Welcome back to MLW Fusion. The time has come once again for the Opera Cup Final. Last year, Davey Boy Smith Jr defeated Brian Pillman Jr to become the first person to win MLW’s tournament for the historic cup. This year, it would be Low Ki, the man who avenged his loss to Smith and bested Richard Holliday taking on Filthy Tom Lawlor, who has seen off two of the hottest entrants to the tournament in Rocky Romero and ACH. Now their old rivalry would have a new chapter written. Only one could come away with the prestigious prize, who would it be? Let’s get into the action and find out.

The Dirty Blondes (Michael Patrick & Leo Brien w/Aria Blake) defeated Ariel Dominguez & Daniel Starling via Avalanche Powerslam on Starling

A HUGE Powerslam off the 2nd rope from Leo Brien!#MLWFusion

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— MLW FUSION | Wed. 7pm (@MLW) December 24, 2020

Before the Opera Cup Action, we got a tag team exhibition from Colonel Parker’s returning bruisers, The Dirty Blondes. Brien and Patrick were back as their intimidating tag unit with the Parker giving them Aria Blake as a valet. Their first fight back, Ariel Dominguez and Daniel Starling. Brien started with Starling and straight-up mauled him with punches and boots. He then ran Starling into Patrick’s boot and tagged out. He baited in Dominguez and sent him crashing back out with a stiff kick. He went back to punishing Starling and tagged in Brien for a double bionic elbow and an avalanche of elbow drops. Brien made a pin and dragged Starling back up for more abuse. He tagged in Patrick a final time and climbed to the top as Patrick handed Starling up to him for the winning Avalanche Powerslam. They’ve set their sights on the Von Erichs and made a very powerful statement in their work here. We’ll see them get their tag title shot at Kings of Colosseum. You better prepare well since these monsters are coming.

Los Parks demand a shot!#MLWFusion

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— MLW FUSION | Wed. 7pm (@MLW) December 24, 2020

Between the matches:

• Hammerstone warned CONTRA that putting him on the shelf was the stupidest thing they could have done as he’s been training non-stop. He laughed at the Black Hand of CONTRA and stated he was more of a monster than him and that he was going to break him in their match. To Hammerstone, he was nothing more than a stepping stone to Fatu and the Heavyweight Title. Mads Krügger hijacked the broadcast to respond to Hammerstone with his own sinister message of reckoning.
• We got new additions to the Kings of Colosseum card as Salina de la Renta is going to drop a bombshell, we’ll have a grudge match between Jordan Oliver and Simon Gotch and there was the announcement of the Tag Title match.
• Myron Reed finally responded to all the things Lio Rush has been saying about him. He knew Rush needed time to prepare for the biggest match of his career against the Young GOAT.
• We got another PWI Top 10. From 10 to 1 it was: Calvin Tankman, Laredo Kid, ACH, Mads Krügger, Richard Holliday, Myron Reed, LA Park, Low Ki, Filthy Tom Lawlor, and at number 1, Alex Hammerstone.
• Los Parks were not happy about the new tag-team title match. LA Park was furious that he and his sons had been ignored in favour of the Dirty Blondes. He gave MLW an ultimatum, give him and his masculine and successful (LA Park’s words) sons title shots or the MLW original would retire and take his sons with him.

Opera Cup Final: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (w/Violence is Forever) defeated Low Ki (w/The Von Erichs) via Collapsing Pin

Tidal Wave from Low Ki (@OneWorldWarrior)!#MLWFusion | #OperaCup

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— MLW FUSION | Wed. 7pm (@MLW) December 24, 2020

The main event of course was the Opera Cup Final. Filthy Tom Lawlor and Low Ki had bested all the other competition and now they would just have to go through each other for the chance to hold the world-renowned cup. These two have had several wars in the past, now they’d have to do it again. Both sides even had backup in the form of Violence is Forever and The Von Erichs. The two quickly traded lock-ups and takedowns before Low Ki backed Lawlor into the ropes. The two continued to feel each other out as Lawlor continued to work at Low Ki on the mat. The pair continued to trade submission attempts and working holds until Lawlor was able to fold Low Ki up like a pretzel. He started trying to overpower Ki and dumped him on the mat with a pair of kidney shots into a Gutwrench Bomb. He kept up the pressure with a duo of pin attempts and a grounded elbowing abdominal stretch. When that was broken, he locked on a kneebar and bent a wrist at the same time. Ki escaped with a double stomp and battered the soul out of Lawlor with a collection of strikes and kicks. He grounded Lawlor with a head-scissor and put a Figure Four headlock around Lawlor’s neck to choke him. Lawlor broke free and used the position to trap Ki in an Indian Deathlock and fell back to the mat to snap his knees. He rolled the hold through into a pin attempt, giving Ki a chance to fall to the floor. The pair traded leg kicks and Ki sent him flying into VIF with a step up back kick. Both men used the break to rest and Ki once again beat down Lawlor as he got back in the ring. He mercilessly hammered Lawlor with corner elbows and got dragged into a backbreaker from Lawlor.

He barred Ki’s arm and nearly broke it with a hammerlock armbreaker. Lawlor continued to trap Ki in the corner and pummelled him with cravat knee strikes. He powered Ki through into a Suplex and knocked him about with forearms. Ki took the punishment and hopped onto Lawlor’s back for a Dragon Sleeper. Lawlor caused a rope break with his teeth and instantly went back after the legs with another kneebar and a Sharpshooter. Even when they got back to their feet, he caught Ki’s kick into a Dragon Screw and locked on a Figure Four. The pair reversed the pressure on each other and Ki tried to break free with chops. Lawlor caught the arm into a Keylock and Ki was now doubly trapped. Ki finally got to the ropes again and took another barrage of strikes from Lawlor. Ki got thrown into the ropes and found a sudden burst of energy, downing Lawlor with a pair of flying elbows into a sickening springboard enzuigiri. He caved Lawlor’s chest in with kicks and gave him a Kawada Kick to the nose. Ki tried for a corner charge but Lawlor caught him and planted him with a massive running spinebuster. Lawlor tried for the Rear-Naked Choke but Ki elbowed out and countered an Exploder attempt into the Ki-Crusher. However, he was too close to the ropes and his knee was too damaged to take advantage fast. He dropkicked Lawlor into the buckles and followed up with a Kappu Kick but Lawlor had thrown the ref and collapsed on Ki into a makeshift cover for the win.  it was the type of win only Lawlor could have gotten away with. Both guys fought until their last breath and in the end, exhaustion took hold and a daring kick resulted in a crushing loss. Lawlor has once again bested Low Ki and adds his name to the Opera Cup legacy.

What a match. Filthy Tom Lawlor and Low Ki put on a technical masterpiece with both guys going all out. Lawlor has currently crippled the knees of Low Ki and is taking his victory to the fighting island of kings, Filthy Island. Who knows what is coming next as Lawlor is definitely going to leverage this massive win, but into what? He has added his name to history. Next for MLW is Kings of Colosseum and a whole host of big fights and title matches. It’s going to be a wild ride for MLW in 2021, though it looks like the best present of the year came before the holidays for Lawlor.

All images courtesy of MLW Twitter, Video Courtesy of MLW YouTube