Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

MLW Fusion January 18: Opera Cup Finals

The match started slow as Pillman cinched in a side headlock taking Smith to the mat. Smith pushed Pillman off into the ropes and took him down with a shoulder tackle. The two men continued to exchange holds with nobody getting the upper hand until Pillman dropkicked Davey Boy, who rolled to the outside. Back in the ring, Pillman ran the ropes and Davey knocked him down with a boot and tossed Pillman to the outside. From this point, Smith had an extended advantage over Pillman until Smith went for a top rope leg drop and missed. Pillman followed up with a snap suplex and a pinfall attempt to earn two. Pillman would go for a back slide and a small package with both receiving a two count. After a kame goye, Pillman hit a springboard clothesline for another two count. A dire promise DDT also resulted in a near fall for Pillman. Smith moved out of the way of a springboard cross body and hit a running powerslam for another near fall.

Both men made it back to their feet, and Davey Boy connected with a leaping tombstone piledriver followed by a diving headbutt, but Pillman kicked out. Frustrated, Smith put Pillman in a crossface for the submission victory.

Match Ratings

Six dimensions combine to make up the overall rating. Matches score ratings of 1-10 only if the match lasts for a minimum of 5 minutes.

1. Match Quality– Was the match well wrestled or sloppy?
2. Audience Engagement– Did the live audience care about the match?
3. Competitiveness– Was the match competitive or one-sided?
4. Stakes – Did the match matter?
5. Finish– Did the match end in a satisfying manner?
6. Performance: (1) Poor (2) Below Average (3) Average (4) Above Average (5) Excellent