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Full broadcast (7 p.m. ET) (TrillerTV)
- Blake Christian, QT Marshall & Sheldon Jean def. Bhupinder Gujjar, El Reverso & Psycho Mike (10:45)
- Kylie Rae def. Taylor Rising (MLP Women’s Canadian Championship Tournament Semi-Final) (11:08)
- Alex Zayne def. Taiji Ishimori, Stu Grayson & Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Alex Zayne (Four-Way) (9:20)
- Gisele Shaw def. Serena Deeb (MLP Women’s Canadian Championship Tournament Semi-Final) (20:36)
- PCO def. Michael Allen Richard Clark (Street Fight) (17:45)
- Billy Gunn & Bishop Dyer def. Matt Cardona & Thom Latimer (10:25)
- Rohan Raja def. Rich Swann (PWA Champion’s Grail) (14:19)
- Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA def. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (20:52)
QT Marshall opens card with win in six-man action
Saturday’s action kicked off with a six-man tag match that was created on the first night of Mayhem. The heel duo of QT Marshall and Blake Christian will work with their new ally, Sheldon Jean, to face off against Bhupinder Gujjar, El Reverso and Psycho Mike.
Early in the match, it was teased that Psycho Mike would eventually get a body slam – the move he obsesses over hitting in every match. He came close to slamming Jean outside the ring but was stopped, and then later took a moonsault off the ropes to the outside by Christian.
Mike eventually scored a bodyslam on Marshall, capitalizing on the heel getting distracted by Mike’s teammates. This allowed Gujjar to get a hot tag, wiping out Jean and Christian once he hit the ring. After giving Christian a Spinebuster he hit Jean with a Ripchord Knee and then did a Tope Suicida to Marshall on the outside.
Gujjar scored with a crossbody off the top onto Jean, but the pin attempt was stopped by Christian. Gujjar tagged in El Reverso, who came off the top with a moonsault that Jean avoided. Jean tagged in Christian, who took Reverso to the top rope. After spearing Gujjar on the apron, Christian scored a Superplex, which he transitoned into a Vanilla Choke Zero. Mike took Christian out of the submission attempt and tried for another slam. While Christian escaped an initial bodyslam attempt from Mike, he later took a slam after Mike took out Marshall and Jean with the move, too.
Mike got a near fall after the series of slams. Reverso and Marshall tagged into the match as others brawled at ringside. Reverso got a near fall with a hurricanrana into a DDT. He then hit the ropes for a move but was stopped by Jean, who grabbed his leg. Christian joined Reverso on the ropes and came flying off with a Spanish Fly. This then allowed Marshall, the legal man, to hit the QT-Cutter for the win.
This match had a slow start, but by the end, it worked as a solid opener for the card.
Kylie Rae earns spot in women’s title final
In the first of two semi-final bouts in a tournament that will find the first-ever Maple Leaf Pro Women’s Champion, Kylie Rae faced Taylor Rising. Both appeared as part of Friday’s card to advance past the quarter-final round.
This was the first TV appearance this weekend for Rising, as her win on Friday against Beaa Moss was part of an untelevised pre-show.
WWE ID talent Rae had some interesting moves early in the match, including a big cannonball in the corner, which received a two-count.
Things started to heat up when Rae scored the Kylie Special, which earned a two-count. Rae hit a side-Russian leg sweep and then put in the STF (Smile To the Finish), but Rising bit the hands of Rae to escape the hold. Rae scored with a discus elbow, then missed with a 619 in the ropes.
After a series of reversals, Rising got a two-count with a pumphandle slam. Rising looked for a powerbomb but had to drop Rae after struggling with the move. Moments later, she scored a pair of German Suplexes, bridging the second one into a pin attempt.
Rising tried for a second pumphandle slam, but Rae reversed and locked in a crossface submission for the tap. Rae is now one-half of MLP’s Women’s Championship final, which will take place at the promotion’s May event in Toronto.
Alex Zayne wins four-man scramble
In what was expected to be one of the most fast-paced fights on the card, a four-way bout between Taiji Ishimori, Kaito Kiyomiya, Stu Grayson, and Alex Zayne was next.
Zayne landed a brutal cannonball onto both Kiyomiya and Ishimori in the corner just a couple of minutes into the match. A minute later, Grayson scored a senton over the ropes and onto the ring apron, landing on Zayne. A dive from Ishimori was caught by Zayne and Grayson, setting up for Kiyomiya to do a dive to the outside that wiped out everyone else in the match.
Zayne had a series of big moves, including a Dragonrana off the top, but had a pin attempt after being stopped by a Shining Wizard from Kiyomiya around the six-minute mark.
Grayson got a near fall after a springboard moonsault onto Ishimori. He then gave everybody else a flurry of suplexes, with his last slam in the burst being an impressive belly-to-belly on Zayne.
Grayson came off the top with a Superplex – the crowd was quite behind him at this point. He teased a knee strike but was hit with a Shining Lancer from Kiyomiya. Ishimori took Kiyomiya out with a Poisonrana, leaving Zayne and Ishimori as the only wrestlers standing. Zayne scored with a Baja Blast, then put the Bullet Club member away with a Taco Driver (modified small package piledriver) for the win.
While quick at just nine minutes, this match delivered on the fast-paced expectations. Zayne really stood out as the star of this match – and that’s not because he won. He had a lot of notable moments throughout, being the star in his bout like he did on Friday’s card as well.
Gisele Shaw advances in tourmane with 20-minute war
The second-half of MLP’s Women’s Championship tournament was next, with AEW’s Serena Deeb facing former TNA star Gisele Shaw. Shaw received a pretty warm reception from her hometown of Windsor ahead of the match.
Worth noting: This was Deeb’s first televised Maple Leaf Pro match. While she wrestled on Friday’s card, it wasn’t part of the televised portion of the show.
Shaw scored the first big move of the match, ending a technical mat battle with a big boot that sent Deeb tumbling out of the ring. Shaw then went flying to the outside with a crossbody.
The two traded chops in the ring. Deeb regained control, setting up Shaw’s left leg around the ropes for a Dragonscrew leg whip. The pace slowed down as Deeb chipped away at Shaw, mainly doing moves that further worked the legs of Shaw.
Shaw started to mount a comeback near the 10-minute mark, hitting a double stomp onto the stomach of Deeb. Shaw unloaded a pair of clotheslines and series of strikes onto Deeb before a Spinebuster for a two-count.
After a series of reverses, Deeb landed a German Suplex. She then hit a Pepsi Twist, but Shaw had a kick-out at just one. Deeb came off the ropes but ate a powerslam from Shaw. After another series of reversals, Deeb put the Rings of Saturn on Shaw.
Shaw escaped the move, running Deeb into the turnbuckles and then hitting an air raid crash. After a near fall, Deeb put in the Serenity Lock with hopes of ending the fight. But, Shaw used kicks to escape the move. Shaw scored a hard knee strike to the head of Deeb at the end of an exchange, but the blow caused Deeb to roll out of the ring and thus left her unable to be pinned.
Shaw rolled Deeb into the ring and tried for another knee strike, but Deeb avoided the move. Deeb tried for the Deeb-tox, but Shaw reversed the move into a Tombstone Piledriver. While it was expected that this would end the match, Deeb surprisingly kicked out.
Shaw came flying off the ropes but was caught mid-air in a sleeper hold from Deeb. Shaw escaped and tried for a pin, but the referee seemingly didn’t notice the pin attempt. Shaw came off the ropes with a cutter, but that wasn’t enough to finish Deeb.
Shaw once again went for the knee strike, but Deeb caught it. Shaw landed a step-up knee strike afterward. After a series of reversals, Shaw escaped a backslide attempt. Shaw then put together a backslide of her own for the pinfall win.
Rae, who Shaw will face in the grand finals later this year, went out to greet her after the match. While things seemed cordial at first, Shaw clotheslined Rae and then beat her up for a couple of minutes. The duo are set to meet as part of MLP’s Northern Rising card on May 10 in Toronto.
At 20 minutes and 36 seconds, Shaw advanced to the finals with the longest match of the weekend thus far. This match had some fun moments, and it was interesting to see how these two’s styles matched up. However, some crucial errors near the end definitely hurt it, as did the length somewhat.
PCO wins death-defying street fight
It’s street fight time. The next bout saw Manitoba’s Michael Allen Richard Clark meet PCO under anything goes rules.
Clark got a jump on PCO to start, attacking him during his entrance and then doing a dive over the ropes to the outside. Clark tried for a powerbomb but had the move reversed into a back body drop from PCO.
PCO, 57, pulled a guardrail out from under the ring and set it up like a table using the ring apron and a steel chair. PCO and Clark took turns cracking each other over the head with baking sheets.
The fight went into the ring for the first time but was sent to ringside after a back body drop from Clark sent PCO over the ropes and through the guardrail he set up nearby.
Clark took a few weapons out from under the ring but had second thoughts about the wood wrapped in barbed wire. The vision of that weapon suddenly scared Clark away from the hardcore stipulation for a moment, as he started to put away many weapons.
PCO cracked Clark in the back with a steel chair, seemingly also clipping the back of his head as well, causing a cut to open. PCO set Clark up on a table at ringside, then came tumbling off the top with a senton. However, PCO almost entirely missed the table and landed hard on the floor. Ouch! A very hard spot to watch. PCO went to the top and did the same thing all over again, successfully breaking the table upon the second attempt.
PCO went for a tope suicida to outside of the ring but ate a garbage can to the head from Clark upon arrival. Back in the ring, Clark put a garbage can on the head of PCO and then wailed away at him with a kendo stick.
Clark set PCO up in the corner and connected with a Coast To Coast, but PCO kicked out from the pin attempt. Clark hit PCO in the head with a trash can after a failed pin attempt, but the move only caused PCO to power up.
PCO punched Clark through a garbage can, did a splash in the corner and then a DDT. PCO brought the barbed wire wooden two-by-four back into the ring and struck Clark in the stomach and back with it. Clark was cut around the forehead after PCO had grinded the barbed wire on his face.
From under the ring, PCO pulled out a pair of thin wooden boards with barbed wire, both of which had “PCO” spelled out on top. Clark threw one of the boards at PCO, then tossed him through it with a spinebuster. Cue the “holy s***” chants from the crowd.
Clark went to the top but was tossed to the outside by PCO. Clark was meant to go crashing through a table, but instead sort of slid off it and hit the ground awkwardly.
PCO poured a sack full of thumbtacks onto the ring canvas. He tried to chokeslam Clark onto the tacks but was stopped after Clark threw a handful of tacks at him. Clark put thumbtacks into PCO’s mouth and then kicked him in the head. Clark struck PCO over the head with a kendo stick, just around when PCO started to bleed from the top of his head. However, these kendo stick strikes only powered up PCO, who chokeslammed him onto a pile of thumbtacks.
PCO put his other barbed wire wooden board on top of Clark, then did a moonsault off the top rope for the win.
This was not a perfect match. There were some very worrying mistakes at times, like when a chair shot caught Clark in the head or the two instances where a dive to the outside ended with a wrestler eating the floor. PCO had the crowd in his palm by the end with his otherworldly spots and lived up to his stunt-man style of wrestling. But, to be honest, it did get ugly at moments in ways they seemingly didn’t plan.
Dyer and Gunn overcome Cardona and Latimer
Matt Cardona made his Maple Leaf Pro debut in the next match, teaming with NWA champ Thom Latimer to take on Billy Gunn and Bishop Dyer (formerly Baron Corbin).
The crowd got under the skin of Cardona early with “We want Chelsea [Green]” chants. Dyer, who shared the ring with Cardona in WWE more than a dozen times from 2015 to 2018, faced off in the early minutes of the match.
Dyer was isolated in the heel corner but escaped at the nine-minute mark to give Gunn a hot tag, kicking off the finishing sequence of the fight. Gunn tried for a Famouser on Cardona, but Cardona escaped. Gunn hit a neckbreaker for a pin attempt, but Latimer broke up the pin.
Cardona hit a DDT for a near fall after Latimer helped him regain the advantage in the fight. Latimer held Gunn as Cardona set up for a Rough Ryder off the ropes, although Gunn moved out of the way, and it was Latimer who took the move.
This pause gave Gunn the chance to hit Cardona with a Famouser. Gunn also gave Latimer a Famouser after tagging in Dyer. Then, Dyer closed the bout out with End of Days against Cardona for the pinfall win.
Rohan Raja cheats his way to title win against Rich Swann
In the final title match of the weekend, Rich Swann challenged Rohan Raja for the PWA Champion’s Grail. For those who don’t know, Raja gained this title with a win over Jake Somethng at MLP’s Forged In Excellence card last year. This weekend was his second time defending the title since then.
Raja sent Swann into the ringside steel steps about five minutes into the bout. He then went over to the ramp near the stage, throwing Swann headfirst onto it – that was a loud and convincing spot.
Swann continued to take damage in the ring, building to an eventual comeback. Swann broke out of a submission from Raja and started to battle back by the eight-minute mark. However, as he started to gain momentum, he ate a hard pop-up powerbomb from Raja.
Swann started to build himself back up shortly after the move. He tried for a move off the ropes, but pain from his left arm stopped him. Raja capitalized on this brief pause, hitting a backstabber for a two-count.
Raja started to taunt Swann, throwing an elbow pad at his head and telling him to get up. At their feet, the two traded blows. They both ended up falling to the mat after trading a few dozen shots, including a big front kick from Swann.
Swann was thrown into the ropes but came off the ropes with a cutter. Swann hit a pair of 450 splashes, but follow-up pin attempts after either move didn’t end the match. The crowd started to chant, “One more time!”
Swann came off the middle rope with a Phoenix Splash, but Raja avoided it and then hit a sidewalk slam for a two-count. Raja put in a Rings of Saturn, but Swann escaped by trying for a pin attempt.
Raja nearly got thrown into the referee, causing the ref to shell up and look away from the ring. This caused Raja to quickly rake the eyes of Swann, allowing him to connect with The Feast (jumping flatliner) for the win. Raja is still the PWA champ.
Josh Alexander helps Jet Setters score main event win
Before the main event, it was announced that a 20-man championship gauntlet would take place at Maple Leaf Pro’s May show in Toronto. QT Marshall joined Mauro Ranallo in the commentary booth for the main event.
Tag action closed out the card, as The Kingdom’s Matt Taven and Mike Bennett faced off against Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA (The Jet Setters).
Knight and KUSHIDA were on fire with double team moves, then took their fight to outside the ring. KUSHIDA hit the head of Taven on the timekeeper’s desk. The Japanese vet then set up a chair and sat Taven in it, giving Knight the chance to dive onto him from the ring apron – Knight somewhat slipped in his jump but stuck the landing.
A couple of minutes later, The Kingdom took the duo out with superkicks, with dual kicks knocking down Knight outside the ring. KUSHIDA was isolated in the ring by The Kingdom while Knight was out at ringside.
Knight later got a hot tag, taking out Bennett with a clothesline, then hitting his patented sky-high dropkick onto Taven. Knight tried for a leaping move onto Bennett but instead was given a powerbomb. The Kingdom did an impressive double-team elbow drop onto Knight for a two-count as the match neared the 10-minute mark.
The Kingdom continued to pick on Knight until he eventually leapt over both of them and got KUSHIDA into the match. KUSHIDA had a move off the top stopped by Taven, but Knight came in for the save and did an impressive super-frankensteiner.
KUSHIDA tried for a Hoverboard Lock on Taven but was stopped by Bennett, who set up a double team move onto him for a two-count. Both KUSHIDA and Knight put in submission holds, but Bennett broke both holds by slamming Knight onto KUSHIDA.
Bennett poked the eye of KUSHIDA, thinking the referee wasn’t looking, but the referee definitely saw it. The Kingdom, distracted by KUSHIDA reversing a move into a Ric Flair strut, got taken out by Knight coming off the top rope with a move (the cameras didn’t catch what exactly). Knight and KUSHIDA scored a double-team frogsplash, but Blake Christian and Sheldon Jean appeared at ringside and stopped the ref from counting the pin.
QT Marshall joined the ring to continue the brawl. However, as he was in the ring, Psycho Mike and Rich Swann came in for the save. The trio quickly took out Mike and Swann, allowing them to continue their attack. It’s worth noting that the match didn’t get thrown out during this.
The interfering trio put Swann on a table. Christian was about to do a top rope move onto Swann, but then suddenly, Josh Alexander appeared for a run-in. He brawled with Marshall, putting him through the table after Swann escaped the position.
Since the ref saw none of that, the match continued in the ring. KUSHIDA went for a pin, but the ref was still knocked out at ringside, meaning the pin didn’t count for anything. Taven gave KUSHIDA a superkick, then the duo did a backpack stunner. But, once again, no ref. A new referee appeared for the count, but KUSHIDA kicked out at the last moment.
The Kingdom tried for another double-team move, but KUSHIDA escaped. He gave Bennett a back body drop, then the duo hit their double-team crossbody once again to earn the pinfall win.
Alexander grabbed the mic afterward and announced that he’ll be wrestling at MLP’s May 10th card in Toronto.
Final Thoughts: While the finishing sequence felt like a bit much, the main event was a fun tag match between two solid teams. Josh Alexander appearing was a fun surprise, and his appearance at the promotion’s Toronto card should be a big deal. Overall, the first night of Maple Leaf Pro sticks out to me as the better of the two cards, but Saturday’s lineup was still a fun three-hour presentation from Windsor.
