Welcome back to MLW Fusion and this very special edition of the broadcast coming to us via satellite from Filthy Island. After winning the Opera Cup, did Filthy Tom Lawlor rest on his laurels? No, he took over an Island, that may or may not be home to the Von Erichs and made this special wrestling vacation event. It was time for wild wrestling and top-tier prize fights all in the “luxurious” Team Filthy styling. In this unique episode we’ll see, King Mo vs Low Ki 2, Mil Muertes vs Savio Vega in an Azteca Jungle fight, Dominic Garrini’s Prizefight and so much more. Get ready for some sun, sea, and violence as we get take a trip to Filthy Island!
Prize Fight: Dominic Garrini defeated Mauna Loa via Rear-Naked Choke
Trouble in Paradise?#FilthyIsland ?️
?https://t.co/uF8LyrTsvz@FilthyTomLawlor | @dgarrinibc pic.twitter.com/Spzgm2YfEn
— Major League Wrestling (@MLW) February 18, 2021
Our first match of the show was the big $10,000 prize fight. Dan Lambert and Tom Lawlor were on commentary and Garrini was coming to the no rope ring with a massive bag of money. His challenger, Hawaii’s monster Mauna Loa. The stats claimed he was a 14-time Polynesian Pacific champion, so he had to be a top-tier challenger, right? Loa gave Garrini a scare early on with a knockdown and splash. He rolled outside, regrouped with Lawlor, and then quickly won with a Judo throw into a Rear-naked choke. It took less than a minute overall but somehow Garrini was able to overcome this “challenge” Lawlor had set for him. Since it was such a short fight I have included the full comedic opening skit above.
Kevin Ku (w/Dominic Garrini) defeated Zenshi via Bridging Dragon Suplex
Vicious Dragon screw leg whip counter from @kevinxku#FilthyIsland ?️
?https://t.co/uF8LyrBRE1 pic.twitter.com/MTsAtQ1b24
— Major League Wrestling (@MLW) February 18, 2021
Kevin Ku made his singles debut next at Filthy Island against the Chilean Luchador Sensation Zenshi. We’ve seen Zenshi take it to every challenger he has had but would he be able to best the striking prowess of Ku. Zenshi wasted no time with an entrance and instantly dived onto Ku from a tree. He slammed Ku into the mat and dropkicked him in the head, wasting no time on the advantage he’d gotten. The fight broke outside and Ku shut Zenshi down with a slam onto the ring edge. Zenshi avoided getting stomped and used the ring post to hit another dropkick but Ku caught him out of the air into a Dragon Screw. Ku locked up his leg until Zenshi finally kicked free and quickly locked on a Boston Crab to keep Zenshi grounded. Zenshi tried for a roll-up but Ku kicked out and nearly decapitated him with a clothesline. He stood on Zenshi’s throat and continued to lash out at Zenshi. Ku was nearly caught with another roll-up and continued to keep getting swept into pins. They continued their heated trade of strikes and Zenshi landed a flipping head kick. Ku threw Zenshi into the ring post and tried for the Dragon Suplex but Zenshi flipped free and launched more kicks. Ku tanked this and dumped Zenshi on his head with the Bridging Dragon Suplex for the win. Once again, Zenshi proves he isn’t a pushover but this was the big showcase for Ku’s striking acumen. This was a whole lot of fun with Zenshi adapting nicely to having no ropes.
Azteca Jungle Fight: Mil Muertes (w/Salina de la Renta) defeated Savio Vega via Crowbar KO
Mil Muertes lays out @SavioVega with a crowbar!#FilthyIsland ?️
?https://t.co/uF8LyrBRE1 pic.twitter.com/DKZmS3gUs6
— Major League Wrestling (@MLW) February 18, 2021
Don’t piss off Salina de la Renta. With Azteca Underground backing her, she had made an offer to buy up IWA Puerto Rico but when Savio Vega turned it down, he was going to be used as a sacrifice to the Man of 1000 Deaths, Mil Muertes in an Azteca Jungle Fight. Muertes attacked from behind and dragged Vega through the trees. They fought amongst the leaves and the ivy before disappearing from view as the camera cut out. When it returned later in the show, the pair were still brawling amongst the trees. Despite taking shots to the eyes and guts, Vega continued to give back as hard as he got to Muertes as the two continued to fight deeper into the jungle. Muertes choked out Vega with a vine and Vega downed Muertes with a headbutt. Vega tried to introduce a crowbar to the fight but Muertes took it from him and smashed him about with it. Salina handed him a shovel telling him to finish the job so Muertes pinned Vega, then began digging a grave.
Rocky Romero defeated Gringo Loco via Tornado DDT
.@GringoLocoOG goes flying into the "VIP Lounge".#FilthyIsland ?️
?https://t.co/uF8LyrBRE1 pic.twitter.com/k33Hixvqoo
— Major League Wrestling (@MLW) February 18, 2021
Up next was Rocky Romero returning to MLW to enjoy a little vacation time and taking on the Base God Gringo Loco. Both guys were out to recoup recent losses and Loco would have to get Gino Medina out of his head if he wanted to succeed against the King of Sneaky Style here. Then again, Romero wasn’t exactly happy to be here either, clearly annoyed at the production value. They started with a series of technical exchanges and used a series of quick manoeuvres to throw the other down. Loco locked up Romero and made the mistake of giving Romero a disrespectful tap, igniting a strike fest. Romero landed another takedown but Loco popped-up and knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. He forgot the ring had no ropes and nearly fell out of the ring, then Romero took his leg out and rolled him up. Loco kicked out and locked up Romero again, stretching the legs and an arm. Romero struck back again and a chop fight broke out. Romero fired up the locals in the crowd and landed a variant of the Forever Clotheslines and landed a Hurricanrana to the floor. He took the fight to the crowd seats but Loco kicked back and hit a suicide senton through Rocky and a sofa. Loco hit a British Fall but only got two and tried for a cartwheel moonsault but Romero dodged. Romero went to the arms but Loco pushed him away and nailed him with a spinning enzuigiri. He dodged a second British Fall, snapped Loco’s arm, and blasted him with a Rewind Kick. The end came from a running knee lift and a ring-post launching Tornado DDT. This was an exceptional match between the two and definitely deserved to be the longest on the show. Both guys made use of the no-ropes stipulation and had fun with it.
Between the Matches:
- The opening package for Filthy Island opened with Lawlor struggling to organise the catering for the event. The show needed Spam so he sent Dominic Garrini to the port with a bottle of lube and told him to take one for the team.
- Los Parks had a warning for CONTRA Unit ahead of the tag title match in a few weeks and warned Hammerstone that LA Park wanted to take his title too. Los Parks want to own all the gold to make their new boss at Azteca Underground happy.
- Hammerstone and Holliday were in Hawaii trying to relax and weren’t impressed with what the island had to offer. Instead, they went back to the resort for massages. Later in the show, they were getting the grand tour from Lawlor. Holliday was disgusted by what he was saying but Hammerstone seemed more than happy with what he was seeing.
- Alicia Atout interviewed TJP about the fallout with Bu Ku Dao and expressed his frustration at answering the question. He talked about accomplishing everything he’d wanted to as a cruiserweight and had tried to teach Bu Ku Dao everything he knew but couldn’t stand the fact Dao didn’t know how to win. He didn’t think he was a bully and thought that if Dao can’t take accountability, he couldn’t teach him anything else. He stormed off in a huff.
- Josef Samael issued a warning to Jordan Oliver about the fight he was getting himself into by challenging Jacob Fatu. He was going to revel in the consequences Oliver was going to face for messing in CONTRA’s affairs.
- PWI Top 10: Jordan Oliver, Calvin Tankman, Myron Reed, Mil Muertes, Richard Holliday, Mads Krügger, Low Ki, Lio Rush, Filthy Tom Lawlor, Alexander Hammerstone who remains unchallenged at number one.
King of the Knockout 2: Low Ki defeated King Mo via High Leg Choke
And just like that @OneWorldWarrior makes quick work of @KingMoFH. #FilthyIsland ?️
?https://t.co/uF8LyrBRE1 pic.twitter.com/PNnUcesyXy
— Major League Wrestling (@MLW) February 18, 2021
Last but not least, the main event. The king of the Knockouts 2. King Mo and Low Ki were about to have their massive rematch after months of taunting, threats, and athletic commission interference. Mo had taken the title under dubious circumstances, now it was time for the receipt. This was most certainly a trap and throughout the show, we’d seen the Von Erichs concerned for Low Ki’s safety. Lawlor had already screwed Ki with the advertising of the show, why not screw him out of the match too. Low Ki came out of the gate swinging and caught Mo with a barrage of strikes but Mo persevered and locked in a kneebar on Ki. He snapped Ki’s leg into the mat and scooped him up for a knee breaker. He put the kneebar on again and scooped Ki up a second time but Ki moved around to Mo’s back, slapped on the choke, and Mo collapse to the canvas. The ref couldn’t tell if he was trying to reach the mat edge or tap so ruled Low Ki the winner by submission. Lambert was furious, Lawlor was furious and everyone at ringside was furious. Team Filthy beat Low Ki down but the Von Erichs drove into the Filthy fight pit and cleaned house, sending Violence is Forever packing and ended the broadcast with Low Ki throwing Lawlor into the windscreen of their Jeep. Filthy Island didn’t end on the high note that Lawlor wanted as his main event crashed and burned, then he crashed and burned on the roof of a car. The event was not the promised 10000% Von Erich free but it was a whole lot of fun to watch. Next week it’ll be something different as MLW Underground returns for another week of old-school violence.
All images courtesy of MLW Twitter, Video courtesy of MLW YouTube