MLW Roundup: Lawlor & Von Erichs vs Contra Unit booked, Fury Road title match, stacked Fusion tonight

Let’s catch up on this week’s news in MLW and preview Saturday night’s episode of Fusion. The Von Erichs are booked for their first fight and what a fight it will be, literally. Fury Road has more matches announced, one of which will be for Teddy Hart’s Middleweight Championship. The latest episode of Fusion will have three potential MLW Match of the Year candidates.

Tom Lawlor & the Von Erichs versus the Contra Unit

The signing of Ross Von Erich and Marshall Von Erich to MLW was exciting, however, news of their first match with the promotion is even more exciting.

Tom Lawlor made a phone call looking for partners to fight the Contra Unit and the Von Erichs said yes.

I’ve never seen the new generation Von Erichs wrestle, but we should be in for a real treat if the hype video from the past episode of Fusion is any indication. I have to say that as someone who prefers barefoot over shoes, the idea of seeing Ross square off with Jacob Fatu for the no-shoes king of the world is very intriguing.

As far as the surprise tease of Tom Lawlor’s friends, lining up the Von Erichs was the best payoff I can think of, outside of current free agent Dean Ambrose. The Von Erich family name should get every single MLW fan eager for Fury Road, and it should also help draw in new fans who are curious.

Also on the signings list are Austin Aries and Adam Brooks. I watched Brooks for the first time earlier this month in CMLL, and he has enough showy maneuvers to fit in nicely with the MLW roster. What do you do with two new signees? Match them up, of course. Austin Aries and Adam Brooks will meet one another in singles action at Fury Road.

That’s not all for the match announcements this week. Jimmy Havoc will be returning to compete for the Middleweight Championship against Teddy Hart. That should be a captivating clash of styles. It is unclear if Havoc will be allowed to use weapons. If not, then Hart would be the favorite to retain. If yes, then it is anyone’s game since weapons can change everything in an instant.

That makes the current Fury Road card as follows:

• Tornado Tag Team Match: Tom Lawlor & the Von Erichs vs Contra Unit
• Middleweight Championship: Teddy Hart vs Jimmy Havoc
• National Openweight Championship Finals: Alexander Hammerstone vs TBA (Rich Swann or Brian Pillman Jr.)
• Falls Count Anywhere: Sami Callihan vs Mance Warner
• Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs MJF
• Austin Aries vs Adam Brooks

More bouts are expected to be added. Best of all, Fury Road will be airing a one hour live special for June 1 on beIN SPORTS. Both championship matches will be televised, and a third fight will probably be shown as well.

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Quick hits

Let’s run through some extra tidbits.

Questions about the Contra Unit are being teased again. The press release wonders about who is behind the faction, if they are more members, what is the end goal, and a hit list. None of those issues are answered, but they do a good job explaining the dilemma MLW finds itself in.

With whispers of connections to the dangerous and shadowy underworld, these outsiders are not signed to MLW which makes holding them accountable for their actions problematic for the league.

How do you discipline CONTRA given their tactics when everyone in MLW wants to fight them?

A conundrum for the league, which has to manage the demands of its athletes who want to fight CONTRA as well as the safety of the fans and locker room, MLW has entered uncharted territory.

I have wondered why the Contra Unit was never disciplined for their railroad spike misdeeds, and that satisfies my inquiry. Thank you, MLW, for tying up the little details.

As for who is leading the Contra Unit, the newsletter mentioned a rumor that they were spotted in Singapore and South Korea. Excuse my geographical ignorance, but that got me thinking of a recent short film made in Thailand by Killer Kross. Kross would be a badass choice to lead the Contra Unit if he became available. That’s just my desire as a fan. I don’t have any information to share that would make it a rumor. If MLW can pull out the Von Erichs as Tom Lawlor’s friends, then I’m sure MLW has tabs on fascinating foes, who have never crossed my mind, to lead the Contra Unit.

The newsletter confirmed rumors that MLW referees will have CPR training in response to the unfortunate death of Silver King in London. Applause for being prepared in an important skill many take for granted, myself included.

Will Barrington Hughes be joining Rich Swann and Myron Reed in the protest against biased officiating? The newsletter stated that Hughes, “Nearly came to blows with officials in the hallway after his match against Jacob Fatu.” Hughes is claiming a fast count by the referee. I went back to rewatch his match against Fatu. I don’t think Hughes has any ground for a complaint. Maybe it was half a second too fast, but it is not like Hughes had a kickout shortly after. He remained flat on the mat afterward. With that poor attitude, I will be rooting for Fatu if there is a rematch.

The Von Erichs have a t-shirt for sale.

I hope MLW finds a way to recreate this Von Erich brothers pizza commercial. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LA Park has a second t-shirt now available.

Pro Wrestling Tees, which houses MLW’s shop, will have a 20% off sale from May 21 to May 27. Use the code: SPRING.

Charlie Bruzzese, man of the camera and other production skills, shared some ECW stories.

There is a second video with a story of police rolling up as Blue Meanie was naked, covered in blue cake icing at a neighborhood park.

Last but certainly not least, Salina de la Renta did a photo shoot and Alexander Hammerstone took notice of her attire.

That led to innuendo and teeny wiener jokes. MLW put the question to the people.

As of this moment when writing, Salina won in a landslide, 250-17. Perhaps Hammerstone needs to wear cutoff shorts to gain two or three more votes. Shameless plug: If you enjoy who wore it better, check out last Sunday’s edition of Tweets of the Week.

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Fusion is stacked

The National Openweight Championship tournament continues with Rich Swann vs Brain Pillman Jr. The winner will face Alexander Hammerstone in the finals at Fury Road on June 1 in Milwaukee.

This is a tough match to predict. Rich Swann has the veteran savvy and could be backed ringside by Myron Reed. That could lead to a numbers advantage, since the Hart Foundation generally flies solo in singles action. I would pick Swann if not for his recent lack of focus due to a perceived injustice from biased officials.

Brian Pillman Jr. is aiming to be rookie of the year twice in a row. Winning the National Openweight Championship would no doubt make him a lock and put him in the history books as what I assume would be the only two-time rookie of the year in all of major league sports. To prep for this tournament opportunity, Pillman has been winning gold overseas.

Also on the show will be Daga versus Minoru Tanaka and a tag team bout between Mance Warner & Sami Callihan against Ricky Martinez & Hijo de LA Park. Ever since Daga vs Tanaka was announced, I’ve been hankering to watch. It is a unique matchup in every sense of the word (unique). And of course, the tag bout will be chaotic and cathartic. Who doesn’t want to see Promociones Dorado get their ass kicked?

Those are three super solid bouts on paper with each having the potential to be in Match of the Year consideration for MLW.

Which match on Fusion are you most looking forward to? Who are you predicting to win?

MLW Fusion airs on beIN SPORTS Saturday nights at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT. New episodes are posted on YouTube Mondays at 7 pm ET. Fusion is also broadcast in the UK, Ireland, and Israel.