MLW Pulp Fusion: Mance Warner fights a bear, new super heavyweight signing, more!

MLW’s storylines are rocking and rolling in the latest Pulp Fusion. Mance Warner fought a bear, MLW’s newest heavyweight signing cut his debut promo, Savio Vega issued a challenge to Richard Holliday, and Josef Samael explained Contra’s plot to take over MLW.

Before we get to the video, we have to cover one piece of news. MLW welcomed Calvin Tankman into the fold with a multi-year deal. Tankman is 6’2” and 355 pounds. His style blends power wrestling, brawling, and high flying. MLW CEO Court Bauer praised the big man:

“Calvin caught my eye for his athletic explosiveness and versatility as a competitor. There isn’t anyone like Calvin Tankman in the sport today and it is our privilege to share this extraordinary competitor with the world.”

On to the show...

The format of Pulp Fusion is a quick cut montage of promos intermixed with each other. Let’s break it down:

• Savio Vega was outside Roberto Clemente Stadium in Puerto Rico. He challenged chump Richard Holliday for the Caribbean belt in front of the Puerto Rican people.
• Alexander Hammerstone pumped iron to stay jacked and juicy. He is coming back bigger and stronger than ever. Hammerman invited his Hammerheads to Muscle Mountain for the first-ever Hammerstone Bodybuilding Invitational. Game on.
• Calvin Tankman delivered his debut promo. He’s been praying for the opportunity. He won’t let it get away. Tankman plans to lace up his boots every night to prove he is one of best young talents in world. Give him everyone and anyone. There will be no denying he’s one of the best.
• Tom Lawlor was writing a letter to his father. I didn’t understand his scene. I think he thinks Kevin Von Erich is his father? It was on the obsessive side. Lawlor then received a message from his own kids on his magic wristwatch. That snapped him out of the spell.
• Mance Warner was on phone with Dirty Dutch. The bear is here. Warner isn’t afraid to fight it. ROAR!!! Apparently, Uncle Moonman didn’t secure the cage properly and the bear was loose. It escaped Ole Mancer’s trailer and was waiting outside. Warner’s gameplan was eye poke, lariat, and DDT. The bear entered Mancer’s home. That big dumb SOB started huffing and puffing off camera. Fight!
• Richard Holiday was supposed to be having a leisurely day at the golf course, but he hit his ball in woods because he couldn’t concentrate. The FDA is on his case about tainted supplements in his Dynastic Coffee. Stoogio Vega stooged him out. Vega is jealous that Holliday is the most dynastic Caribbean Champion the world has ever seen. Holliday called his lawyer/father to sue Vega. Richie Two Titles will kick Vega’s ass in court and in the ring. Just not in Puerto Rico. It’s gross there.
• Low Ki continued to address King Mo. Mo got away with one when they fought after Team Filthy interfered. Low Ki gave credit for their execution and strategy.
• King Mo thinks Low Ki has gone crazy from CTE.
• LA Park and his sons cooked chicharrones and threatened the Contra Unit again.
• Jordan Oliver had his 21st birthday. His goal is to be better than Simon Gotch. Already done.
• Salina de la Renta mocked questions about what she’s done. We will find out when we find out.
• Konnan informed us that Salina has massive money debts to the wrong people. They’re looking for her.
• Josef Samael cut into the broadcast to explain Contra’s attack on MLW. Power, money, influence, access to millions of souls with TV deals all to spread word of Contra. That’s what they wanted. Now that Contra has it, they will abuse it. Hail, Contra!

The opening was fantastic with the aerial view of the stadium and highlights of Clemente. The music was rocking too. If MLW could pull off a match between Vega and Holliday in Puerto Rico in that venue, the atmosphere would be very cool. I imagine the fans would get so worked up that Holliday might have to leave the island that same evening for his own safety.

Holliday might even break out some flippy shit for the occasion.

Mance Warner fighting a bear was the best. THE BEST! How is Ole Mancer going to get out of this alive? I anticipate the two sharing a case of light beers afterward.

The closing promo from Samael was intense. I don’t know how MLW is going to get out of this pickle. They might have to call G.I. Joe for a helping hand. Contra is the closest thing to Cobra that I’ve ever seen in professional wrestling.

This episode of Pulp Fusion is part of the next MLW Anthology debuting Saturday night. The show will cover the rise of the Contra Unit. The feature matches are the MLW World Heavyweight Championship bout of Jacob Fatu versus LA Park and a trios contest between Contra and the Stronghearts.

MLW’s weekly program (Fusion and Anthology) airs on beIN SPORTS Saturday nights at 10 pm ET / 7 pm ET. New episodes are posted on YouTube Saturdays at 6:05 pm ET. You can also check out MLW streaming on DAZN. In addition, MLW is broadcast in over 20 countries.

MLW Roundup

If you missed the news earlier this week, MLW announced that they will be airing the original MLW Underground run from 2003. It will debut July 11. Notable names include CM Punk, Terry Funk, Sabu, LA Park, Steve Corino and the Extreme Horsemen, and Satoshi Kojima.

MLW’s deal with DAZN was profiled in the New York Post. It was clarified that Fusion will remain on beIN SPORTS and free on YouTube, for the time being. DAZN will be home to premium content that complements Fusion. The article speculated that PPVs could end up on DAZN. There is no schedule yet for a return to live action during the coronavirus pandemic, but CEO Court Bauer has a cool idea if they do empty arena shows:

He said if he was doing fanless shows, he’d present matches with lighting similar to the movies “Cinderella Man” or “Raging Bull” where the crowd is more blacked out and the action in the ring has a limelight on it from above.

Team Filthy has the cookie hook-up with their new sponsor, Kookies and Kream. Erick Stevens runs the business. That cookie company joins Condom Depot and Vitamins & Minerals as Team Filthy’s benefactors. That’s a excellent triple threat to take down the Von Erich clan.

MLW posted engaging features on Salina de la Renta and the Contra Unit. Die-hard fans might not learn anything new, but it is a quality refresher of their history in the promotion.

New t-shirts for the Extreme Horsemen and the 4th of July are available in the MLW shop.

We’ll close with a homemade vignette from Brian Pillman Jr.

Did Pillman only hit on one of his shots? Eh, it doesn’t matter. The video was cool. I’m interested in seeing how a Bulletproof gimmick would evolve in the ring.