AEW star Evil Uno recently spoke with Fightful on a number of topics including running Mystery Wrestling and the company’s longevity:
Uno said, “When I started, I just assumed we’d keep doing it until either I would run out of money or until something stupid on my show would cancel all the shows entirely. I’m not surprised we’re at seven, I think I’m more surprised at how well it’s been going. It’s been building up steam show over show. We’re selling out our venues, we’re getting 1500 to 2000 viewers live. It’s been going very very well and I only have fewer surprises in store for the next few.”
On getting stars to appear on shows:
“I reach out myself. This is a venture that has my name attached to it and I go at the forefront and I ask my friends or people that I’ve met. I have 20 years of experience to so I’ve networked a long time and met a lot of people. I don’t want to say I know what people like in wrestling, but I kow what I like in wrestling and I try to aim for people that I think are very good and will supply great professional wrestling. I also do take into question how surprised people would be to see certain people in a small bingo hall in Quebec, Canada.”
On his goal for the promotion:
“Mystery Wrestling at its key and its very heart is about two things. It’s about surprises and giving you great professional wrestling. The surprises tell themselves, they’re all about the big names,” he said. “Getting Daniel Garcia, who is one of the hottest names at this current moment and putting him in front of this crowd, it will elicit a reaction. It is a bit calculated, but a lot of what I do, I try to run shows that go within two hours. This was my longest show because I booked one match more than I should have. I try to keep it six matches, 90 minutes, it’s a sweet spot for me. I think if you give people too much wrestling, you’ll not get your fans to come back. I try to aim for a short show and the way I do it, I like all wrestling, I like variety.
“Why give them one taste when you can give them a buffet? I try to pick and choose the best of everything,” he continued. “When I wanted to showcase Lucha, I found Gravity and Gringo Loco, the best base in wrestling. When I want to show Joshi, I have Maki Itoh and Emi Sakura. Psycho Mike will be on every show forever because he is what I think is Mystery. Burning the tropes of pro wrestling within a comedic setting in the ring. I try to always aim to do things differently, showcasing a lot of Canadians because they don’t have the same platform as a lot of other people. I try to mix the big surprises of elsewhere, but also some of the best pro wrestlers from around here who may not get those opportunities. At the very end, the most simplistic way is this is a buffet, I want everyone to enjoy it. If you like one type of wrestling, we’re probably going to hammer on it at some point. If you don’t like the other type of wrestling, wait until the next match, it will switch around.”
You can check out Uno’s comments in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
