Results
- Brent Banks & Sheldon Jean def. Capitan Suicida & Mascara Dorada (Maple Leaf Pro Tag Team Championships)
- Dani Luna def. Vanna Black
- Johnny TV def. TJP
1st Faction take down CMLL’s Dorada & Suicida
The second-ever episode of Maple Leaf Pro: Mayhem, taped last month at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, opened with tag title action: CMLL’s Capitan Suicida and Mascara Dorada teamed up to face reigning champs 1st Faction, the duo of Canadian talents Sheldon Jean and Brent Banks.
Dorada and Suicida are fun, and I’ve been really high on Jean as a Canadian prospect, so I was looking forward to this one. Banks is one of the longest-tenured vets in the Ontario scene, having wrestled since 2006. This, of course, didn’t stop Don Callis from referring to him as “kid” on commentary tonight.
1st Faction were in control to start, but we eventually got some fun high-flying from the luchadors. Dorada and Suicida were on a roll as the show returned from a break, scoring stereo tope suicidas.
Back in the ring, the CMLL talents scored stereo top-rope splashes for a near fall. A slight distraction from Bryce Hansen (1st Generation’s manager) allowed Jean to fight his way out of a two-on-one situation in the ring. Jean sent both luchadors out of the ring, allowing Banks to score an incredibly speedy Terminator Dive. Back in the ring, Jean tossed Suicida into the air for a neckbreaker, giving him a two-count.
Hansen got involved in the match once again. He tried pushing Suicida off the top rope, but Suicida ended up landing a missile dropkick on the way down to Jean anyway. This was meant to be an interference spot but looked clunky. Hansen got on the apron again, and this distraction allowed Jean to score a crafty slam on Suicida for the pinfall victory. 1st Faction retain.
This match highlights a tough tension point that Maple Leaf Pro will struggle with throughout this show: Scott D’Amore has access to some of the best wrestlers in the world. But, at the end of the day, there’s a clear interest in pushing and elevating Canadian talent. How do you properly strike that balance and make most of your fanbase satisfied? This result, with Suicida and Dorada losing to local names like this, won’t be well received by some. This was a fun match, but the finishing sequence was awkward and is sure to ruffle some feathers. Finish aside, all four of these guys are lots of fun, and I feel more people will recognize Banks and Jean’s talents as this show progresses.
TJP saw Johnny TV’s comments last week (he called him a “supporting actor”) and said that the movie they’ll make in the ring tonight is going to be a horror film.
Dani Luna puts champ Gisele Shaw in her crosshairs
Former TNA talent Dani Luna made her Maple Leaf Pro debut next, facing Ontario’s Vanna Black. Women’s champ Gisele Shaw was on commentary for this one. Mauro Ranallo was quick to stir the pot, mentioning to Shaw that Luna is two-for-three against her.
Black had some fun stuff in this match, including a front roll into a lungblower at one point. Luna bounced Black off the top rope and into a Blue Thunder Bomb, giving her a near fall moments later.
A second lungblower from Black was countered by Luna into a sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory. It was nice to see Luna again here: If you don’t closely follow the BritWres scene, it’s been a few months since she has been on your screen. Looking forward to the eventual showdown between her and Shaw.
In a backstage promo following her win, Black called out Shaw: “If I got the real Gisele Shaw, I could be your downfall.”
We got a promo from Rohan Raja, who attacked interim Maple Leaf Pro champ Stu Grayson at the end of last week’s show. He officially laid out the challenge for Grayson’s title, which won’t happen immediately as Grayson is currently nursing a (likely worked) concussion due to the attack on the first episode. In the meantime, Raja will put his PWA Champion’s Grail title up against Evil Uno on next week’s show.
Here is the full lineup revealed for next week. I think newcomers to the Ontario scene will be happy to discover Vaughn Vertigo and Gabriel Fuerza. The trio facing Jay Lethal’s The Twist is maybe the most random group of three wrestlers I’ve seen in a good minute.
- Rohan Raja vs. Evil Uno (PWA Champion’s Grail)
- Jay Lethal, Blake Christian & Lee Johnson vs. Billy Gunn, Zach Gowen & Psycho Mike
- Taylor Rising vs. Alexia Nicole
- Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs. Gabriel Fuerza & Vaughn Vertigo
Johnny TV overcomes ‘Aswang’ TJP in main event
The main event of the night was a grudge match between TJP and Johnny TV.
Johnny TV scored a crafty neckbreaker through the ropes and onto the ring apron early in this match. He put on a pair of Meta Ray-Bands glasses during the match so he could record the beatdown from his perspective. TJP dropkicked the glasses out of Johnny TV’s hands at one point then wore the glasses as he delivered a springboard dropkick to the head. They continued going back and forth with the prop. The glasses were such a huge part of this match that I started to wonder if this was some sort of product placement. Felt over the top.
The referee eventually took the glasses from Johnny TV. Ranallo said it was becoming “a bit of a spectacle.” TJP came out of the corner with a tornado DDT, then followed up with a running facewash in the corner. A top-rope Mamba Splash from TJP was avoided by Johnny TV, who came off the ropes with a disaster kick.
Johnny TV tried for his Starship Pain finisher out of the corner, but TJP got out of the way. Johnny TV dodged a move from TJP, scored a head kick then a knee strike. TJP stopped another attempt at Starship Pain, tripping up Johnny TV in the ropes. TJP scored a double-stop to the chest of Johnny TV as he was hung up in the ropes, then followed up with a detonation kick for a near fall.
TJP tried again for the Mamba Splash, but Johnny TV stopped the move. Johnny TV hit a twisting neckbreaker then finally hit his Starship Pain finisher for the pinfall win. I thought the excessive use of the glasses prop took a lot out of this match. The long sequence of one person dodging the other’s high-flying move near the end felt cyclical. Nothing technically bad between these two veteran names, but I struggled to get into this match.
Final thoughts
This was a quieter episode of Maple Leaf Pro, as the two top storylines were mainly worked through backstage segments (Rohan Raja calling out Stu Grayson, Dani Luna calling out Gisele Shaw). I wasn’t as high on this episode as I was last week, but the show now has two solid title programs set up and a promising lineup set for next Thursday.
