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What a huge week for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling with the announcement that Adam “Edge” Copeland is coming to MLP. I don’t believe there is any active Canadian star bigger than Copeland, and I hope this brings a lot of eyeballs to what MLP is now doing on national and international stages.
Let’s get to this week’s episode! Once again, if you’re looking for a detailed recap, head on over to Cory Strode’s comprehensive report.
EPISODE THREE OF MAYHEM
This was another solid hour of good in-ring action and short but effective promos. MLP continues to pack a lot into a 60-minute show with commercial breaks, yet the shows haven’t felt rushed. It’s impressive.
HIGHLIGHTS
It’s hard to top the reveal that Adam Copeland is coming to MLP. What a great get, and kudos to AEW for allowing one of their stars to help boost an upstart promotion.
Subculture vs Fight or Flight was a really fun tag match, easily my favourite of the week. It featured fast-paced action and creative tag offense without feeling like a stunt show. This was an athletic fight with two teams trying to outwork each other and grab the win. Good stuff.
I loved the short backstage interaction between Dani Luna and MLP Canadian Women’s Champ Gisele Shaw. Why Shaw allowed the slap without hitting Luna right back, I’m not sure, but I’m keen to see this feud continue to evolve and I’m really looking forward to their eventual match.
WHAT ELSE I LIKED
The opening bout between The Lethal Twist (Jay Lethal, Lee Johnson, and Blake Christian) vs Billy Gunn, Zach Gowen, and Psycho Mike was a fun tag match with some good wrestling and a bit of silliness to get the crowd going. Everybody worked hard, and a few of the things that stood out to me are: Zach Gowan is still so impressive. Psycho Mike has a heck of a presence, and Blake Christian plays an absolute prick really well.
The Mo Jabari promo was a good introduction for him as a sympathetic character, and I’ll pop any time Bret Hart is on my TV.
The PCO promo was well done, and I’m looking forward to seeing what role he plays on Mayhem in the coming weeks.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I found it hard to believe Evil Uno as a main event contender for Rohan Raja’s PWA Champion’s Grail. It was an underwhelming match, but the ends justified the means as the match spotlighted Raja and Aurora Teves as a heel act and set up the return of Maple Leaf Pro’s interim Canadian Champion Stu Grayson.
STRAY THOUGHTS
Mauro Ranallo does a great job of telling viewers the background of just about everyone on screen. MLP isn’t afraid to mention other promotions: WWE, AEW, TNA, New Japan, AAA, etc. In light of WWE recently taking over SiriusXM’s Pro Wrestling Nation, rebranding it as WWE Radio and scrubbing any mention of non-WWE-affiliated promotions from the station, I couldn’t help but laugh at the difference between the insular WWE and literally everyone else.
Ranallo referred to Billy Gunn as “the ageless wonder,” and I couldn’t agree more. I can’t believe this is the same dude I watched as a “Smoking Gunn” when I was a kid. I met Gunn at an autograph signing a year or two ago, and he couldn’t have been friendlier with fans. He is just as jacked in person as he appears on TV.
Thanks for reading! See you back here next week for episode four.
Eric Lewis is from New Brunswick, Canada. He’s been a pro wrestling fan for as long as he can remember, at least back to WrestleMania VII. During his journalism career, he was fortunate to interview wrestling legends like Bret Hart, Trish Stratus, Booker T, JJ Dillon, Christian Cage, Ted Dibiase, Lanny Poffo, and The Honky Tonk Man.
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