MLW Fusion Review - April 7, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricky Steamboat Confronted Cesar Duran and Announced Richard Holliday vs. Matt Cross

Steamboat is a great get for MLW, even if it was just for the North Carolina tapings. Plus, putting him in charge of the show and having him replace Duran for the time being is a nice change of pace for the program. He came off wonderfully in this segment and I enjoyed how he played off of Duran and Holliday, setting up Holliday vs. Cross for later in the night. Steamboat getting physical briefly was a pleasant surprise as well.

MLW World Heavyweight Champion Myron Reed def. TJP

I've been watching MLW for about seven months now, and it feels like the Middleweight title has barely been featured on Fusion in that time. Tajiri barely did anything as champion and Reed hasn't been much better, but defending against established opponents such as TJP will only help his cause. Granted, this wasn't as exciting of an outing as I hoped it would be and the crowd was mostly quiet, but it was well worked and they were given plenty of time, if nothing else.

Richard Holliday def. Matt Cross

Cross is super reliable and can always be counted on for a quality contest regardless of who his opponent is. He seems like he's largely used to put others over, which is fine, and at least Holliday can benefit from this win as he enters the top title picture. Cross is an excellent person for Holliday to be in the with as Holliday continues to hone his craft. This was solid stuff and gave Holliday another win as he builds toward challenging Alexander Hammerstone for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.

The Von Erichs def. Kerry and Ricky Morton

I believe Ricky Morton is in the midst of his retirement tour and it's awesome to see him helping elevate his son as he winds down his in-ring career. They've been doing some nice stuff in the NWA as of late and they're a perfect fit for MLW right now as well, especially against a team the caliber of The Von Erichs. I was disappointed how brief this was, but what we got was fun.

Overall Show

Much like last week with Hammerstone, we got another extended video package right before the main event, this time with EJ Enduka. He and Calvin Tankman just won the MLW World Tag Team Championship a week ago, but you'd think he was on the verge of a big singles push given the nature of the video package. Nonetheless, it was terrific stuff and the rest of the show was enjoyable despite the main event being shorter than I would've liked.

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