Taking MLW to the Next Level

Since the 2018 return of Major League Wrestling, fans have been subject to a roller coaster of a ride, watching the company grow into a top five promotion, having its momentum stopped by the global pandemic, and now, while putting on quality shows, failing to sustain any momentum gained. As someone who has watched the product for years, I ask myself, “What can MLW do to help sustain its momentum?” Let’s take a look at some items MLW can address. 

Let’s start with the biggest detriment to their sustained growth; complete inconsistency with their broadcasts. For a wrestling promotion to be considered a national product, it needs to have a consistent, easy to obtain broadcast schedule. MLW’s bread and butter, so to speak, has been its flagship show, Fusion. Fusion has traditionally been found on YouTube, often simulcasted on BeIn Sports. However, Fusion has been put on hiatus several times, for nebulous reasons, at best. It can be acknowledged that most television shows and sports can be divided into seasons. Seasons can be of varying length but give the stars and creative a chance to recharge and decide the direction creative needs to go. However, most sports/TV shows know the approximate time the season will be returning. MLW has not always been forthcoming with that information. It is difficult to maintain any momentum when your fans do not know when your product is returning to the airwaves. Fusion has also been bumped from YouTube to the Pro Wrestling TV service for a brief period, eschewing YouTube completely. 

Fusion has also been traded out for other short-term programming. In early 2022, we saw the debut of the MLW Azteca miniseries, which at least was broadcasted on YouTube. In 2023, we saw the debut of MLW Underground. This ten-week maxiseries took place on the Reelz streaming service. After the Reelz deal ended, Fusion returned to YouTube until December of 2023, when MLW switched to its current broadcast formula of a large event on Triller TV, followed by a large event broadcast on YouTube. 

Consistency is going to be key in all facets for business to be successful. If fans cannot easily find your product on a consistent basis, whether due to offseason, channel surfing, or rotating programming, then fans are not going to stay with the promotion. The current landscape of professional wrestling provides fans with what they want right now, and if they cannot find your product in a timely manner, then they will move on from your product. 

Speaking of consistency, one of the leading storylines in MLW is Cesar Duran’s Azteca Lucha feud with Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado. Both performers style themselves as promotors instead of mere managers, especially Duran, who has had branded MLW shows under the Azteca banner. The battles between the two promotors are rival luchadores from CMLL and look to be coming to a head in May’s MLW Azteca show in Cicero Illinois. MLW Azteca is being promoted as a lucha show complete with Azteca Lucha branding, which happened with the “miniseries” two years when MLW partnered with the CRASH in Tijuana. 

Whereas getting to see lucha libre is always a treat to watch and it’s usually limited to one match per show, having a feud being battled almost exclusively by wrestlers contracted outside of the company is a questionable decision as it leaves established talent in the background or entirely left off the show. However, I find the decision to fly this feud under a separate brand to be questionable, especially since, as of this writing, no MLW workers are advertised as performing on the show. Dedicating a show without much in the line of MLW Branding and workers may hurt the product overall, given the current broadcast schedule and how many of these luchadores will be staying after the event? MLW also risks losing any fans gained from the lucha heavy promoting once the Azteca-Dorado feud ends. 

While on the topic of outside talents. MLW has worked hard to build partnerships with other promotions. This has allowed for exciting dream matches between competitors and, at present time, brought NJPW’s Satoshi Kojima’s second MLW World Championship. Unfortunately, these partnerships appear to be one sided. MLW is importing stars from other promotions, but we are not seeing MLW talent being exported. Alex Kane, Tom Lawlor, etc. are not going to CMLL shows. Even when talent are acknowledged as traveling and defending titles elsewhere, rarely do we see any footage or visual acknowledgment of the worker’s exploit elsewhere. Delmi Exo won the wXw Women’s championship on an MLW show and then we saw nothing of her in Germany defending either championship. To MLW’s credit, they may be attempting to right this by showing a match featuring Mistico in Arena Mexico during their War Chamber event. 

Now with any indie, talent is in a certain state of flux. Talent come in for a one shot and leave or talent may stay for years. MLW is no exception. However, MLW has a habit of hyping talent that they seem to have no intention of keeping. We had seen hype packages for WARHORSE and Gnarls Garvin, only for them to be around for one taping cycle. More recently two members of the much-hyped MLW Draft have been MIA. Kevin Blackwood & O’Shay Edwards were prominent members of the draft. Blackwood was even drafted #1 and did not make his debut for months…and then only wrestled two matches. Edwards was not only drafted but was a member of the Bomaye Fight Club. Spent most of his stint playing hype for Kane during his titles matches and now is not even doing that! Why waste valuable airtime if the talent is not going to be a focus going forward?  

At least these outside talents have names. A staple of MLW is invading stables bent on taking the company over. However, these stables utilize liberal use of henchmen that periodically appear in matches as competitors. It’s hard to take stables seriously when they are bulked up by nameless ghouls who only appear as cannon fodder. Currently Azteca Lucha and Contra have “members” that are literally numbers the rare occasion they compete. Alex Kane’s Bomaye Fight Club differs slightly as his members aren’t masked…but outside of a core group (who is not even seen anymore), none of them have been acknowledged. This particular example is extra baffling as we were supposed to care when this group abandoned Kane to join up with AJ Francis. Ignoring this example, how nameless ghouls are allowed to exist in what is supposed to be a fight league stretches the reaches of suspension of disbelief. Imagine the controversy if any other company, wrestling, boxing, or MMA would periodically be invaded by people dressed like Batman villain henchmen and by the next fight, things are back to normal, outside of commentary’s references to the masked people. 

Lastly, controversy. Eric Bischoff says controversy creates cash. If that were the case, WCW would still be in business. Every wrestling company courts controversy, but how they deal with it is what gets remembered. MLW regularly courts controversy, whether small or large. Recently, MLW brought back Matt Riddle after his release from WWE. Due to allegations of drug abuse, sexual abuse by at least two women, and a public incident with airport security at JFK airport, Riddle has been a controversial figure in professional wrestling. The hiring alone was enough to turn off a portion of the fanbase to the product, but there have been no attempts to justify his return to those fans outside of acknowledging Riddle as a figurehead when MLW returned in 2018. To compound matters, in Riddle’s return match, color commentator Matt Striker made comments noting the no matter what someone had done, you do not pass on a talent like Riddle. Coupled with sexual abuse allegations against him, Striker set the internet wrestling community ablaze at how tone deaf this scenario was. MLW did not issue any statements on either incident…but Striker would be replaced on commentary the next month without explanation. I will note that allegations are just that, allegations, and to find a major professional wrestling company without at least one “problematic” talent is not an easy task. However, to completely ignore concerns while attempting to get a stable foothold in the professional wrestling landscape is a questionable PR tactic allowing the distinct possibility that fans will think that MLW either does not care about or actively encourages behaviors and, as a fan, makes it difficult to promote the company. 

Ever since Major League Wrestling’s return in 2018, it has branded itself as an alternative in the world of professional wrestling akin to the spirit of the original ECW. Its self-styled hybrid wrestling that allows for exciting matchups, featuring a strong batch of up-and-coming talent mixing with established names. Despite a strong following, MLW has had difficulties maintaining momentum, whether it was through talent raiding, a global pandemic, or some of the reasons listed above. As such, fans have a phrase to describe MLW in “MLW is going to MLW.” However, MLW has all the tools it needs to succeed, all it needs is some tightening up. Hopefully, some of these issues are easy to address and will allow for a more consistent product. 

Rob Kamerer is a fan of MLW. So much so, that he hosts the MLW Con-Fusion podcast, dedicated to bringing you all that you may or may not need to know about Major League Wrestling and its television programming. Rob is also a regular contributor to the Urban Wrestling Network. He can be found on most social media @thenovaofcass.