Major League Wrestling's (MLW) first premium live event of the year will be special with the return of Matt Riddle and Sami Callihan, as well as World Heavyweight Champion Alex Cain defending his title against Richard Holiday. It is expected.
“Kings of the Coliseum” takes place Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at Philadelphia's 2300 Arena and can be watched on Triller TV.
MLW founder Court Bauer told FOX News Digital in a recent interview that the first Premium Live Event (PLE) is the start of what is expected to be a big year for the company.
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“This is a big year for us,” Bauer said. “We've been charting a direction for the last couple of years, and that direction is towards big growth, which is what any company wants, and we're about to enter that period. “We've been making some moves behind the scenes, but this is it.''This is going to be a tumultuous year for us, but we're going to start off with a bang in Philadelphia.''
After WWE and Riddle parted ways, MLW acquired Riddle. The company also acquired Callihan after he parted ways with Total Nonstop Action (TNA). Both players previously competed in MLW, Riddle from 2017-2018 and Callihan from 2017-2019.
MLW founder Court Bauer previewed “Kings of Colosseum.'' (MLW)
Riddle will face Jacob Fatu in a singles match. Callihan will also face former New Japan Pro Wrestling star Satoshi Kojima in a singles match. With his return, Bauer vowed to give wrestling fans more action and less melodrama.
“It's part of the long-term strategy we're working on,” he explained. “If you look at pro wrestling today, it's entering a new Wild West era. You have agents in Beverly Hills running WWE, and then you have MLW. We're full of real grit. We're not pandering to Hollywood. We're doing it unapologetically.'' Pro wrestling, we're a martial arts sport.
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“MLW doesn't have a room full of Hollywood screenwriters and storyline-writing agendas. Frankly, we don't have the same kind of things that the UFC does today as they did in the '80s and '90s.” We're doing this the way we used to do it. You make the best.'”
Kings of Colosseum isn't the only card on the schedule. MLW will return for “Superfight” on February 3rd in Philadelphia, followed by “Intimidation Game” on February 29th in New York.
MLW heads to Tampa-St. On March 29th, a “War Chamber'' will be held in Petersburg, Florida. Aztec Lucha will be held at MLW on May 11th.
Additionally, Bauer told FOX News Digital that he is looking to expand MLW's international footprint and wants to offer more live shows.
“We want to dominate the United States, and to do that we need a certain level of star power to drive box office ticket sales,” Bauer said. “They're going to bring a lot of people who might not know about MLW to come check out MLW and meet the next generation of talent.”
Matt Riddle and Sami Callihan return to “Kings of the Coliseum.” (MLW)
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“These are interesting times because it takes real guts to stand out in a very competitive landscape. There is a reason other promoters want our talent. They know the show is good, they know the talent.'' It's amazing and you can only see it on MLW. That's a big part of our purpose. ”
In addition to Saturday's PLE, you can watch “Major League Wrestling: Fusion” Thursdays at 8pm ET on beIN Sports, Triller TV and YouTube.
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