In the world of professional wrestling today, the WWE and AEW have a stranglehold on the business. With deep pockets, both promotions are able to lure top free agents and indy stars to their respective companies. If there is going to be a bidding war for a top free agent, it’s almost certainly going to be between AEW and the WWE.
So where does this leave two of the leading smaller promotions Impact Wrestling and MLW? We have to be honest with ourselves, Impact Wrestling and MLW can’t compete financially with WWE and AEW. You can make the argument that Anthem Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns Impact Wrestling, has the money to compete but top free agents just about always end up in WWE or AEW. With Tony Khan and his seemingly endless cash flow about to bring back ROH full time, it will become even more difficult for Impact and MLW in terms of bringing in new talent.
One does has to admit that Impact Wrestling has done a tremendous job with the talent they do have and they have been giving the fans stellar shows. Impact has a terrific roster which includes Impact World Champion Josh Alexander, Mike Bailey, Moose, Sami Callihan, Deonna Purrazzo, Impact Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, Trey Miguel, Masha Slamovich, Chris Bey and Ace Austin.
When it comes to finding great, undiscovered talent, MLW Owner Court Bauer has done a tremendous job. MLW is the home of excellent talent on its roster which includes Jacob Fatu, MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone, Davey Richards, Richard Holliday, Myron Reed, EJ Nduka, Ross and Marshall Von Erich and Calvin Tankman.
Despite all the great talent each promotion has, most of the buzz in the world of professional wrestling seems to be reserved for WWE, AEW and to a lesser degree NJPW. So what can Impact Wrestling and MLW do to get some more of that buzz heading in their direction? What can they do to counteract WWE and AEW getting all the top free agents?
My opinion – MLW and Impact Wrestling should form a full fledged partnership complete with regular talent exchanges and MLW vs. Impact Wrestling events.
Impact Wrestling and MLW forming a full time partnership would definitely generate major excitement for fans of professional wrestling. MLW and Impact have actually worked together on a much smaller scale in the past as MLW’s Davey Richards appeared on Impact’s Slammiversary 2022 show. In return, Impact’s Sami Callihan was on MLW’s Battle Riot IV event.
Fans were treated to a little taste of what an MLW vs. Impact Wrestling show could bring when Josh Alexander defended his Impact World Title against MLW superstar Jacob Fatu at Ric Flair’s Last Match PPV show on July 31 of this year. Alexander and Fatu had a tremendous encounter that left fans wanting more.
A partnership would be very beneficial as it would give fans potential inter-promotional dream matches. It would elevate the attention and chatter each promotion would receive from major news sites and potentially increase revenue generated from MLW vs. Impact Wrestling PPV events. In addition, I believe this would increase viewership for both Impact and MLW programming. I can envision fans tuning each week to see which MLW star or stars will show up on Impact television and vice versa.
How exciting would it be if Jacob Fatu showed up on Impact Wrestling TV and challenges Josh Alexander to another World Title match? How incredible would it be if Moose showed up on MLW Fusion and demanded a shot at MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone? What if Ross and Marshall Von Erich want a match with the Motor City Machine Guns? What if Mike Bailey wants the MLW Middleweight Title and challenges current champion Shun Skywalker? What if Sami Callihan gets jumped on Impact TV by Mads Krugger then heads to MLW Fusion for revenge? The possibilities are endless.
Now, of course I couldn’t write this article without including how I would book an MLW vs Impact Wrestling PPV event. If I had my way, this is what the first ever MLW vs Impact Wrestling show would look like:
- Impact World Title Match: Josh Alexander(c) vs Jacob Fatu
- MLW World Title Match: Alex Hammerstone (c) vs Moose
- MLW World Middleweight Title Match: Shun Skywalker (c) vs Mike Bailey
- Title vs Title Match: Impact Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace vs MLW Women’s Champion Taya Valkyrie
- MLW Tag Team Title Match: EJ Nduka and Calvin Tankman (c) vs Chris Bey and Ace Austin
- Impact World Tag Team Titles – Heath and Rhino (c) vs The Samoan Swat Team Juicy Finau and Lance Anao’i
- MLW National Openweight Title: Davey Richards (c) vs Eric Young
- Eddie Edwards vs Richard Holliday
- Sami Callihan vs. Mads Krugger
- Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green vs. The Sea Stars Delmi Exo and Ashley Vox
- The Von Erichs vs The Motor City Machine Guns
- Rich Swann and Trey Miguel vs Alex Kane and Myron Reed
- Masha Slamovich vs Holidead
- Laredo Kid vs Aramis
- Steve Maclin vs Mance Warner
Yes, I know I booked a 15 match card but the prospect of this partnership gets me excited.
In closing, I would like to say that, from a fans point of view, I would absolutely love if Scott D’Amore and Court Bauer could get together and agree on a full time partnership between MLW and Impact Wrestling. It is my hope that this one day becomes a reality and I am certain there are countless fans who share my hope.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Lewis Carlan can be found on twitter @ShootingUpNorth
