Josh Bishop’s first press conference as MLW World Heavyweight Champion nearly turned into another fight, Austin Aries used his own championship to punch his ticket to the Opera Cup final, and Shotzi made Lady Frost pay for picking a fight with her former partner. T
he November 12 edition of MLW Fusion, streaming free on Tubi, took the fallout from Saturday Night SuperFight straight to Philadelphia, where CONTRA Unit made its presence felt from the ring to the broadcast desk.
The Age of the Intense Icon begins
Still bloodied from dethroning Killer Kross at Saturday Night SuperFight in Chicago, Josh Bishop sat down for his first press conference as MLW World Heavyweight Champion. The celebration barely got underway before tempers flared and cooler heads had to step in. The fight for the World Heavyweight Championship had gone down Exit 187. The fight over who gets Bishop first was already underway.
Donovan Dijak made his intentions clear later in the broadcast. The former captain of the Skyscrapers said he brought Bishop into the fold, blamed him for costing him the World Heavyweight Championship and demanded his rematch. The Skyscrapers are finished, and Dijak wants the gold around his former partner’s waist.
Austin Aries steals his way into the Opera Cup final
LaBron Kozone came to Philadelphia fighting for a place in the Opera Cup final and for Teddy Long. He pushed the National Openweight Champion deep into the semifinal, survived a close call and had Aries scrambling. Then incidental contact took out the referee, and Aries saw his opening.
Kozone caught Aries with a roundhouse kick, but Aries went to the eyes and dropped him with a brainbuster onto the National Openweight Championship belt. The referee recovered in time to count the pin. A year after falling in the semifinals, Aries is one win away from putting his name on the Opera Cup. Matt Riddle and Big Damo will fight for the other spot in the final.
JUMBO flattens three men and stays undefeated
Three opponents stepped up to the Big 400. One flying crossbody put them down. JUMBO piled all three together for the pin and kept his undefeated run intact, leaving Philadelphia to wonder how many men it’ll take to make the 400-pounder break a sweat.
CONTRA Unit hijacks Fusion
Beast Man was in the ring for a standby bout when Josef Samael’s CONTRA Unit seized the broadcast. Brick Savage and the Black Flags descended on Jesús Rodriguez and overwhelmed the officials and staff who tried to intervene. Diego Hill rushed in to help, only to get caught in the assault as CONTRA left Philadelphia reeling.
The attack came on the heels of CONTRA’s ambush of Místico at Saturday Night SuperFight, and Southern Crown Champion Trevor Lee has seen enough. Lee called out the undefeated Brick Savage, CONTRA accepted, and the two will collide next week on Fusion.
Shotzi turns Lady Frost’s best shot into a three-count
Lady Frost once stood beside Shotzi against STARDOM’s H.A.T.E. In Philadelphia, she stood across from the MLW Women’s World Champion with the very women they’d fought together, Saya Kamitani and Rina. Shotzi brought Scarlett Bordeaux and ZAMAYA, and the six-woman main event came down to the two former partners.
ZAMAYA blasted Frost with a rib-crushing spear and tagged in Shotzi. Frost went for the Killer Driller, but Shotzi caught her in a roll-up and held her down for three. Scarlett, ZAMAYA and Shotzi walked out of Philadelphia with the win, and the champion made sure Frost had to watch her celebrate it.
Catch the November 12 edition of MLW Fusion free on Tubi. Replays follow Saturday at 6:05 PM ET on YouTube and 9 PM ET on VEEPS, and Monday at noon JST on NJPW WORLD. Next Thursday at 8 PM ET on Tubi, Riddle and Big Damo battle for the last spot in the Opera Cup final, Trevor Lee goes after Brick Savage, and Don Gato presents the Cinco de Mayhem Scramble.
