MLW: Fusion Results (6/22): $20,000 Bounty Match And A Shocking Return To The Ring
It's time for another episode of MLW: Fusion and this week they brought a great show to the table. MLW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Strickland still had a $20,000 bounty on his head thanks to Salina Del La Renta and was set for a fierce battle against Brody King in the main event.
There was also a very shocking return to the ring as the show kicked off with an intense appearance from a second generation wrestling star. So let's not waste anymore time and get right to the action.
Trey Miguel vs Danny Santiago
Tony Schiavone said Danny Santiago looked like he stepped out of the Cobra Kai dojo as Teddy Hart jumped Santiago from behind during his entrance. Hart nailed a springboard moonsault to the floor on Santiago and left him laying while MLW officials surrounded Danny.
MLW CEO Court Bauer made an appearance at ringside and booked Trey Miguel vs Teddy Hart instead.
Trey Miguel vs Teddy Hart
Miguel hit a nice over-the-top rope somersault dive to the floor before returning inside where he placed Hart on the turnbuckle and 6-1-9'ed himself a little bit to lay a boot to Hart's face. The match continued until Hart nailed Miguel with a pinning sunset flip powerbomb off the middle rope for what looked like a three count but the referee said Trey kicked out in time.
Hart continued his offense by nailing a DDT for a near fall followed by an electric drop into a lung blower. Trey countered Hart and hit a cutter from the top rope but Teddy grabbed the bottom rope to stop the referee's count. Then Miguel hit Teddy with a cutter to the floor from the apron that sent Hart's body crashing against the hardest part of the ring. 1-2-kickout!
They ended up fighting on the top rope and Hart nailed a backbreaker across the top turnbuckle followed by a lung blower and an avalanche Canadian destroyer for the win. This was an impressive match all around and Teddy Hart looked great as did Miguel who sold very well.
Winner: Teddy Hart
Kotto Brazil said he can't keep losing and needs to show MLW how he's going to win.
Teddy Hart cut a backstage promo where he said he prays MLW has the balls to keep booking him. He said he's here to steal the show and make his family proud of him. He said the fans sounded like they wanted to see him and he'd come back to MLW whenever they wanted him if they can handle the heat from the back. Then Hart tried to start a fight with ACH but it didn't amount to anything. Teddy Hart plays an excellent heel.
Col Parker and the Stud Stable were backstage and he sent them off to cut the interview alone with Vanessa Craft. Parker said he asked her to have a cup of coffee with her sometime and wanted to have that cup of coffee right now. Then he took her by the arm and led off his very confused looking interviewer. After they left, Simon Grimm and Filthy Tom Lawlor snuck into the Stud Stable's locker room.
Barrington Hughes vs Paris Akeem
Hughes won this match very quickly with a big elbow drop and a stylish pin.
Winner: Barrington Hughes
Simon Grimm and Filthy Tom Lawlor told Col Parker they found his hat and gave it a nice Cleveland steam cleaning. Parker thought that was very nice of them until he ran out of his dressing room screaming about how someone dookied in his cowboy hat.
Kotto Brazil vs Vandal Ortagun
Ortangun tried to get people to chant for his home country of Turkey but they'd rather chant "Kotto." Brazil nailed a nice dropkick but missed a splash in the corner. Then Vandal hit a reverse neckbreaker for a two count.
Vandal Ortagun kept the upper hand the entire time but he still couldn't get the crowd to cheer for Turkey. He hit a neckbreaker on Brazil before choking him on the ropes and splashing him across the ropes for good measure. Ortagun kept hammering away on Brazil with clubbing blows and sharp chops until Brazil nailed a sunset flip for a two count and a couple running lariats.
Brazil hit an uppercut in the corner and drove Vandal's head into the middle turnbuckle with his knees. Then Kotto perched himself on the top turnbuckle by grabbing the top ropes and simply flipping up but Ortagun got the knees up to stop Brazil's frog splash. Then Vandal hit a lung blower for a two count.
Kotto would not kick out no matter what Vandal did to him and there were a couple more near falls as Brazil kept taking damage. Suddenly, Kotto hit two superkicks and a sliced bread for the win.
Winner: Kotto Brazil
Salena del la Renta was interviewed backstage where she insulted Vanessa Craft for being a bad journalist. Then she said she's still looking for the MLW World Heavyweight Title and Shane Strickland.
Brody King vs Shane Strickland – $20,000 Bounty Match
Barrington Huges was shown backstage as Shane Strickland's bodyguard and he took a bullet for Shane on the way to the ring when the Death Machine went running for the champion but Hughes jumped in to take the beating instead. That was a nice touch to show how much danger Strickland is in at all times with a $20,000 bounty on his head.
King ended up out of the ring pretty early on in the match. Strickland hit a knee from the apron followed by a kick but Brody caught Shane as he went for a rana off the apron and powerbombed him into the apron. Then he rolled Strickland into the ring for a two count.
Brody kept the pressure on Shane Strickland for a bit hitting a cannonball on Shane while he was draped across the ropes. Then Brody King started chopping the MLW World Heavyweight Champion and Strickland returned fire. Strickland landed a release German suplex on Brody that he pretty much no-sold. Brody caught Shane in a fireman's carry but Strickland got out of it and hit a dropkick on the way down for a two count.
Shane nailed three running forearms in the corner then Brody sent him into the turnbuckle on the other side. Shane countered Brody's charge and nailed a quick kick from the apron and a sunset flip followed by a kick to the head. Strickland struggled to get King's body turned over for the pin but muscled through for another two count.
Brody and Shane fought for position in the middle of the ring and then Strickland started laying in some kicks but Brody took him down with a lariat and a powerbomb. Then Brody did a big swing on Shane and when he released Strickland went toppling to the floor.
Shane hit Brody with a steel chair to the knee when King followed him out of the ring. Then Strickland sat Brody in a chair and jumped on the apron to land a Swerve Stomp to the floor.
Strickland grabbed Brody's arm and started kicking him in the face, head, and neck area a lot which only seemed to make King angry. Brody got up and hit The All Seeing Eye for a very long two count and King started arguing with the referee. Then Brody King went outside and pulled something out from under the ring but the powder the he brought in to blind Strickland was kicked right back in his face and Shane Strickland landed a high knee through the cloud of powder for the win.
Winner: Shane Strickland
Low Ki jumped in the ring and The Professional attacked Shane Strickland from behind. He left Strickland laying on the canvas as Salina Del La Renta got in the ring doing a slow clap. Low Ki hit a Switchblade kick and picked up the MLW World Heavyweight Title. As Low Ki draped the title across Strickland's beaten body the crowd chanted "Low Ki sucks." This is a far cry from a couple of weeks ago when Low Ki told Strickland he wanted to help his career.