Contrary to popular belief amongst the more casual watchers, the sport of pro wrestling exists outside the massive shadow of the leading company, WWE. In recent times, AEW has risen up as viable competition but the company can hardly be considered an underdog operating on a scale below WWE.
The company has the blessings of a billionaire family and just enough prestige that television networks would love to have them around. The real underdogs and dark horses of the pro wrestling industry are the promotions striving for success while the shadows of the two industry giants loom over them.
These promotions cannot match the production value and financial might of WWE and AEW but from a pure wrestling standpoint, these underdogs consistently outperform the bigger companies.
The independent wrestling scene has experienced a surge in the past few years and a number of companies have emerged from the shadows and into the limelight, attracting more than a few eyeballs and even securing streaming deals to further showcase what professional wrestling truly is. Pro wrestling in essence is controlled chaos and Major League Wrestling is another promotion that lives by this philosophy.
MLW was found by former WWE writer, Court Bauer in 2002. This was after the shutdown of ECW and WCW which triggered a boom period for the independent wrestling scene. MLW was one of the many companies that emerged during the boom but with TNA and ROH going expand onto the national scale, MLW was stuck in the shadows, and eventually, in 2004, the company was shut down due to undisclosed reasons and many assumed this was the permanent closure.
The Rebirth of MLW
Wrestling fans moved ahead with the other promotions as the company was never really seen as a big deal. However, in 2011, MLW returned, but only as a podcast network that focused on producing digital content. The company would continue to operate as a content curator and creator until 2017 when MLW returned to broadcasting wrestling shows and finally amassed a reputable name in the independent scene. The company was able to secure a television deal with beIN Sports to air their program, MLW: Fusion and this was the breakthrough they needed as the company had ample talent and creativity to run with the opportunity.
MLW features one of the more impressive rosters on the independent scene, with names such as Alexander Hammerston, Jacob Fatu, Lee Moriarty, and Bobby Fish. The promotion is keen to tap into the Spanish market and therefore, MLW boasts an extensive number of luchadors and they are given sufficient television time to establish a presence on the programming. Moreover, aside from a number of high-level professional wrestlers, veteran MMA fighters such as Tom Lawlor and King Mo are also a part of the promotion, providing added credibility and prestige to the overall product.
The roster of MLW is certainly capable of wrestling classics but to the credit of the company, the storylines take precedence over in-ring actions and a sufficient amount of time is devoted to fleshing out characters and putting emphasis on the development of ongoing angles. The storylines are Attitude Era levels of hype and edge and the promotion is not afraid to spark controversy, putting out deathmatches and brutal displays of violence.
Simply put, in terms of entertainment value and talented personal, MLW has its bases covered. However, good workers can only go so far on their own and need an united force to truly take the company to the next level. WCW is a fine example of this, as while they had acquired every major wrestling superstar of the 90s, the lack of structure and leadership hampered the quality, and ultimately, the company was brought by its main rival.
What Is Next for MLW?
This is where Court Bauer excels. As the figurehead of the promotion, Bauer seeks to expand his promotion worldwide, with particular growth into sectors WWE and AEW continually ignore, such as the Latin America demographic. Bauer thinks through the mindset of a diehard and fashions his company to meet the expectations of what a hardcore wrestling fan would want out of a product these days.
As the rest of the wrestling world continues to operate under the billion-dollar empires of Vince McMahon and Tony Khan, Bauer is not content on just staying regional or touring some days out of the year.
The former WWE writer is determined to take on the two big names in WWE and AEW and while this is a tall order, pro wrestling is certainly going through a mini-boom period of sorts, with the emergence of AEW and a number of indie promotions rising up and trying to ascend to the next level. More corporate entities and televisions network will be keen to acquire a wrestling promotion and once finances are handled, MLW is certainly capable of putting on shows that captivate and draw in viewers.
In the next few years, WWE and AEW will certainly remain at the top but a number of smaller promotions may finally get out from under the massive shadow and MLW may very well be the next one in line.