Episode #111 of MLW Fusion kicks off the second annual Opera Cup tournament! Here’s the episode card.
MLW Fusion #111
Opera Cup Opening Round: TJ Perkins vs. Richard Holliday
Calvin Tankman vs. Robert Martyr
Opera Cup Opening Round: Rocky Romero vs. Tom Lawlor
In This Episode
Salina de la Renta threatening Major League Wrestling as she’s been implicated in Contra Unit’s takeover of MLW earlier in the year.
The Von Erichs have a Thanksgiving wish to all MLW fans. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and Dominic Garrini are still harassing the Von Erichs but Lawlor is going to need to focus against Rocky Romero.
Holliday is still strutting around with the Caribbean Championship he took from Savio Vega earlier in the year. Since Gino Medina left Dynasty, there’s been beef between them.
Hammerstone was attacked on the restart episode by “The Black Hand of Contra Unit”! The “Contra Hunter” joins Bocchini and St. Laurent via phone and tells them that the doctor’s report on his injuries isn’t going to stop him.
Low-Tier
While it wasn’t a bad match at all, the middle act of the show—the debut of “Heavyweight Hustle” Calvin Tankman—was a squash on an episode of really competitive matches.
Tankman looked impressive running through Robert Martyr. The guy can move extremely well and he’s not just coming in with a stock, bulky, power wrestler arsenal.
In the few minutes of his debut, you could see that he had some moves on him. If he sticks around Jacob Fatu, Davey Boy Smith Jr, and Hammerstone had all better watch out!
This one ended at 1:15 with Tankman drilling Martyr with the Tankman Driver.
Exotic-Tier
The first match of the Opera Cup opening rounds was TJ Perkins vs. Richard Holliday and it was a good bout. Perkins really showed out here and came with the razzle-dazzle as expected.
Holliday mainly wrestled his kind of match but kicked the pace up. He isn’t a plodding, methodical-paced wrestler but he tries to match his opponent’s speed.
You know so that there isn’t any awkward clashing of styles. Holliday gets the duke in 10:25 following a Market Crash in a close contest.
Tom Lawlor managed to defeat New Japan’s Rocky Romero in a hard-fought, almost 18-minute bout. Thanks to Romero’s chasm of experience over Lawlor, there were times when this match looked as though it could go in his favor.
Romero’s agility allowed him to get the best of Lawlor in stand-up clashes but adaptability was Lawlor’s secret weapon here. He used that to match Romero on the mat.
It was also the former World Heavyweight Champion’s unorthodox mat game that allowed him to get the win with a leg cradle at 17:43.
MLW Fusion #111 Verdict: Exotic-Tier (8/10)
Another strong episode in the #TheRestart phase of the show. The match of the episode goes to the main event bout between Lawlor and Romero, with no discussion.
Worth watching is TJ Perkins’ performance against Richard Holliday in the tournament. The three matches-in-an-hour approach is perfect and probably the best-paced episode of MLW Fusion in a while!
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