Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) General Thread

[Comrade Khan]

yeah it was fucking insane lol

 

[Comrade Khan]

the knee on knee was just

 

[Chris]

Scott D’Amore bringing Maple Leaf Pro back into the forefront

“We are going to be the heart of Canadian wrestling and a force in the global wrestling landscape.”

undisputed.substack.com

Scott D’Amore is making his intentions clear: within the next year, Maple Leaf Pro is going to become a factor in the pro wrestling realm.

The spiritual successor to Maple Leaf Wrestling, which ran from 1930 to 1984, MLP is owned and operated by D’Amore. The promotion ran its inaugural show this past October at Forged in Excellence, a two-night affair at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario. It will return in the first quarter of 2025, when D’Amore plans to unveil more about its upcoming schedule and how frequently their events will run.

“We have a lot of moving pieces right now, and it all leads to an exciting 2025,” said D’Amore. “We are going to be the heart of Canadian wrestling and a force in the global wrestling landscape.”

A familiar name in professional wrestling, D’Amore, 50, first broke into the business at the age of 16. Against the odds, he pulled off a remarkable feat over the last six years overseeing Impact/TNA, swinging the wrestling pendulum back in their favor. He embraced the task in an exceptionally difficult manner, vowing to earn back one fan at a time. More than a half-decade later, he exited TNA over creative differences, leaving the company in a position where it was once again relevant in pro wrestling.

When I first met D’Amore in April of 2018, my relationship with Impact was frosty. Impact and parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment were less than enthused with some of my reporting surrounding the Hardys and their contract dispute, denying reports that I ran only after verifying legal documents from people within the company. There was a clear divide between the two sides. During that year’s WrestleMania week in New Orleans, I met face-to-face with D’Amore, who had recently returned to the company after nearly eight years.

D’Amore vowed to be upfront, accountable, and honest. Over the next six years, he lived up to his word. He helped transform Impact (which later changed back to TNA) into a wrestling destination, building relationships with AEW and AAA, and repairing a broken relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, even bringing NJPW stars like Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay to TNA.

Earlier this year, TNA decided it could continue to flourish without D’Amore, and the two parted ways. D’Amore made an attempt to buy the promotion, but was rebuffed by Anthem Sports & Entertainment CEO Len Asper. As TNA moved in its new direction, I couldn’t help but think back to that original conversation with D’Amore. At the time, he was running his Border City Wrestling promotion in Ontario, as well as working in construction.

Why, I asked, did he want to tackle all of the issues in Impact? D’Amore smiled and shared an anecdote from retired wrestler Jody Hamilton, who was one-half of the Masked Assassins.

“Jody used to say, ‘The great workers don’t look to go to the territories that are on fire, the great workers want to go to a territory that is on their ass because they can build it up,’” D’Amore told me. “Coming back here is a chance to build something, it’s a chance to make a difference.”

With TNA in his rearview, D’Amore became energized by his new plan. He would revive Canadian wrestling by creating a brand-new promotion.

A native of Windsor, Ontario and all-around expert on the history of Canadian wrestling, D’Amore had acquired the rights to Maple Leaf Wrestling back in 2012 from the Tunney family, which included all the archived footage. He believes there is no better time than the present to rejuvenate wrestling in Canada.

“This is a way to honor tradition of the past and forge a new path for Canadian wrestling,” said D’Amore. “I’m proud of my time at TNA, and I hold my head high for what we accomplished there in my time at the helm. We took a company from death’s doorstep and revived it into an exciting and viable alternative. Now we are going to focus that hard work, vision, and passion into Maple Leaf Pro.”

The focus for D’Amore has always been to invest in the fanbase so that the fans invest in the product. That is the exact approach he is taking as the owner of Maple Leaf Pro.

Just like a drenching rain begins with a single drop, D’Amore has long term plans for this Canadian wrestling reawakening. The roster he assembled for the two-night Forged in Excellence show is indicative of the talent he plans to feature in 2025.

The inaugural MLP weekend showcased wrestlers from AEW, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Ring of Honor, TNA, and the NWA, as well as Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, Oceania Pro Wrestling from Australia, and Qatar Pro Wrestling. That international feel will be embedded into D’Amore’s shows, an element that benefits the fans–and the wrestlers.

“The immigration laws in Canada allow non-Canadians to come perform and compete, which allows our Canadian talent to be in the ring with the very best in the world,” said D’Amore. “This helps both Canadian and other international talent show major United States companies that they can be valuable members of those rosters, as well as build their resume to better qualify for a US work visa when those opportunities present themselves.”

Prior to leaving TNA, D’Amore helped set up a partnership with WWE that led to Jordynne Grace entering the women’s Royal Rumble. When asked if WWE talent could ever be part of MLP events, he didn’t close the door open on that possibility.

“We are very happy and excited about our existing partners,” said D’Amore. “But we have an open-door policy. If WWE wants to join the party, we’d be open to exploring it.”

Powered by the broadcast team of Mauro Ranallo and Don Callis, MLP will offer a distinct alternative in the new year. The promotion does not have a world title, but rather a Champion’s Grail that will be defended around the world.

The Champion’s Grail is built around the images of Rikidozan and Kenny Omega. Built on 60 years of tradition, it was modeled after Rikidozan and Omega for very specific reasons.

“They are all-time greats from two different eras, just like the original Maple Leaf Wrestling and the revitalized Maple Leaf Pro,” said D’Amore. “Rikidozan is the first wrestling superstar in Japan. He is what all Japanese pro wrestling stems from, renowned as a great warrior from a past time.

“Kenny Omega is one of the greatest wrestlers in wrestling history. He is a Canadian wrestling star who stands alongside the all-time greats like ‘Whipper’ Billy Watson and Bret Hart. Kenny is at the forefront of revolutionizing wrestling in this current era, and that’s why he and Rikidozan are the perfect bookends to represent our past and bright future.”

Rohan Raja defeated Jake Something to win the Champion’s Grail at MLP’s inaugural event, and he will make his first title defense later this month in Australia. In addition to his Champion’s Grail and a host of women’s wrestlers from Japan hungry to make their way to North America, expect D’Amore to continue featuring Josh Alexander and “Speedball” Mike Bailey–the former who is about to be a free agent, the latter having just entered free agency–as often as possible.

“Josh Alexander and Mike Bailey are the faces of modern Canadian wrestling,” said D’Amore. “It felt right that one of them opened the show on our first night and the other closed it. Plus, it gave Josh the unique spot of opening Night One and closing Night Two, which is pretty cool.”
"Speedball" Mike Bailey (left) and Josh Alexander/Geoffrey Cole_Shooting The Indies

MLP’s inaugural show streamed live on Triller TV, though it remains undetermined where it will air moving forward. The promotion is also expanding its social media presence, uploading archival footage of the original Maple Leaf Wrestling and content from Border City Wrestling on its YouTube page and various platforms.

While we wait to see what happens next–monthly events, or perhaps something on an even more consistent basis?–D’Amore is thrilled to soon share his MLP plans with the world.

“Forged in Excellence was our mission statement, our proof of concept for what Maple Leaf Pro is going to be,” said D’Amore. “The plan all along was to come out and have two nights of an amazing debut to show people what MLP is all about. Now we’ve taken a step back to set up our infrastructure, and we’ll be ready and prepared for an unbelievable 2025.

“I said this many times in the past with Impact or TNA events–we value so much when a fan invests in one of our events. Whether it’s an investment of money or whether it’s an equally important investment of their time, we want to reward that investment. If anybody invests their time or money in Maple Leaf Pro, we are going to give our heart and soul to you in return.”

 

[Grimoire Lenin]

I smell a major Canadian TV deal and lots of homegrown talent in the works.

 

[Grimoire Lenin]

They straight up shared the full Speedball/Takeshita match

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Good match that was. Two banging wrestlers who have got a lot praise from fans and it's well received I bet from both guys.

 

[Grimoire Lenin]

Merged all major threads together into one big general thread, since MLP looks to be getting more major activity this year.

 

[Smart Marx]

Merged all major threads together into one big general thread, since MLP looks to be getting more major activity this year.

General thread sounds like a good idea, but in the future, you can just leave any old threads up and then just create a new general thread.

You’d be surprised at how many older threads with very specific news in the titles are still generating clicks from Google.

 

[Comrade Khan]

I wanted separate ppv traffic for each ppv but I'll abide by wtv u guys feel is best

 

[Grimoire Lenin]

I wanted separate ppv traffic for each ppv but I'll abide by wtv u guys feel is best

We can do PPV threads, if it works for everyone, but we'll do a general thread as well.

 

[Smart Marx]

I would do both just like with most other feds. Have a general thread for just general discussion and News but when you do an actual show, you can create a single thread for that and connected to chat and what not.

 

[Grimoire Lenin]

Threads re-made and stickied to "Independent Wrestling"!