Roundtable: MLW Saturday Night SuperFight

How would you rate the buildup to MLW’s first pay-per-view?

Steven Jackson: The buildup for the first MLW pay-per-view has been awesome. The brand has gradually grown over the past 18 months by putting on incredible matches and compelling television. Everything has been paced beautifully as well. The event is something I can’t wait to see.

Chad Gelfand: 7. MLW has done a good job of promoting the show and building up people like Jacob Fatu, who MLW is pretty much centered on now.

David Gibb: It’s been good! LA Park has been very strong since MLW’s reappearance, and they’ve done well making Fatu seem unbeatable (especially with Samael at his side).

Sam Gladen: It’s been great thus far, especially with MLW still doing their quarterly “PPVs” for free on YouTube to assist with the build. It’s been great watching the matches come together.

Jack Goodwillie: I haven’t been following too much in what is an extremely saturated pro wrestling climate these days, but judging by all the press this show has been getting, that says it all.

John Corrigan: 7. When the PPV was first announced, Court Bauer mentioned how the matches would be built organically and not thrown together like some other companies do. A couple months before the show, the card only featured LA Park vs. Jacob Fatu, which was interesting because it’s two mega heels in the main event of the most important show in the company’s history. Since then, I’ve been completely captivated by the feud between Contra Unit and Promociones Dorado, especially due to the war of words between Josef Samael and Salina de la Renta. This match has that big fight feel and I haven’t been this hype since Jazz vs. Maria Manic…back in January!

Which match are you most looking forward to at Saturday Night SuperFight?

Jackson: I am really, really excited for LA Park vs. Jacob Fatu. LA Park has reinvented himself over the past two years, working so hard on the indies that this is his moment to win the big one. It may not be a technical masterclass or a MOTY candidate, but it is going to be exciting and that’s what matters!

Gelfand: Teddy Hart vs. Austin Aries. Two of the most contentious personalities in wrestling and also two of the most gifted wrestlers squaring off. This could be amazing or a disaster.

Gibb: The World Title match, of course! Can Promociones Dorado reclaim MLW as its stomping grounds, or will Contra Unit maintain its stranglehold on the Major League ring?

Gladen: Austin Aries vs. Teddy Hart will be amazing, The Von Erichs and Dynasty should be a very exciting Texas Tornado match. But the most exciting is Jacob Fatu vs. LA Park. That should be an incredibly hard-hitting match.

Goodwillie: It has to be Aries vs. Hart or Fatu vs. Park. I will take the five-star singles match over the five-star tag match any day. That’s a not a knock on tag matches, but more a statement on how I feel with all things being equal. And both of these matches have the opportunity to tell awesome, albeit two very different stories.

Corrigan: The main event. But I’m intrigued by Brian Pillman vs. Low Ki, who will probably bring the best out of Pillman and give him his best match to date. I’m not a fan of the Texas Tornado stipulation because there’s too much to focus on, but The Dynasty vs. Von Erichs should be fun. And I bet Davey Boy Smith Jr.’s sister betrays him and helps Hammerstone retain.

How do you feel about Austin Aries’ return to the promotion?

Jackson: Austin Aries, much like Low-Ki and Teddy Hart, is a man who beats to his own drum, but also is immensely talented. Aries returning to MLW is huge and he will definitely bring something familiar, but also fresh to MLW

Gelfand: Aries is a good get for MLW as he’s an established star who’s been a world champion in several promotions, plus he can still go in the ring and have a great match.

Gibb: Aries vs. Teddy Hart is a good match for the pay-per-view audience, but I don’t know about A-Double’s long-term prospects anywhere in late 2019. With that said, older wrestlers exist to make short, impactful runs.

Gladen: It’s been booked well and he looks really strong. The match should be really, really great.

Goodwillie: Austin Aries has joined and left so many promotions multiple times over the years, I can’t remember if his initial departure from MLW happened quietly or with controversy. It’s a good marriage, though. Aries’ abrasive personality probably doesn’t play in the extremes of WWE or AEW and he may have burned his bridge with Impact. That leaves RoH and MLW as television wrestling companies to work for in North America, and as I’ve written in the past, it should not even be a question when it comes to choosing one or the other.

Corrigan: I’m glad he’s back on TV because his run in Impact ended on such a weird note.

Will this be MJF’s last match in the company? If so, how does MLW write him out?

Jackson: Considering all the social media coverage MJF has been getting as part of AEW and his close affiliation with the Elite, it looks certain that this will be Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s swan song in MLW. Writing him out could possibly happen through a turn or maybe even just walking out. Who knows!?

Gelfand: This will be MJF’s last match. I see him doing this PPV as him finishing up his MLW obligations and transitioning to AEW fulltime. He takes the pin here and is kicked out of The Dynasty after the match.

Gibb: I don’t have the inside knowledge to do anything other than guess here, but I hope MJF is in MLW to stay, at least on a limited basis, as MLW does a far better job presenting him than AEW does.

Gladen: I think so. His exit from the company will mark the end of The Dynasty with Holiday and Hammerstone turning on MJF during the course of the match and leaving him broken in the middle of the ring.

Goodwillie: I do not. MLW and AEW seem to have found some harmony in how he’s used in each of their schedules and there’s still a lot of ways he can help MLW short of winning the MLW Championship.

Corrigan: Yes. The Dynasty will get a new member and leave MJF laying. Holliday will throw the coffee in his face, Aria Blake will low blow him and Hammerstone will hit him with his finisher. The new member, whoever that may be, will just smile.

Who wins: Jacob Fatu or LA Park?

Jackson: I’m going with LA Park all the way!

Gelfand: Jacob Fatu. Fatu has the most upside and he’s a good person to build the company around and keep as MLW World Heavyweight Champion.

Gibb: It’s hard to argue anybody has been a bigger draw for MLW over the last two years than LA Park, and if you think Fatu has an even brighter future as a traditional single, it’s better to use a heel to take the title off of him rather than allowing a babyface to slay the dragon. Park gets the win after Salina de la Renta pulls an ace out of her sleeve to neutralize Samael.

Gladen: Fatu will retain. Park is getting up there in age and while he still looks incredible, he is more believable in the role of the lumbering muscle for Promociones Dorado. Fatu is young and the true future of the promotion with the Contra Unit.

Goodwillie: Fatu. This is a classic case of using established names to get over young talent. I don’t know EXACTLY how old Jacob Fatu is, but you know that “thing” that everybody in the Anoa’i family seems to have? He’s got it, too, and I see big things in his future.

Corrigan: As Samael told me, nobody is getting past Fatu. Contra’s reign of terror will continue into 2020 and beyond.