NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) was revived in 2024, putting on quality pay-per-view events as it drew eyes to another major promotion in North America.
In June, MLP will debut on TSN and add another wrestling show to a large menu for pro wrestling fans who can watch the sport almost every day of the week if they wished.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
“Ravenous” Rohan Raja, who is the Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA) Champion’s Grail holder, told Fox News Digital why fans should put MLP into their viewing list.
“I remember when we ran our first show a lot of fans, me, even if you go on Twitter and even news articles would report it, the quality is like an AEW or WWE product. It’s very top notch. We have Mauro Renallo as the voice of MLP,” he said. “He’s on fire and he still does a lot of stuff like Jake Paul, he did Anthony Joshua’s last boxing match, Tyson Fury’s last match. We have all these star-studded guys.
FORMER WWE NXT UK STAR ROHAN RAJA TALKS JOURNEY TO PRO WRESTLING, SURPRISING REACTION HE GOT FROM HIS FAMILY
“How I kinda summarize it is it’s like a world’s collide but every week because we’ve had guys from AEW on there, we got guys from Japan, we got guys from Mexico, we got guys and girls from WWE who come on it. So, I feel like that’s the biggest thing where not only are they showcasing the Canadian talent but it’s showcasing everything. I feel like wrestling now, you do get glimpses of the worlds collide but I feel like we’re the promotion that’s had everyone – a taste of everything into one. With the TSN tapings and how that’s gonna go, it’s really just going to amp up what we’ve built and it’s something that you wouldn’t want to miss.”
Raja defeated Jake Something at MLP Forged in Excellence to win the PWA Champion’s Grail. The PWA was formed from a partnership among MLP, Oceania Pro Wrestling and Qatar Pro Wrestling.
It was one of the first big wins of Raja’s career and put him in the upper echelon of the up-and-coming promotion after working his way through smaller independent promotions into WWE NXT UK and then into MLP.
“When I moved back to Canada, I was in talks about potentially going back to TNA and that whole thing happened, I read reports that (Scott D’Amore) was reviving Maple Leaf Wrestling. And I was like, no way,” he recalled to Fox News Digital. “He hadn’t told me firsthand or anything. I was working with him, he has another independent promotion called Border City Wrestling and he let me know what was going on. I was like, man, if he revives Maple Leaf Wrestling – my granddad knew about Maple Leaf wrestling, that’s a big deal.
“We did our first show in 2024 and I won the PWA Champions Grail. It traces its roots back to Rikidōzan in Japan and Kenny Omega. It’s like a lineage title. Ever since then, we’ve been doing pay-per-view quality shows and the goal was to get a TV deal. And they finally got one with TSN pretty quick remarkably. It’s a revived promotion of Maple Leaf Wrestling. It showcases Canadian talent but it showcases international talent as well, which I’m a representative of because I represent so many countries. It’s going to be a weekly show. I think it consists of an hour. On TSN, it follows I believe ‘Dynamite.’ I’m heavily involved there. I was the first champion. I’m one of the main players there. I’m really showcased. I got a lot of freedom with my pre-taped promos and my wrestling.”
Raja suggested that everything he’s been through, everything he’s learned on the road, has culminated into a massive opportunity with MLP.
“I feel like I’ve taken everything I’ve learned and put it into MLP. I feel like it’s really showcasing that I can hold myself as a main event player,” he said. “I’ve had really good matches with big-time names all the way from Rich Swann to Moose to Bishop Dyer to Rhyno to Fred Rosser. I’ve wrestled so many guys, even around the world. I’ve wrestled Robbie Eagles in Qatar for the belt. But it really is a core product on showcasing Canadians and having that international flavor which I bring into the company.”
Read the full article here