Luke's appearance on MLW has the fans of the promotion wanting more of the WWE Superstar, and since his appearance, Luke has made two enemies in the form of nZo and Richard Holliday.
WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H had a meeting with the MLW management and has allowed Luke to be in action for the promotion. The Nomad has caught up with the group he met known as The Dynasty; MJF only went back for one night due to his full commitment with AEW, but the event that got Luke's attention is the implosion of the Dynasty when Holliday turned on his supposed best friend, Alexander Hammerstone.
The reason for the Most Marketable's betrayal is that he never had the spotlight while Hammerstone had his when he defeated Jacob Fatu, cousin of the Usos and Roman Reigns for the MLW World Title. Since then, Richard has been hungry for gold around his waist, and he dared to call out the WWE Intercontinental Champion for a title match.
The match was made official as the main event for the week's MLW Fusion, just a few days until the Nomad's career threatening TLC match against Vince McMahon. To even the odds, Liv volunteered to be in her man's corner in case Holliday's girlfriend Alicia Atout tried something.
(In the arena)
Luke and Liv walked through the halls while the Nomad had his Intercontinental title draped over his shoulder; as the couple walked, they bumped into the current MLW World Heavyweight Champion, Alexander Hammerstone.
Hammerstone: when you're done with Holliday, leave him to me
Luke: and when you see that punk nZo, beat him up and let me pick his bones
With their interests aligned due to their common enemies, the two champions nodded in allegiance and went their separate ways.
(In the locker room)
Liv was sewing the MLW logo onto Luke's leather jacket while the Nomad stretched and warmed up for his in-ring debut for the promotion.
After she finished sewing, the Jersey native took a picture of the jacket showcasing all of the promotions (PWR, NJPW, AEW and MLW) with the caption #LivtoRebel.
Luke: how is the jacket, babe?
Liv: I just put in the logo to update it
Luke: oh wow, that looks good
Liv: can we get lumpia after the show?
Luke chuckled at his babe's cuteness.
Liv: how about this? After I kick Holliday and nZo's asses, we'll go to Jollibee
Liv: yay! Love you babe!
Luke: love you too, now let's go give the crowd an awesome fight they came to see
Full of motivation and mind games for Vince, Luke and Liv walked out of the locker room and made their way to the ring. With the MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone as their ally, the odds are even for now.
(In the arena)
The theme of the Most Marketable Man played as the Clout Couple consisting of Richard Holliday and the Interview Queen Alicia Atout made their way down the ramp for the main event of the night with Holliday getting a huge opportunity to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship while the fans are in for a treat from the WWE x MLW deal.
Then the theme of the Supreme King played and Liv skipped to the stage and stared down at Richard and Alicia right as the Nomad Assassin walked out with his signature cold look while he stares a hole at the Clout Couple.
Sporting his leather jacket with the other promotions he appeared on and with Liv by his side, Luke walked down the ramp and got in the ring, not taking his eyes off Holliday. The Nomad removed his jacket as Liv gave him a good luck kiss before exiting the ring.
After the referee raised the WWE Intercontinental title, the bell rang and the match went underway.
Luke Ardiente (c) w/ Liv Morgan vs. Richard Holliday w/ Alicia Atout for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Nomad Assassin and the Most Marketable locked up, and from the get go, Luke showed off his strength by pushing off Holliday with ease. The Most Marketable was in shock and showed some intimidation while Alicia was shouting instructions as Luke showed no expression, similar to his AEW counterpart, HOOK.
Holliday got back up and went for a waistlock, but Luke got out of it and transitioned into a side headlock; Holliday then got up and pushed Luke to the ropes to begin a sequence with a shoulder block; then Luke got back up and launched Richard out of the ring to the floor.
Alicia went to check on her man, but she immediately backed up as she saw Luke telling her to not get in his way; Luke picked up Holliday and threw him back in the ring.
As the referee checked on Holliday, Alicia got Luke's attention and was about to go for a slap, but Liv appeared behind her and grabbed her arm. Luke smirked as he told to Alicia:
Luke: watch me kick your man's ass
The Nomad got back in the ring, but Holliday pounced and went on the offense. Richard picked Luke up and Irish whipped him to the ropes to ground the champion with a spinebuster, but it was only good enough for a two count.
(Fast forward)
Holliday was measuring Luke for his finisher, a Vertical Swinging Suplex in which he calls the 2008. The Most Marketable Man executed his move, but to his horror, Luke sat up and now had an angry look on his face.
Richard went for another 2008, but Luke countered with a German suplex. Holliday stumbled to the corner and Luke connected combinations of punches and chops before nailing Richard with a spinebuster of his own.
Luke: get up!
Holliday crawled to the ropes while Luke stalked and waited and as Richard turned around, Luke got him on his shoulders and hits the Super Polymerization, but before he went to the cover, nZo came out and climbed to the top turnbuckle and hits Luke with the missile dropkick, forcing the referee to end the match in disqualification, but the move didn't faze the Nomad.
Luke saw Liv's ex-boyfriend and immediately went to trade punches with the so called Realest Guy, but the numbers game soon catch up as Holliday joined on the fray.
The Nomad seemed to hold his ground as he pushed Holliday off and focused on nZo. However, help came as the MLW World Champion Alexander Hammerstone came down and aided the Nomad with his eyes set on his former partner, Richard Holliday.
A brawl ensued in the ring as the four men beat the hell out of each other.
As the dust settled, Hammerstone flattened Holliday with the Nightmare Pendulum while Luke shut nZo up by putting him to sleep in the Katipunan Clutch. The Nomad held on for a few seconds before letting go. Then the announcer at ringside said the result:
Announcer: here is your winner by disqualification and still... the WWE Intercontinental Champion, Luke Ardiente!
The result did not satisfy Luke due to the fact that the loud mouth former Enzo Amore had to ruin a great match, but his alliance with Hammerstone proved fruitful as they fulfilled their promises. Luke stepped up to Hammerstone and the two champions stared down for a bit. Then, the MLW Champion held out his hand.
Luke took a second to think, but nodded as he shook hands with the former Dynasty member. MLW Fusion ended with Luke, Liv and Hammerstone raising their arms up while Holliday and Alicia walked out and nZo laying flat on his back inside the ring.