MLW Fusion Review - November 2, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Mance Warner def. Talon

With all of the reported departures from MLW, I feel like The Calling make up half of the roster at this point. The group is lame, so the less of them, the better. Thankfully, this was kept short and sweet with Warner winning quickly and decisively. The outcome was never in doubt, so that was the way to go. Warner will face Matt Cardona in a Loser Leaves MLW match at Fightland and this gave Warner a victory before then.

Brett Ryan Gosselin def. J Boujii

I'm very familiar with Gosselin's work from the northeast independent scene and he's a great up-and-coming talent. He's the perfect fit for MLW, assuming he's signed. He won his match here, which is an encouraging sign for his future, but people disappear all the time after appearing on Fusion, so who knows for sure. They had a nice match. Gosselin is skilled in the ring, but promos will be where he really shines.

MLW World Tag Team Champions The Calling (MLW National Openweight Champion Rickey Shane Page and AKIRA) vs. Second Gear Crew (Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) in a Tables Match Ended in a No Contest

Man, I am so tired of this feud between The Calling and Second Gear Crew. The matches haven't been memorable, the stipulations don't feel special, and the finishes have largely been lame. This was no exception. It was your typical Tables match, but I hated how Justice and AKIRA went through the table at the same time to cause the no contest. Worse yet, I assume that means this rivalry will continue. There's no depth in the division at the moment, so truthfully, MLW may not have a choice until they put more teams in the mix.

Overall Show

The crap with The Calling consistently kills my overall interest in Fusion from week to week. There are episodes they're not on at all (a la last week), and then there are episodes they're all over like this one. It didn't help that the main event was mediocre and its ending sucked. Second Gear Crew, who also feel overexposed, don't do much for me, personally. I enjoyed Gosselin's debut, but that's about it. The Worlt Titan Federation stuff is what it is. Meanwhile, MLW losing two-thirds of The Samoan SWAT Team and possibly Alexander Hammerstone is yet another blow for the company.

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