MLW Fusion Preview: Big Damo Battles Krugger As FantasticaMania Continues

MLW’s FantasticaMania USA crossover with CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling continues on Fusion, airing Saturday, August 1, with a card built around monster violence, international star power, and the escalating war involving CONTRA Unit and the newly formed CONTRA MERCS.

The headline attraction pits CONTRA’s Big Damo against Mads Krule Krugger in a heavyweight collision billed as a fight between two of the promotion’s most destructive forces. Krugger, now aligned with the CONTRA MERCS after being pulled back into the group’s war, is being positioned as a resurrected nightmare unleashed on anyone in his path, while Damo brings the kind of size and power that make him one of the few credible answers to that kind of threat.

The FantasticaMania banner also delivers a loaded six-man showcase, with Místico, El Desperado, and Diego Hill teaming up against Último Guerrero, DOUKI, and Austin Aries. It’s the kind of cross-promotional trios matchup that’s become the calling card of the MLW-CMLL-NJPW alliance, blending lucha libre artistry, junior heavyweight unpredictability, and NJPW strong-style pedigree in one ring. For Diego Hill, it’s another opportunity to prove he belongs alongside proven international talent, while Austin Aries’ presence adds a layer of veteran ring psychology that could tilt momentum in either direction.

Elsewhere on the card, MLW Insider Rich Bocchini sits down with all three members of The Skyscrapers — Donovan Dijak, Bishop Dyer, and Josh Bishop — who now hold the MLW World Tag Team Championship as a three-man unit. The addition of Bishop to a team that already won the titles in June 2025 raises real questions about how the group plans to operate going forward, and whether their ambitions stretch beyond the tag division. With the trio already dominant, the rest of the tag team roster has reason to be nervous about what comes next.

The in-ring undercard also features Glasgow Boys On Top’s Mark Coffey and Wolfgang taking on CONTRA Unit’s Okumura and Ikuro Kwon. GBOT arrived in MLW talking tough, and this match gives them a chance to back it up against a CONTRA duo built for disruption rather than sportsmanship — the wily, cruel Okumura paired with the fast, dangerous striking of Kwon.

The show also addresses the fallout from the attack on Teddy Long, with rising star LaBron Kozone speaking out. Long’s return to MLW had been framed as a feel-good moment for the promotion, making the assault that followed land as a deliberate shot at the roster’s old-school foundation. Kozone, positioned as one of MLW’s top new-generation prospects, now finds himself with a personal stake in the CONTRA conflict, and how he channels that anger could shape his direction going forward.

Taken together, the card underscores how thoroughly CONTRA’s war has bled into every corner of MLW programming, even as the FantasticaMania partnership keeps injecting fresh international matchups into the mix. With The Skyscrapers looming over the tag division and CONTRA MERCS actively recruiting monsters like Krugger, the promotion looks to be building toward a bigger flashpoint in the weeks ahead.

MLW Fusion airs Saturday on YouTube at 6:05 PM ET, on VEEPS at 9:00 PM ET, and on beIN SPORTS at 10:00 PM ET, with the episode also streaming on NJPW World the following Monday at 12:00 PM JST.