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Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) had a big week on Mayhem with Priscilla Kelly taking the MLP Women’s Championship from Gisele Shaw in a hard-fought match and Steve Maclin once again destroying everyone who … well, just about everyone.
Mayhem was broadcast from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and it was a strong show on the road to Northern Rising next month. Let’s get to it.
HIGHLIGHTS:
The hard-hitting Shaw vs Kelly main event was a really fun match with a finish I didn’t see coming. I fully expected Shaw to win and continue her dominance of the division. I liked the story of Shaw trying desperately to put Kelly down, but Kelly wouldn’t give in. That was a hell of a spear from Shaw!
Kelly showed that winning the title meant a lot to her, and Nikki Storm’s post-match beatdown was great. With Shaw then facing off with Storm, I can’t help but wonder if the Northern Rising Women’s title match will become a three-way with Storm and Shaw both trying to unseat new champ Priscilla Kelly.
The other highlight was the opening match/angle with Steve Maclin and Rhino. Rhino was out for revenge given Maclin’s recent actions, but Maclin attacked Rhino to start the show and got himself disqualified early when he used pepper spray. I couldn’t help but wonder if Adam Copeland might run in to save his buddy Rhino.
MLP has to get a lot done in a short 43 minutes each week, so I understand the quick edits throughout most episodes of Mayhem. MLP gave the Maclin attack angle some breathing room. They showed Rhino lying in the ring, surrounded by doctors, and played it seriously. A replay followed before we saw Maclin arrested by police for assaulting the doctor. Great stuff.
REST OF THE SHOW:
Rohan Raha (with Aurora Teves) and Capitan Suicida had a fun, fast-paced match. That landing Capitan took on the dive to the floor … ouch!
Bryce Hansen w/1st Faction vs London Lightning barely got started before Dan Moff ran down the aisle and destroyed them both while 1st Faction simply watched. Psycho Mike then made the save before Crazzy Steve - who one segment earlier had been revealed as the voice in Psycho Mike’s head - turned on Mike. This was apparently to set up Mike vs Steve vs Dan at Northern Rising, but it felt rushed and didn’t really resonate.
Stu Grayson was pounding on Josh Alexander’s door, wanting answers about Don Callis’s involvement with Alexander. Grayson was told that Alexander would only speak to him in the ring, but no further conversation happened on the show.
STRAY THOUGHTS
I couldn’t take my eyes off the doctor when he arrived to help Rhino after Maclin’s attack. The white coat was too obvious, but I’ll admit that it took me a minute to realize Maclin was going to destroy him.
Do we think Cope appears before Northern Rising? I think he needs to. I hope it happens.
The camera shot of the young kid so excited to see Priscilla Kelly win the MLP Women’s Canadian Champion. Just awesome. Wrestling can create special moments like that.
Northern Rising is shaping up to be a hell of a show. Let’s look at this:
That’s a stacked card. I’m not a fan of super long shows, but I do think Northern Rising needs at least one more women’s match.
One more thing: if it’s not obvious yet, I generally try to avoid spoilers and such so I can enjoy wrestling shows without awareness of what’s to come.
Thanks for reading! See you back here next week.
MLP Mayhem airs on TSN2 in Canada and on MyAEW.com everywhere.
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 interviewed wrestling legends including Bret Hart, Trish Stratus, Booker T, JJ Dillon, Christian Cage, Ted DiBiase, Lanny Poffo, and The Honky Tonk Man.
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