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What a huge week for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP). In recent days, MLP announced that its latest Mayhem TV tapings and the October Northern Rising event are sold out. It’s nice to see Canada’s national promotion continue to build momentum.
If you’re looking for a detailed recap of this week’s Mayhem, head on over to Cory Strode’s comprehensive report. Otherwise, here are my thoughts from the show.
EPISODE FOUR OF MAYHEM
It’s been one month since Mayhem launched, and it’s proving to be a fun hour of wrestling every week. We can usually count on some good action, including one really strong match and solid pre-taped interviews to profile talent, all packed into a lean 60 minutes with commercials. MLP has done a good job mixing up more serious angles and characters with a bit of comedy and wrestling whackiness.
THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHT
The main event, which saw 1st Faction successfully defend the MLP Canadian Tag Team championships against Subculture, was a fun, fast-paced tag match. Subculture and Dani Luna have stood out as a really strong act in the first four weeks of MLP Mayhem, and both teams delivered a strong match with some innovative offense.
Dani Luna taking out Bryce Hansen after Hansen’s interference was awesome. No hesitation, no messing around, she just kicked him in the face and sent him packing. Gisele Shaw showed up to even the odds and take Luna out of the situation, and at this point I can only assume it’s Luna who will take on Shaw at Northern Rising.
Great main event segment all around.
WHAT ELSE I LIKED
The Adam Copeland segments to build to his appearance at Northern Rising are so effective. It’s going to be a helluva moment when Copeland debuts.
“Big L” Alice Crowley and Taylor Rising had a fun match. In an era where some matches end after only 37 finishing sequences, I enjoyed Big Al getting the shock win with a rollup. PCO’s brief post-match attack on Chris Chambers was fun, and I look forward to watching PCO eventually rip Chambers limb from limb.
MLP is doing a great job introducing Mo Jabari through these weekly promos featuring Bret Hart.
STRAY THOUGHTS
I don’t think enough good can be said about Mauro Ranallo’s work on Mayhem every week. His dramatic presentation may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Ranallo does an incredible job getting over storylines and characters, injecting wrestling history and providing context whenever he can.
Thanks to Don Callis for speaking for me, calling out the weak chops between Gresham and TJP in the opening act. “I’m not sure what the point of this is,” Callis said. It was a “cute” spot that briefly entertained the crowd but otherwise awkwardly suspended the action.
Wrestling is subjective. I can totally get behind a character like Luigi Primo as a funny undercard act, but it’s hard to take him seriously in the ring with pizza crust. That said, I was happy to see Michael Allen Richard Clark get the win, and I enjoyed Zach Gowen in this week’s edition of “wrestler at the announce booth.”
Thanks for reading! See you back here next week for episode five.
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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