beIN Sports Welcomes ‘MLW: Fusion’
Major League Wrestling premieres its 60-minute weekly show this Friday.
The wrestling landscape changes once again as Major League Wrestling premieres on beIN Sports this Friday with MLW: Fusion, a weekly 60-minute show that emphasizes sport over entertainment.
While the roster is full of international superstars like recently crowned MLW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Strickland, Pentagon Jr. and Jimmy Havoc, the talent are branded as “fighters.” They’re not here to put smiles on faces – they compete for money, titles and pride.
“We have positioned the product as a sport and beIN Sports is the fastest growing sports network in the United States,” says Court Bauer, CEO of MLW. “Wins and losses matter. The pedigree of the athlete is paramount to us.”
Adding to that legitimate sports atmosphere is the commentary of Tony Schiavone, who returns to national prime time television after 17 years. In his absence from the wrestling world, the legendary broadcaster has worked with the Atlanta Braves and Georgia Bulldogs before joining the MLW Radio Network last year as part of the What Happened When podcast with Conrad Thompson.
“His call of the action is much different from other broadcasters out there and I’ve always loved his presentation because he’s calling sports,” Bauer says. “We have a nice eclectic, diverse, credible group of athletes. We showcase a variety of fighting styles whether it’s MMA, British wrestling, Strong Style, lucha libre, technical wrestling, brawling, you name it. It truly is a fusion of wrestling from all over the world.”
MLW’s commitment to presenting a high-octane, smash-mouth product makes it a great fit for beIN Sports’ “Friday Night Fury” block of programming. MLW: Fusion will kick off the evening with the best of professional wrestling, followed by an hour of MMA and then an hour of boxing. That three-course meal of combat sports is the culmination of a lengthy search, according to Rafael Torres, senior director of sports programming at beIN Sports.
“There was a big push from a lot of wrestling fans we have working here to include pro wrestling,” Torres told Corrigan’s Corner. “We were approached by different people and our content acquisition team has seen a lot of different presentations. Then MLW came along with Court Bauer and his team and they put together a great presentation, very organized and very professional with a lot of things that fit the flavor of beIN.”
Learn all about #MLWFUSION on @beINSPORTSUSA https://t.co/G8jBzvusRW pic.twitter.com/YdIZm3HS0r
— #MLWFusion on BeIN Sports this Friday (@MLW) April 17, 2018
One of the most impressive facets of MLW’s presentation, Torres said, is Bauer’s rich team of experienced professionals. Despite resurrecting only six months ago after a 13-year hiatus, MLW the promotion has stirred a buzz throughout the industry, attracting several major players to its staff: Nelson Sweglar, former head of WWE’s TV operations; Charlie Bruzzese, former head of ECW’s production; Bruce Prichard, longtime creative member and confidant to Vince McMahon; former head WWE writer Alex Greenfield; former WWE writer Robert Karpeles and indie veteran Mister St. Laurent. Of course, Bauer is a former WWE writer as well, and founded MLW in 2002.
“For me to creatively get back into it, something I haven’t done since WWE, has been really fun for me,” Bauer says. “I’ve really found myself enjoying it a lot more than I ever have, and it’s been a lot more work than I’ve ever had, too.”
MLW’s podcast network launched in 2011 as a way to promote DVDs of its old events and clear out the warehouse. Over the last seven years, MLW has grown into the number-one pro wrestling podcasting network with 8-10 million listeners per month. The network’s popularity blossomed into WaleMania (named after and hosted by Grammy-nominated artist Wale), which has become the wildest, star-studded party of WrestleMania weekend.
Bauer said that after WaleMania III in Orlando, at around 3 in the morning (“where some of the best and worst ideas seem to be hatched”), the idea sprouted to bring back the defunct wrestling promotion. “We sell out WaleMania every year, so why not do a wrestling league,” Bauer says. “With the promotional arm of the podcasting network, great media connections and great opportunities on the sponsor end, we said let’s do it. After our first show in October, with the support from fans, media, advertisers like General Mills, video game companies and others, it has created enough interest for us to continue to build this up.”
Bauer can’t deny the importance of the current overflowing talent pool in wrestling as being a huge factor in MLW’s return. With the power of social media and modern streaming services, independent wrestlers are developing larger, more passionate followings than ever before. It’s easier to be seen by a wide audience and more importantly, easier to be noticed by the head honchos in WWE, Impact Wrestling and other major companies. On the other hand, the creative freedom and unlimited financial opportunity on the indie scene has lured several players away from the big leagues, such as Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio and Jack Swagger (who will be debuting for MLW on May 3 after recently signing with Bellator).
The tumultuous landscape has allowed MLW to cherry-pick the best of the indie scene, from UFC stars Matt Riddle and Tom Lawlor to former TNA Knockouts Chelsea Green and Mia Yim to CZW standouts Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Joey Janela.
“I don’t think you can call Major League Wrestling an independent when you’re on national TV 52 weeks a year, and you look at that phenomenal roster,” Bauer says. “We are in more households than just about everyone but WWE and Impact Wrestling. We want the audience to come for the star power, but stay for the action. We’re presenting stories and rivalries that will feel episodic. Some people say it’s a throwback to the old days, but I say you take the best parts of today, yesterday and tomorrow and build a next generation product.”
With beIN Sports completely behind the project, and MLW friend Wale performing the show’s opening theme, the stars are aligned for an exciting alternative to the three-hour marathons of sports-entertainment that wrestling fans have been force-fed for half a decade. “We’re doing 60 minutes of bell-to-bell action and if there is talking, it’s significant and meaningful,” Bauer says. “You’re going to get a lot of good, free product.”
MLW: Fusion airs Friday, April 20 at 8 p.m. EST with a replay at 11 p.m. EST on beIN Sports. For more information, visit mlw.com and www.beinsports.com.
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