Tonight, Major League Wrestling (MLW) is in Chicago to tape it’s next event for it’s BeIN Sports show MLW Fusion entitled Fightland, and according to MLW owner Court Bauer, it “will shatter its all-time attendance record”.
https://twitter.com/courtbauer/status/1060593510372532224
The record was previously 1,536 people in attendance for the June 20, 2003 event MLW Hybrid Hell, back during MLW’s initial run from 2002 through 2004. MLW began as one of the Fellowship of the Ring that kickstarted the indie revolution, alongside Ring of Honor, CHIKARA, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and TNA. Tonight’s event is being held at the Cicero Stadium. Cicero Stadium’s listed capacity is 6,000 people, but with wrestling, the number is usually much smaller. Regardless, it is a huge number for an independent show, most likely ranging in the 2,500 mark. That would exceed numbers for IMPACT Wrestling‘s PPVs and be on par with some of Ring of Honor’s.
MLW has created a unique product that combines elements from various promotions to make them distinctly their own, incorporating familiar indie stars alongside emerging talent from around the world. For every Sami Callihan, Jimmy Havoc or Low Ki they have, they are introducing international stars like Puma King, Daga, and Salina de la Renta. They’ve also brought in indie buzz stars like PCO and Marko Stunt, and are another promotion (alongside IMPACT and Lucha Underground) to work with the sensational Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix). They’ve brought back some of the old guards, like WCW’s Col. Robert Parker and ECW’s Tommy Dreamer, and worked in with new stars like “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Brody King and Parrow. And they’ve even carried on traditions like War Games and family legacies, like The New Hart Foundation (Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr., & Brian Pillman Jr.) and The Samoan Island Tribe (Lance Anoi’a & Samu). That June 2003 event that previously held the attendance record was headlined by a No Ropes Barbed Wire Non-Title Match between MLW Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino and Terry Funk, while tonight’s will feature MLW Heavyweight Champion Low Ki defending against former champion Shane “Swerve” Strickland.
If you’re looking for new content and a new promotion to try out, MLW is worth jumping on now. MLW Fusion airs Friday nights at 8pm EST on BeIN Sports USA and at 6:05pm on Saturdays (old school fans will appreciate the start time) on the MLW YouTube channel.
