A great evening of Salina de la Renta producing MLW Fusion culminated with Ole Mancer in a box

MLW Fusion was a special edition produced by Salina de la Renta from the Melrose Ballroom in New York City for episode 56. It was a history making effort as she was, “The first-ever Latina to produce pro wrestling on television in America.” The card was stacked with Promociones Dorado talent: Low Ki vs Daga, Hijo de LA Park vs Gringo Loco, and LA Park vs Pentagon. De la Renta had intentional surprises with the reveal of the National Openweight Championship bracket and unintentional surprises with Sami Callihan breaking into the building and Mance Warner busting out of a box.

On to a recap and review of the show...

The opening scene cut in as Salina de la Renta was on the phone and Low Ki was doing one-armed pushups. Low Ki reminded de la Renta that he has an important match with Daga, but she was more focused on her wheelings and dealings. After being brushed off, Low Ki returned to his pushups.

That lead to a re-edited intro with Latin music and clips of only Promociones Dorado talent. Rich Bocchini read off Salina de la Renta’s accomplishments as the camera was close up on her face. In the background, Jim Cornette was making exasperated faces. Before Cornette could speak, de la Renta shushed him. “Don’t you have something better to do, old man? Like casket shopping, for example.” This program will show why she should have been in charge since day one. “Because, who doesn’t like a woman on top?”

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Sami Callihan was locked out of the building, as per instruction of Salina de la Renta. He snatched a cameraman to document his efforts to enter. They didn’t have a key to the door, so Callihan took out a butter knife from his sock to jimmy the lock.

Low Ki vs Daga

This was the first singles encounter between Low Ki and Daga since Low Ki ripped Daga’s ear. Salina de la Renta was not ringside for her client. The two combatants began brawling on stage before the opening bell.

This bout was true grudge match style. Mostly fisticuffs with not much unnecessary flippy stuff. Daga was fired up for revenge, while Low Ki was more methodical. The top spot early was a suicide dive by Daga.

For the finishing sequence, Daga missed a flying double stomp. Low Ki hit a missile dropkick into the corner. Daga kicked out at two. They climbed the turnbuckles, and Daga ended up in a tree of woe. Daga pulled Low Ki off the top before any impact maneuvers then delivered a flying dropkick. Daga grabbed Low Ki’s cranium for a headlock, but Low Ki charged them into the corner and turned it into a dope bridging suplex. Low Ki got his feet on the ropes during the pin to win.

After the match, Daga yelled at referee Doug Markham for missing Low Ki’s cheating. Rich Bocchini said Markham screwed another wrestler, in addition to Rich Swann and Myron Reed. That was an odd flip from Bocchini after supporting Markham against Swann and Reed. I haven’t made any notations about Markham’s past job performance as a referee to know how many times he has been involved in questionable finishes.

National Openweight Championship bracket

Salina de la Renta announced the four wrestlers who will vie for the National Openweight Championship. The matches will be:

• Gringo Loco vs Alexander Hammerstone
• Brian Pillman Jr. vs Rich Swann

Tom Lawlor training session

As the MLW Heavyweight Champion, Tom Lawlor will take on all comers from around the world. He was joined by the diminutive Ariel Dominguez for a workout on the mat. Lawlor was destroying Dominguez with submissions and even fish-hooked him. Dominguez turned the tables with a guillotine submission, but Lawlor stood up, put his sandals on, left the building, and walked down the street all while Dominguez was still holding the submission.

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Sami Callihan inside the building

Sami Callihan was hiding behind a corner as Ricky Martinez walked by on the phone. Callihan jumped Martinez and stole the device.

Hijo de LA Park vs Gringo Loco

Salina de la Renta was present ringside to support Hijo de LA Park, and she also joined papa Park in the main event. The bout began with nice feeling out lucha libre tumbling. The action picked up with a slingshot hurricanrana by Park to the outside. Park followed with a suicide dive. Other highlights include a super fireman’s carry sitdown slam by Gringo Loco, a Mexican Destroyer by Park, and a Falcon Arrow by Gringo.

I thought that last move was for sure the end, but Park kicked out.

On the very next move, Park countered Gringo into a backpack piledriver for the win.

Contra Unit speaks

Next week will have the undefeated Barrington Hughes against Jacob Fatu. Fatu shouted, “Nah, nah, nah, fam. Well, check this out. The Uce right here is going to dog walk your ass left and right all over New York City, kick your ass, and give you a buck fifty.” I don’t know what that means but it sounds cool as trash talk.

Sami Callihan made a phone call

Sami Callihan found Salina de la Renta’s number in Ricky Martinez’s phone. He rung her up to call her toots and say that he has some surprises for her tonight. If you are wondering what de la Renta said in Spanish, it was that she is coming for him and all his damn family.

LA Park vs Pentagon

LA Park attacked Pentagon during the ninja skeleton’s entrance. Park dominated early until interference from Salina de la Renta backfired. She was on the apron trying to unmask Pentagon. Pentagon turned it around to lay a kiss on her lips. Park charged but stopped short of accidentally hitting de la Renta. Park hip tossed Pentagon over the ropes. Pentagon rolled it through into a hip toss of his own to send Park sliding out of the ring. Pentagon followed with a huge tope con hilo.

The hard hitting bout continued with a German suplex by Park, a running knee by Park, a rope-hung lungblower by Pentagon, another running knee by Park, and a suplex into the turnbuckles by Park.

For the finish, LA Park nailed Pentagon with three major moves. First was a hefty suicide dive. Second was a flying spinning kick type of maneuver. Third was a spear to win.

Surprise on stage

To celebrate the victory, Salina de la Renta and LA Park went to the side of the entranceway to open a huge wrapped box from the sponsors.

Mance Warner popped out to brawl with Park as the show went off the air.

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Episode 56 of MLW Fusion was dynamite. The wrestling was enjoyable and the skits even better.

I love how the filmed scenes had bits of absurd humor, such as a shirtless Low Ki doing one-armed pushups and Tom Lawlor walking around with Ariel Dominguez draped on him. Not to mention Ole Mancer popping out of the surprise box. All that zaniness felt like a PG rated Attitude Era broadcast. That kind of harmless fun made the show more memorable.

Low Ki vs Daga was very nice with little touches sticking out. Low Ki thumbing the eye, rolling in and out to get a break, and using the ropes to win were right up his alley as a strategic character. Hijo de LA Park vs Gringo Loco delivered as the match with flashy moves. LA Park vs Pentagon in the main event was pleasurable. I like that Park was busting out his heavy artillery moves to win.

Promociones Dorado had a great evening by winning all three matches. It was good to see them victorious without interference. Low Ki cheated but it was more brains than shenanigans. Hijo de LA Park won clean. Salina de la Renta interfered a little in the main event, but it didn’t affect the finish. Even though Promociones Dorado are heels, I appreciate that they are proving their dominance instead of going the chickenshit heel route. You may not like them but you must respect their ability in the ring.

Hmm, how about the brewing dissatisfaction between Low Ki and Salina de la Renta? It is subtle so far, but I imagine Low Ki can only take so many times of being ignored. It will be interesting to see if Low Ki ends up against Promociones Dorado down the line. After Low Ki’s championship run, he has kind of hit a dead end. Turning tweener or face would provide direction for his character.

I have to be honest about the National Openweight Championship bracket. The choices of Gringo Loco, Alexander Hammerstone, Brian Pillman Jr., and Rich Swann feel underwhelming to me. I’m sure the matches and stories will work out well, but my initial reaction was meh. They are all good characters, however, none of them have any momentum. Maybe an explanation for why those four were chosen would be enough to convince me.

Salina de la Renta’s first time as executive producer was a smashing success. It was funny to see all the story touches that she presented for the program. I have no clue what it takes to executive produce, so I’d like to hear about what she did behind the scenes in real life. I’d also like to see a real life conversation between Salina de la Renta and Jim Cornette. I bet he would make the exact same faces as he did during the introduction.

Which was your favorite match and moment from episode 56 of MLW Fusion? Who are you picking to win the National Openweight Championship? How much would you pay to have Mancer in a box at your birthday party?

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.