MLW Fusion

[famicommander]

Another thing that doesn't make sense is the MLW rankings.
1. Why is the #7 ranked guy getting a title shot?

2. Why are middleweights ranked for the heavyweight title? They have their own world title. This is why weight divisions in wrestling are usually stupid. Only CMLL actually portrays all their various weight divisions as equivalent; ie, the CMLL World Heavyweight Title is no more or less important than the CMLL Lightweight or Historic Welterweight titles there. If you win a "world" title, you're a world champion, period. Like with most things in wrestling, my feeling is you have to do it all the way or not at all. That applies to weight divisions, intergender wrestling, fantasy elements, etc. If you have weight classes and don't portray them as equal it puts an artificial ceiling on the guys in the lower divisions. Supposedly the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title is equivalent to the IWGP Heavyweight title, but nobody actually believes that because of how the belts are booked and portrayed. One of the biggest reasons Roddy Strong gave when asked why he went to WWE rather than staying in ROH/NJPW is because NJPW only wanted him as a Junior Heavyweight, where guys make less money and are treated as lesser stars. Probably a big part of why Kushida is in WWE, too.

[NewROHFan2020]

MLW doesn’t really have 10 guys for a legit top 10. Should do Top 5 and not do it on every show.

[NewROHFan2020]

Just read on PWInsider that MLW is shopping around a 2nd show. LMAO!!! They barely have enough wrestlers for one very mediocre show and they think someone will pay them for something else???

[famicommander]

Just read on PWInsider that MLW is shopping around a 2nd show. LMAO!!! They barely have enough wrestlers for one very mediocre show and they think someone will pay them for something else???

They have more than enough wrestlers for one show, they're just doubling down on squash matches to stretch content so they don't have to tape as often during the pandemic.

But they have nearly 40 wrestlers on their roster with three singles titles, an unsanctioned title, and a tag title. And unlike Impact/ROH they don't have regular Impact Plus/Honor Club shows. Just the PPVs, of which they've only done a handful since they came back, and the one hour weekly show.

[NewROHFan2020]

Just read on PWInsider that MLW is shopping around a 2nd show. LMAO!!! They barely have enough wrestlers for one very mediocre show and they think someone will pay them for something else???

They have more than enough wrestlers for one show, they're just doubling down on squash matches to stretch content so they don't have to tape as often during the pandemic.

But they have nearly 40 wrestlers on their roster with three singles titles, an unsanctioned title, and a tag title. And unlike Impact/ROH they don't have regular Impact Plus/Honor Club shows. Just the PPVs, of which they've only done a handful since they came back, and the one hour weekly show.

I guess, but no network is going to pay them money for a second show.

[famicommander]

Just read on PWInsider that MLW is shopping around a 2nd show. LMAO!!! They barely have enough wrestlers for one very mediocre show and they think someone will pay them for something else???

They have more than enough wrestlers for one show, they're just doubling down on squash matches to stretch content so they don't have to tape as often during the pandemic.

But they have nearly 40 wrestlers on their roster with three singles titles, an unsanctioned title, and a tag title. And unlike Impact/ROH they don't have regular Impact Plus/Honor Club shows. Just the PPVs, of which they've only done a handful since they came back, and the one hour weekly show.

I guess, but no network is going to pay them money for a second show.

I suspect they will (at least try to) land an ad revenue split somewhere like Impact used to have on Pop. Back then Impact was getting roughly $18,000 in first-run ad revenue per episode based on a $335 fee per 30 second ad. Over a full year that's just under 1 million dollars. That's probably the kind of deal MLW has with Fubo and BeIN right now for Fusion anyway. That would explain why Fusion has four different media outlets in the US (BeIN, Fubo, DAZN, Youtube). They don't care too much about exclusivity because they're not paying a direct rights fee and the network itself only has to sell half as many ads for that hour because the promotion covers the other half themselves. That's also the sort of setup ROH has with most of its syndication outlets, but the difference there is they're "splitting" the ad revenue with their own parent company so it's sort of a double dip.

If they do land a deal it's not going to be super lucrative, but it'll be a hell of a lot better than Youtube. As long as they don't end up buying airtime like some promotions have tried in the past (such as Paragon Pro Wrestling, which was airing on Pop until Impact booted them off).

[famicommander]

sigh

5 second squash match to start the show

Mil Muertes' debut match was underwhelming. Nobody looks good in there with Pillman. Kid is still super green. Another squash, too. Looks like Pillman is finished up in MLW.

Also I saw an interview Wrestlezone did with Bauer and apparently he bought a fog machine to intentionally make his show look crappy. He seems to think the fog somehow puts more focus on the wrestlers in the ring. To me it just makes it look like someone needs to wipe the camera lens. The show looks significantly worse than it did before the restart.

Still watching it, hoping the tag title match delivers.

[famicommander]

Tag match wasn't great either.

MLW had so much momentum before the pandemic. Right now these shows suck.

[kovs27]

Tag match wasn't great either.

MLW had so much momentum before the pandemic. Right now these shows suck.

Yeah it wasn't great. Sadly I think it was their best episode since the restart but that's really not saying much.

[NewROHFan2020]

sigh

5 second squash match to start the show

Mil Muertes' debut match was underwhelming. Nobody looks good in there with Pillman. Kid is still super green. Another squash, too. Looks like Pillman is finished up in MLW.

Also I saw an interview Wrestlezone did with Bauer and apparently he bought a fog machine to intentionally make his show look crappy. He seems to think the fog somehow puts more focus on the wrestlers in the ring. To me it just makes it look like someone needs to wipe the camera lens. The show looks significantly worse than it did before the restart.

Still watching it, hoping the tag title match delivers.

That’s fucking stupid if he means what he said. Why would you intentionally make your show look bad? That’s one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

[famicommander]

Making it look bad is my commentary. Bauer thinks the fog makes it better somehow.

[famicommander]

Tag match wasn't great either.

MLW had so much momentum before the pandemic. Right now these shows suck.

Yeah it wasn't great. Sadly I think it was their best episode since the restart but that's really not saying much.

The first episode out of the restart with Rocky Romero was good.

[NewROHFan2020]

Making it look bad is my commentary. Bauer thinks the fog makes it better somehow.

Oh ok

[famicommander]

Major League Wrestling has been locking most of their current roster to new deals, PWInsider.com can confirm. The majority of the offers are 3-5 years in length with what one source described as a "significant bump in pay" thanks in part due to MLW's deal with DAZN, which has led to the promotion expanding their budget. MLW had promised key talents who stuck with the promotion that as the company grew, the talents would benefit and this is the company's way of trying to live up to that promise.

https://pwinsider.com/article/143178/ml ... s.html?p=1

Told y'all the DAZN deal was probably their most important.

Bauer also said that this week's Fusion was the third highest rated episode since they started airing on BeIN Sports, but no hard numbers.

[NewROHFan2020]

Major League Wrestling has been locking most of their current roster to new deals, PWInsider.com can confirm. The majority of the offers are 3-5 years in length with what one source described as a "significant bump in pay" thanks in part due to MLW's deal with DAZN, which has led to the promotion expanding their budget. MLW had promised key talents who stuck with the promotion that as the company grew, the talents would benefit and this is the company's way of trying to live up to that promise.

https://pwinsider.com/article/143178/ml ... s.html?p=1

Told y'all the DAZN deal was probably their most important.

Bauer also said that this week's Fusion was the third highest rated episode since they started airing on BeIN Sports, but no hard numbers.

Who in their right mind would sign a 5 year contract with MLW? The DAZN shit confuses me, as the last time I checked they barely had any MLW content and they didn’t promote them on any boxing card they had. If DAZN is paying them money, they sure aren’t promoting it.

Bauer is probably referring to the Kings of Colosseum episode. As his tweet is from Friday morning, before the last episode aired on BeIn.

[famicommander]

MLW hasn't had a PPV since the DAZN deal started. But that's probably the bulk of whatever money is going to change hands between them; there's a reason DAZN is getting future PPVs but BeIN, Fubo and Youtube aren't.

[NewROHFan2020]

MLW hasn't had a PPV since the DAZN deal started. But that's probably the bulk of whatever money is going to change hands between them; there's a reason DAZN is getting future PPVs but BeIN, Fubo and Youtube aren't.

Well BeIn, Fubo, and YouTube aren’t PPV providers???

[famicommander]

MLW hasn't had a PPV since the DAZN deal started. But that's probably the bulk of whatever money is going to change hands between them; there's a reason DAZN is getting future PPVs but BeIN, Fubo and Youtube aren't.

Well BeIn, Fubo, and YouTube aren’t PPV providers???

Neither is DAZN. DAZN subscribers get Fusion and they'll get the PPVs for no additional charge. There has to be a reason MLW is tossing the PPVs in for DAZN but not any of the other media outlets, and the only reason that makes sense is that DAZN is paying them more than the others.

[Shanahan]

DAZN is known for overpaying. I have a DAZN sub for the boxing & i think they have like 5 MLW TV Episodes up. Anybody who wants to watch them is better off on youtube. I doubt MLW does a PPV this year with no crowds.

[NewROHFan2020]

DAZN is known for overpaying. I have a DAZN sub for the boxing & i think they have like 5 MLW TV Episodes up. Anybody who wants to watch them is better off on youtube. I doubt MLW does a PPV this year with no crowds.

Yuup. I’ve argued with fammy about this earlier. DAZN is either the dumbest company on the planet or MLW is greatly exaggerating their deal with them. I find it hard to believe that DAZN only has the last 5 Fuzion episodes on and that’s it. Only a total moron would subscribe to DAZN for MLW. You can get it on YouTube for free. YouTube has everything, but MLW/DAZN think people will pay $20 a month for a few episodes that are available elsewhere? It makes no sense at all.