MLW Fusion Returns May 30 in Iconic 6:05 ET Saturday Slot
Major League Wrestling will revive its flagship weekly series MLW Fusion on Saturday, May 30, with a two-hour season premiere streaming free on YouTube at 6:05 PM ET. An encore presentation will air the same evening at 10 PM ET on beIN Sports.
MLW announced the premiere Tuesday from its Charleston, South Carolina headquarters, locking in broadcast details after months of speculation. Subsequent episodes will air weekly at the same 6:05 PM ET Saturday slot, returning the company to a year-round, hour-long format for the first time since Fusion went on hiatus in December 2023.
The time slot itself is the story. Georgia Championship Wrestling settled into the 6:05 PM ET Saturday block on Ted Turner's WTBS in 1972, and the slot remained the foundation of Southern wrestling for nearly three decades through WCW Saturday Night before disappearing from cable in 2000. MLW's pivot to that exact airtime, 24 days after Turner's May 6 death at age 87, reads as a deliberate tribute.
"6:05 is sacred ground," MLW founder and CEO Court Bauer said in the company's announcement. "That time slot belongs to the history of this sport as made famous by legendary Ted Turner. We're not just bringing back a weekly show, we're planting our flag and celebrating wrestling's southern soul. MLW Fusion is back, it's free, and it's built for the fans who remember what Saturday night wrestling felt like."
MLW has stacked the deck for the relaunch through an aggressive talent acquisition push. Recent signings include Shotzi, Lady Frost, and Trevor Lee on the free agent front, alongside Scottish heavyweights Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, Wolfgang, and Big Damo from the UK independent scene. Prospects Brick Savage, Zamaya, and Jay Bishop round out the developmental layer.
They join a roster led by reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion Killer Kross, who captured the title at Battle Riot VIII on January 29 by going wire-to-wire from the No. 1 entry. Former UFC star Matt Riddle, Mexican box office draw Místico, The Good Brothers, The Skyscrapers (Bishop Dyer and Donovan Dijak), Satoshi Kojima, "Filthy" Tom Lawlor, and Austin Aries form the established core.
The Fusion launch also coincides with a packed live event slate. MLW returns to The Melrose Ballroom in New York City on June 11, followed by a two-night Philadelphia stand on June 12 and 13. Both events are expected to serve as Fusion television tapings.
Fusion originally premiered on beIN Sports on April 20, 2018, and ran for five seasons before its final 2023 episode aired on December 14. The MLW Fusion 2026 premiere airs Saturday, May 30 at 6:05 PM ET on the company's official YouTube channel.
