MLW Roundup: Injustice seeks justice on Contra, Davey Boy Smith Jr. on the outs, more!

Let’s catch up on the week’s news in MLW and preview Saturday night’s episode of MLW Underground. Injustice seeks revenge for Contra’s attack on Jordan Oliver, Dominic Garrini is lost in the jungle, and Davey Boy Smith Jr.’s relationship with MLW has soured.

Pulp Fusion

The train keeps chugging for MLW storylines in Pulp Fusion. Tom Lawlor missed his plane again, Dominic Garrini has gone missing in the jungle, and Injustice is plotting payback on the Contra Unit.

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

• Alicia Atout attempted to interview Richard Holliday, but he kept restarting after unsatisfactory introductions omitting his status as Caribbean Champion. The two shared snooty exchanges back and forth. Atout cut Holliday off to claim they ran out of time. Holliday blamed the difficulties on Atout being Canadian.
• Tom Lawlor missed his flight to Hawaii for the fourth time. Kit Osbourne was smoking inside the suitcase and got them kicked off the plane. Lawlor received a call from Court Bauer about a show. He also squeezed in a plug for Team Filthy masks on MLWshop.com.
• Alexander Hammerstone had a message for Josef Samael and Jacob Fatu. Hammer believes he should get a title shot. He cut his promo while breaking 12 eggs into a blender. Hammerman took a hearty chug to close out his scene.
• Dominic Garrini’s hunt for the newest member of Team Filthy has led him to the jungle. The locals were angry with him littering trash. Tribal noises were heard as Garrini scurried off camera. Update: MLW has reported that Garrini is still missing in the Amazon.
• LA Park wants to wrestle soon in MLW. He plans to conquer Wrestle Island and change the name to LA Park Island.
• Salina de la Renta removed her robe to discuss business.
• Jordan Oliver and Myron Reed reacted to Simon Gotch’s attack on Oliver. Injustice are the masters of ambushes. They will get Contra. Oliver is going to hurt them. While Oliver is beating that ass in the ring, the fans will chant, “Justice!”

Holliday won this episode with his reference to, “Kokomo,” by The Beach Boys. I can totally imagine Holliday jamming to that song while sailing his yacht to his private island in the Caribbean.

Injustice continues to bring the heat in their promos. It sounds good and it looks good, but I still can’t take them as a serious threat to unseat Contra. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in the fight. The build has been fire so far, and I imagine the matches will ratchet up the intensity.

That was an interesting tweak at the end about justice. It’s a perfect hook to alter their scumbag image more toward fan favorite tweeners. It is easy to envision the roof blowing off the building after a badass act of revenge with fans shouting, “Justice!” It would also be just as cool when Fatu destroys Injustice to silence the crowd. There is riot potential to be had.

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MLW Underground

Christopher Daniels is bolstering his Fallen Angel squad by calling in heavy hitters from Japan. Daniels brought in Dick Togo and Ikuto Hidaka. Togo is a name I’ve seen popping up recently. I haven’t had the pleasure of watching him in the ring, but I am very intrigued based on his last name. It reminds me of super assassin Duke Togo from Golgo 13. I just may have to watch the Sonny Chiba edition later tonight.

Advertised matches include:

• Los Maximos & Quiet Storm vs Christopher Daniels, Dick Togo, & Ikuto Hidaka
• CW Anderson vs Devon “Crowbar” Storm

There will also be more in the back and forth between Raven and Vampiro, and Steve Corino will issue a challenge.

MLW’s weekly program (Fusion, Anthology, and Underground) 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.

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Quick hits

Last week, MLW teased a return to the ring coming soon. How soon? CEO Court Bauer and chief medical physician Dr. Nelson Sweglar provided comment about the potential of getting back to business.

The league approach has been to be as careful as possible during the coronavirus pandemic. Sweglar advised that a vaccine does not necessarily mean the end of the pandemic. “There is great possibility the vaccine won’t be 98% effective and could perhaps be as low as 50% effective, which would be the floor for FDA approval. There’s also an outside possibility efficacy alludes us for some time.”

Bauer has been observing other leagues’ precautionary measures. Bauer stated, “It’s very important to gather as much information, advice and medical analysis as possible and that’s what we’ve been doing. That analysis gives you the best ability to do your job and navigate the next steps in examining a restart.” The report stated that a return timeline is expected to be announced later this month.

MLW’s next scheduled taping is October 3 in Dallas. The status is still up in the air.

Whenever MLW has their next event, it may contain a big fight for Jacob Fatu and the World Heavyweight Championship.

Congratulations to Davey Boy Smith Jr. for earning his purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

There have been rumblings of Smith looking to leave MLW. There were also rumors of him working a couple of dates with Impact. MLW head of wrestling operations Jared St. Laurent issued a statement about Smith.

“I want to address some misinformation put out there. I had talks with Impact about Davey Boy possibly crossing over and doing some dates. We had a very positive conversation with Impact. Scott D’Amore and Impact were great to deal with and we were absolutely open to it. We gave Davey several options for how we could make this work as well as help him out financially during the pandemic. Davey opted to do nothing, unfortunately. It could’ve been a win/win for all 3 parties. It’s a shame but that is the full story.

On a personal level, I’ve known Davey for almost 2 decades. It’s sad to see him elect to end his tenure with yet another company on such a sour note.”

Shade has been thrown with that last line. It sounds like this relationship will be coming to an end when Smith’s contract expires in December.

On the bright side, seeds have been planted for MLW and Impact to engage in the future. Court Bauer is taking the ‘never say never’ approach.

Impact World Champion Eddie Edwards is currently doing a weekly open challenge. If MLW were to loan talent for a title shot, now would be the time to do it.

In an update of the brewing beef between Gino Medina and the Dynasty, Holliday confirmed that there is heat on Medina.

This saga may turn into a future sports documentary about how Medina’s lust for the mamacitas turned out to be his dynastic downfall. Let’s hope he can get back on track. The allure of mamacitas can be tough to pass up, but Medina needs to focus on his burgeoning career in the ring. Business before pleasure.

Salina de la Renta has renewed her manager license. MLW speculated on her plans.

Some believe Salina is making moves as she readies to go to war with CONTRA Unit for destroying her dreams at Saturday Night SuperFight. Others speculate Salina has put her former charge Los Parks in her crosshairs.

Salina has always had at least one huge star in her crew. No cream of the crop names stand out to me from the MLW roster as candidates to join Promociones Dorado. She may have to turn to a major player in Mexico. Perhaps Dr. Wagner Jr. or Blue Demon Jr. could be persuaded. Both men are up there in age, but they do have icon status. I’d be interested in title fights with Fatu. If Salina wants war with Los Parks, then give me Poder del Norte.

MLW is continuing to lock up TV deals. The latest agreement is with Fubo Sports Network. MLW programming will air Thursdays in the 10 pm ET time slot for Fubo.

Who do you want to see as Jacob Fatu’s next challenger? What are your dream matches for MLW with Impact? Which wrestlers would be a good fit in a revamped Promociones Dorado with Salina de la Renta?

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