MLW Fusion Preview: Strickland Defends Against Pentagon

The MLW World Heavyweight Championship will be defended on FUSION for the first time ever tonight. After weeks of build-up, World Champion Shane Strickland will face off with Pentagon Jr. in tonight’s main event. Team Filthy makes an appearance tonight with the first-ever Simon Gotch Prize Fight Challenge. And the firsts continue, as the initial women’s division matchup on MLW: FUSION will be featured tonight.

If you can’t access beIN SPORTS on your cable/satellite/streaming provider, the full episode will be uploaded to MLW’s official Youtube channel Saturday night at 6:05pm ET.

Battle of the Besties

Santana Garrett and Chelsea Green are best friends. They have traveled up and down the road together in professional wrestling. But tonight, they make history. Green and Garrett will be the first two women’s grapplers to be featured on FUSION. How will their friendship and intimate knowledge of one another affect this match? What effect will the outcome have on the MLW women’s division? Those questions will be answered at 8 p.m. ET in our first bout of the evening.
Filthy Fallout

Two weeks ago on FUSION, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Simon Gotch and Team Filthy laid out Jimmy Havoc. Havoc had just finished a brutal encounter with “Bad Boy” Joey Janela and accidentally bumped into Lawlor outside the arena. Lawlor wasn’t happy about being interrupted. So he and his buddies beat down an already exhausted Havoc. Tonight, Lawlor has promised to apologize for his actions. Stay tuned …

Gotch Prize Fight Challenge

Team Filthy and Simon Gotch have offered a cash prize to anyone who can last five minutes with “the Great Gotch.” The first man to step up and accept the challenge will get his chance tonight. According to Gotch, his opponent doesn’t even have to win tonight’s matchup, just avoid submission or pinfall for five minutes. Team Filthy says they have lined up an accomplished martial artist lined up as an opponent. Will Gotch hang onto his “large sum of cash”?

The Gold Is On the Line

Major League Wrestling fans know the impresaria Salina de la Renta lusts after championship gold. Heck, her company – Promciones Dorado – is named after the Spanish word for gold. Tonight, her top star Pentagon Jr. has the opportunity to bring gold home to Promociones Dorado with a shot at World Heavyweight Champion Shane “Swerve” Strickland.

While it’s about the World Title, this matchup also got a bit more personal over the last few weeks. First, de la Renta tried messing with Strickland’s mind, doing some “interior decorating” in his locker room. Then, Pentagon Jr. tried messing with Swerve’s eyesight. In a backstage altercation, set up by de la Renta, Penta sprayed red mist into Strickland’s face, causing damage to the champion’s eyes. Following that brazen attack, MLW officials stripped Pentagon Jr. of his No. 1 Contender status and forced him to put his World Title shot on the line against his brother Rey Fenix last week. Following an incredible battle, Pentagon Jr. reclaimed the opportunity to take on Strickland for the World Title.

Will Strickland’s vision be affected by the mist attack? Was Swerve’s ability to train for this important defense of the World Championship impacted by his injuries? How much does Pentagon Jr. have left in the tank after the brutal match with Fenix last week? Or will his victory give Pentagon the momentum needed to unseat the champ?

We’ll find out, as it all goes down tonight on FUSION!

Join Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini as they call the action for an action packed 60 minute shot of Major League Wrestling: FUSION!

Use #MLWFusion when tweeting about tonight’s broadcast.