm not sure if he's signed to MLW or not, but if so, he's a good get. This was my first exposure to Medina and he was equally impressive. I liked how this was a totally different type of match from the opener in that was fast paced and all action. I'm looking forward to seeing both of these guys continue to grow.

Davey Richards def. TJP

Richards announced he was coming out of retirement earlier this year and signed with MLW soon after, so this marked his singles debut in the promotion. He doesn't look like he's missed a beat whatsoever. That was evident at Battle Riot considering how long he was in that match for. Of course, having an opponent the caliber of TJP to work with here only helped. Say what you will about TJP, but the dude is a hell of a worker and is in his element as a heel. After starting out slow, this turned into an excellent match. Those final few minutes were especially great. If MLW delivers this type of main event consistently, then I'm on board.

Overall Show

This was my first exposure to Major League Wrestling (I've known of them for a few years but didn't check out a full show until now) and I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. It's a good time to get into the product with MLW having so much buzz at the moment and this marking the first episode of Fusion: ALPHA. It will take me some time to get familiar with those I'm not familiar with, but this was a strong show. All three different matches were so different from each other and were great in their own ways. They also did an effective job of hyping up their upcoming shows and matches for next week. On top of everything else, I totally forgot Cesar Duran (f.k.a. Dario Cueto in Lucha Underground) was the lead on-air matchmaker and that alone makes me want to tune in every week.

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