MLW Fusion Review - August 17, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

MLW National Openweight Champion Jacob Fatu vs. MLW World Tag Team Champion Rickey Shane Page Ended in a No Contest

I'm just going to assume that every match involving a member of The Calling is contested under hardcore rules because weapons are incorporated almost every single time despite it not being billed as a Street Fight or whatever. The contest got thrown out when the referee lost control, so that's how I know it wasn't officially a No Disqualification match. They kept things interesting throughout, and while I'm not a fan of garbage wrestling or The Calling, this was a well-paced, enjoyable opener. The non-finish leaves the door open for an eventual rematch.

MLW World Women's Featherweight Champion Delmi Exo def. Paris Van Dale

I know nothing about Dale or what she did to earn an opportunity at the title, but this obviously existed to showcase Exo and it worked in that respect. The bout was brief, but there was no need for it to be longer than it was with Dale being an unknown opponent. Post-match, B3CCA attacked Exo, seemingly setting them up for a championship match at Fury Road (unless it was already announced but I don't believe so).

Davey Boy Smith Jr. def. "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams in the Finals of the 2023 Opera Cup

Smith was in full-on heel mode here, complete with his new manager in his corner. Williams has had a string of wins lately in MLW, but I always expected Smith to become a two-time Opera Cup winner because I don't think Williams will be sticking around in MLW (he's also a regular in Ring of Honor right now). These two had a quality, well-worked main event, but it just didn't feel like it reached that next gear for me. The post-match promo where he celebrated his victory was a nice touch, though.

Overall Show

By recent Fusion standards, this was an above-average show. The women were spotlighted, Fatu vs. Page exceeded my expectations, and the main event was eventful with Smith winning the finals of the Opera Cup. I continue to be impressed by the build and hype for Fury Road in a few weeks through the video packages and backstage segments. MLW is finally catching up to the latest content was taped in July before Never Say Never and that's a big plus.

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