Don’t Call It A Comeback: MLW Prepares TV Relaunch
After a seven-month hiatus, Major League Wrestling (MLW) Fusion will relaunch this Wednesday night. Like most pro wrestling organizations this year, MLW paused its operations in March as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country. The company’s television program, Fusion, will re-debut, or “Restart,” on multiple platforms.
While MLW may not have promoted any shows since spring, the company has made significant moves behind the scenes. MLW announced a major streaming deal with DAZN earlier this summer, where the Fusion show can be streamed anytime. The Fubo TV Sports Network, available on Pluto TV, will also carry new Fusion episodes every Wednesday night at 7:00pm and 10:00pm ET. Fusion will also stream on YouTube Wednesdays at 7:00pm, while episodes also air on beIn Sports Saturday nights at 10:00pm, with Spanish episodes airing Mondays at Midnight.
The deal with Fubo is particularly interesting: The 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. airings perfectly bookend the 8:00 p.m. head-to-head AEW Dynamite and NXT programs. Running on Wednesday nights is a shrewd move, as rival promotions have spent the last year educating fans to tune into wrestling that night, but Fusion’s positioning one hour before and immediately after the shows create a unique opportunity to attract new viewers.
MLW brands their product as “hybrid style” wrestling, a mixture of traditional US pro wrestling with Mexican lucha libre and Japanese “strong style.” The program eschews the comedy and light-hearted aspects of modern pro wrestling, with the emphasis on a realistic, though sometimes violent method of storytelling that helps make the show stand out.
“The Restart” promises three championships on the line at the event. The first will feature Brian Pillman Jr, who has been seen a few times on AEW programming this year, challenges Myron Reed for the MLW Middleweight title. National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone will also appear on the program, appearing “in action” against an unannounced opponent. Finally, Jacob Fatu, son of late WWE star Tonga Kid, will defend his MLW World Heavyweight Championship title against Davey Boy Smith Jr., another second-generation competitor familiar to both WWE and New Japan viewers.
A plethora of competitors familiar to MLW fans are also slated to appear, including the rest of CONTRA Unit, L.A. Park and his sons, L.A. Park Jr. and Hijo de L.A. Park, Richard Holliday, the Von Erichs, and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, to name a few. They have also announced the addition of seasoned competitors like ACH, Lio Rush, TJP, and former MMA star King Mo Lawal to the show.
With a loaded roster of talent ready to go, plus popular MLW faces like Salina de la Renta and Konnan stepping back into the fold, one pro wrestling’s best-kept secrets looks to make an immediate impact on the wrestling world with the Fusion’s “Restart” this week.
