Written by: Bob Colling
Major League Wrestling presents Revolutions
Date: 5/9/2003
From: Orlando, FL
Matches:
1.) Paul London defeated Jerry Lynn
2.) Masada defeated Don Juan and Fast Eddie
3.) Homicide defeated Christopher Daniels
4.) The Samoan Island Tribe defeated the SAT
5.) Michael Shane defeated Norman Smiley
6.) Raven defeated CM Punk
7.) Fuego Guerrero defeated Ikuto Hidaka
8.) CW Anderson/Simon Diamond defeated Steve Williams/PJ Friedman to win the vacant MLW Global Tag Team Championships
9.) Mike Awesome defeated Masato Tanaka by disqualification
10.) LA Parka defeated Sabu
11.) Terry Funk defeated Steve Corino
Angle Developments/Notes:
1. The opener saw the young Paul London come out on top in his match with Jerry Lynn, who recently joined the evil side with Christopher Daniels. London got the pin by rolling Lynn up after Daniels failed at interfering. Afterwards, London was beaten down by Daniels and Lynn. I was honestly disappointed with this match, but they put some decent stuff in there. It’s a good win for London in MLW while Lynn still hasn’t won a match in the company, not that he needs one. However, if you are trying to make Lynn and Daniels into a legit heel group they kind of need to beat unknown names like London was here. Nevertheless, it was a decent match to open the show, I thought.
2. Next up saw three young students from Texas Wrestling Academy compete to earn a roster spot. All three men showcased some good moves and some spots that I hadn’t seen before. They rushed a few things because of limited time but they didn’t hurt the show, which has to be a positive thing. Masada got the win following a middle rope Death Valley Driver on Fast Eddie.
3. Homicide prevailed over Christopher Daniels in what as solid match. Homicide was able to pin Daniels following a Mafia kick after Daniels collided with Lynn. Afterwards, Homicide was attacked by Daniels and Lynn. It was a solid bout but the finish was rather lackluster to me. I wish they were given more time because the first five minutes or so were really good but it seemed like they were rushed.
4. The premise behind the next match was that the SAT’s were attacked by people backstage and they had no idea who they were. It ended up being the Samoan Island Tribe as being the culprits. The Tribe is pretty much a lesser version of Three Minute Warning, though they are actually related to them. The finish saw Mana pin Jose following a middle rope Samoan Drop. I enjoyed the match, although it turned into a squash for the Tribe pretty much. The Tribe executed their power moves really well and for the brief offense that the SAT got in, they entertained with their fast pace moves. It appeared the segment was quite effective in getting the Tribe major heat and some babyface heat for the SAT.
5. Prior to the next match, Michael Shane says that he has a counter for the Wiggle. Shane introduces his new manager, Francine! Smiley came out and questioned if Francine was actually a woman! Smiley brings out woman of his own, who has rather large breasts. Her name is Taylor Vaughn. As usual, late in the match we see a catfight after a double cross body spot left both men on the mat. Vaughn held Francine so that Smiley could do the Big Wiggle. Seconds later, Shane is able to pick up a big win following a super kick. I found the match to be rather boring since Smiley isn’t the greatest to be working with a younger guy. Don’t get me wrong Smiley is good but it was a just rather boring to me.
6. Hey, since it’s been working in ROH why not try it in MLW? Raven was supposed to wrestle Vampiro on the show, but he apparently no showed so we get Raven vs. Punk. These two put on an enjoyable bout that saw Punk control a good portion of the bout and managed to counter several DDT attempts by Raven. However, Raven was able to plant Punk with the DDT to pick up the win in his MLW debut match.
7. I should point out that Fuego Guerrero is Amazing Red under a mask. After a very good fast pace match filled with plenty of high risk moves, Guerrero managed to pin Ikuto Hidaka following a standing shooting star press. By far the best match on the show to this point as they delivered on pretty much everything the pace was perfect so the crowd would come alive for the reminder of the show, not to say they have been quiet but during this match they made the most noise compared to anything else.
8. Diamond and Anderson attack PJ Friedman with a chair to essentially take him out of the bout but Steve Williams was able to hold his own against the Extreme Horsemen members. A bloody Friedman returns to the ring and is super kicked four times, twice with a chair to the head by the Horsemen ends up being good enough for the win. Oddly enough, Williams didn’t make the save despite being in the ring. Well, that is explained when Williams attacks his former partner. While the match isn’t a masterpiece by any means it has some redeeming quality to it. Williams fighting off the Horsemen was enjoyable and it was fairly short so it didn’t drag on or anything.
9. As many people may know, I am a big fan of Awesome vs. Tanaka matches in ECW. However, this isn’t ECW and this wasn’t Mike Awesome from 1999/2000. Instead, Awesome was pretty out of shape at this point in time. I’m not saying the match was awful, but it was nowhere near the great matches they had in ECW. It was a still a fun bout but it wasn’t even close to what they could do in my opinion. Mike Awesome wins by disqualification after Tanaka accidentally hit the referee with a steel chair.
10. Parka vs. Sabu was given plenty of time and despite some repetitive moves by both men, it was still a decent encounter filled with chair shots and table spots. The only negative, which was quite bothering for me, was Alfonso, who was Sabu’s manager, missed several of his cues and you could hear both Parka and Sabu tell him what he had to do. That took a lot away from the match and was just annoying. By the way, Alfonso was Fidel Sierra for all the WCW Saturday Night 2000 fans out there. After the match, Sabu wanted to shake hands but that didn’t happen. So, he and Alfonso attack Parka with a chair.
11. As expected the main event was a bloody slugfest between two guys that have had wars in MLW’s brief existence. I wasn’t expecting much from these two, but they put on a pretty entertaining match thanks to going hardcore with the match and not doing things that Funk couldn’t pull off. Late in the match, CW Anderson and Simon Diamond ran down to attack Funk but where met with chair shots. Funk is able to counter a pile driver attempt through a table in the corner and rolls Corino up for the win! Afterwards, the Extreme Horsemen send Funk crashing through the table in the corner. Steve Williams runs down with a chair to scare the Horsemen away from the ring. Corino gets a microphone and talks about there being many battles in a war. Corino would kick Funk’s ass every night just for pure orgasm he gets from it! Corino says they will retire both Williams and Funk. Corino says Funk needs to name the time and place for them to continue their issues! Funk gets a microphone and suggests that Funk and Corino have a barbed wire match! Corino is shocked at the suggestion and Funk says “people in Florida don’t care if you die or not!” Corino doesn’t formally respond to the challenge, but since he said Funk name the time and place, it must be happening!
Final Thoughts:
Well, that felt like it took forever to get through. Not because it was a bad show, but rather because it was a eleven matches and four hours long!
At the time, and probably still, people had been looking for the next ECW. In my opinion, MLW was pretty close to what ECW was in terms of wrestling, though that could be said for many others as well. I thought the fans, production and the wrestlers efforts were all above average for the promotion.
There wasn’t anything that was awful, but there was a few matches that just didn’t click. Smiley/Shane quickly comes to mind as sub-par match but I hope Shane is used moving forward. The only other one could be Awesome/Tanaka which seemed to be booked based off their past matchups, something they didn’t live up to or come close to here.
Homicide/Daniels, Punk/Raven, Guerrero/Hidaka, and Sabu/Parka were all fine matchups and helped match the show be an overall enjoyable watch.
I can totally buy into The Samoan Island Tribe, but they resemble a lot like Three Minute Warning (which got chants of “We Want Rico”.) They very well could be contenders for the tag team championships soon.
Overall, I enjoyed the show. If you like hardcore action with a mix of fast paced wrestling with some high risk moves, you will like this show was well.
Thanks for reading.