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MWF 'Kasaysayan': Full results and review
With Pinoy pop-flavored characters and upgraded production values, Manila Wrestling Federation's "Kasaysayan" was an effective restart for the promotion, giving audiences a look at what WWE's "Raw" might look like if set in urban Philippines.
Better audio, bigger venue
Leaving the recently-closed Makati Cinema Square arena behind, MWF picked Elements at Centris as their first home last April 8.
This naturally meant an improvement in audio and lighting, but MWF outdid itself by bringing in an actual wrestling ring — vastly improving the performance and output of even the greenest wrestler on the roster.
The change in format, including the intermittent appearance of three hosts, frequent promos, and skits made "Kasaysayan" feel like a Filipino version of WWE's "Monday Night Raw," with a lesser budget, greenhorns, and a tighter pacing.
All the men and women of MWF also got an upgrade; it seems they've grasped the fundamentals of wrestling, got more budget for their gear, and are slowly getting the skills they need to tell the stories they want.
But MWF's most monumental improvement was its ability to finally distinguish itself from other promotions by giving fans something it can only give: family-friendly wrestling with a Pinoy pop culture taste.
Before the show began, Robin Sane was presented an award for his groundbreaking work for MWF. He would later show the medal off to his partner Ho Ho Lun in a pre-match segment, only to be dejected when Lun in turn showed off his new King of Pro Wrestling title.
The two segments finally gave the ever-cheerful Sane something to frown about. Last year, troubles with the villainous Coach Gus Queens and Rex Lawin were enough to make him frown, but it had no potential for internal change.
With this little wrinkle, Sane's slowly being given the unwanted choice between staying MWF's resident good guy or turning into MWF's top guy — and set up later events in his match with Lun against Mr. Lucha, and the Eurasian Dragon.
Fabio Makisig vs. Jomar Liwanag
The undefeated Makisig started this match by taunting Jomar and later on, declaring that he would send the once-blind evangelist back to the dark by repeatedly going after his eyes.
While Makisig wowed with his standing Shooting Star Press and usual display of athleticism, it was antics like pettily slapping Jomar's head and losing his temper that showed Makisig's capacity for being a good, jerkish heel.
His overreactions at being hit should still be addressed, though.
Jomar, on the other hand, vastly improved since his defeat at "Noche Buena" in December. Aside from improved mobility, he's finally gaining the strength he needs to do deadlift slams, spinebusters, and other power moves fitting for his build.
Alas, Jomar was defeated when Makisig made attempts to harm his holy book, the enormous Book of Liwanag. By defending it, Jomar opened himself to a flurry of strikes and a pin, allowing Makisig to defend his winning streak.
Winner: Fabio Makisig via pinfall
Makisig's bold declaration of blinding Jomar once agan came true when he grinded Jomar eye-first onto the ropes.
What he failed in doing was to put salt on Jomar's wounds as his attempt to desecrate the Book of Liwanag ended in an encounter with a mysterious, "white lady"-like entity after opening it
This fearful encounter opened up the possibility of another female wrestler entering active competition, and Makisig and Jomar entering a long-term rivalry.
Ashura & Kyle Sison vs. Aldrin Richards & Hanzhello Shilva
A battle of former rivals-turned-partners, this tag team match was laudable for developing Ashura and Sison's rivalry and making Richards and Shilva's partnership feel organic.
Sison and Ashura, throughout the match, stopped mid-attack to argue even with the momentum in their favor, hinting that Mr. Lucha's mentoring of the pair was not going too well.
They did, however, learn enough to hit solid double team moves and individually, balance their ground-based offense with strikes and little flairs that gave Ashura and Sison more personality than a "girl from Japan" and "hypebeast."
Richards and Shilva, though by no means at the top in terms of polish, remains two of the most compelling wrestlers on the roster and talents to watch for in Philippine wrestling as a whole.
They, and even Ashura and Sison, were more confident in their movements, seem surer in their execution of moves, and had better grasps of when to release high-impact moves. They were definitely not the backyard wrestlers that they were last year.
Ultimately, Ashura and Sison's antagonisms cost them the match as a brief argument lead to Shilva regaining enough momentum to tag in Richards, who put away Sison with an ushigoroshi (fireman's carry neckbreaker).
Winner: Aldrin Richards & Hanzhello Shilva via pinfall
An enthused fan interrupted Richards return backstage for a selfie, triggering jealousy in Shilva who, just a month ago, was locked in a tense rivalry with MWF's resident bae.
It's still up in the air if this will cause a rift in the young partnership, but the fan's actions were pleasantly discouraged by MWF Senior Analyst Tarek el Tayech, who came out to fulfill a request for an interview.
Unfortunately for him, the requester turned out to be wrestling life coach Gus Queens, who believes KapaFEDS have him and not MWFs new, unnamed investors for the positive changes in the promotion.
It's clear in his speech that the charismatic Queens harbors resentment towards MWF's new bosses, as he ranted against it being run a business, though it's unclear if this had anything to do with his position as MWF's CFO or if he's been ousted.
Either way, Queens sicced his talent Rex Lawin on Tayech mid-speech, perhaps as a first move against MWF's new business structure that he felt paid him dust.
Rex Lawin vs. Frankie Thurteen
Thurteen and Lawin showed promise back then and, at the risk of sounding repetitive, their moves and even their gear had only gotten better since their December show.
Thurteen in particular had the most added to his character. The almost complete rehaul of his gear — and the inclusion of his "girlfriend," a portrait of a three-eyed girlfriend — did wonders for his aesthetic.
In-ringwise, his quick strikes and dangerous-looking moves like the Angel Bullet (double foot stomp from the middle rope) distinguished his style from everyone on the roster.
All of this worked to Thurteen's advantage until his attempt at a God's Last Gift (small package driver), wherein Lawin proceeded to show show KapaFEDS why he earned the moniker of "Danger."
Lawin reversed Thurteen's God's Last Gift into a kimura lock and though the Grunge Grappler managed to return it into a strike exchange, Lawin turned things around again to beat Thurteen into unconsciousness for the win through TKO.
Winner: Rex Lawin via referee stoppage
It must be noted that though Lawin has work ahead of him to fully utilize his heft, he came across in this match as a threat with his powerful strikes and ragdolling of Thurteen.
Lawin's showing made Queens' threat to Australian vet Greg Bownds more credible, and made Lawin's post-match assault on Thurteen seem like a promise should the Australasian Wrestling Federation champion ever fulfills the challenge he made to Lawin last December.
One of the wrestlers who poured out backstage to stop the assault was Mr. Lucha, who was interviewed backstage along with the Eurasian Dragon followed the attack.
Lucha and Dragon established in the interview their confidence in the latter's tag team prowess due to him being a tag team champion in Singapore, and a stronger camaraderie than Lun and Sane did in their earlier promo.
This was a pleasant turnaround for Lucha, who was made out to be a grumpy, unqualified, and arrogant mentor in his promos in December in spite of being one of the faces of MWF.
Easily one of the highlights of the night, 90's action star Gigz Stryker and university student RG's short film "Sagot Kita! Anytime, Anywhere" made its world premiere before the penultimate match of "Kasaysayan."
"Sagot Kita! Anytime, Anywhere" was chock-full of tropes from 90's action movies: random thugs hassling common people? Check. A beautiful leading lady — played here by actress Maria Ozawa — getting hassled by said thugs? Check. Cheesy music paired with cheesy fight sequences? Double check.
What made the tongue-in-cheek send-up even more special was the film spilling into real life, allowing Stryker and RG a second chance to win back Ozawa's purse, which they then presented to her in-ring.
Winner: Gigz Stryker & RG
Unfortunate "kiss" chants aside, this segment and the follow-up after the next match gave Stryker's gimmick of being a 90's action star a little more credence and complicates RG's quest to become like his idol and mentor.
Will the "isko" forego his thesis just so he can defend others the way Stryker has, or will he stick to his guns to graduate and defend the people in his own way?
Ninja Ryujin vs. Morgan Vaughn
Between Jomar and Ninja Ryujin, Ryujin beat out the evangelist by a hair on who was the most improved since their last, official big show.
Not only did his physique improve, but Ryujin was able to live up to his name a little more by keeping up with Vaughn's rapid pace and reversing the Glitch's offense with agility that was, at one point, unimaginable coming from him.
Vaughn, meanwhile, was effective as a heel. If Makisig is a bullying jerk, Vaughn is the kind of jerk one encounters online or in local coffee shops, full of arrogance and self-centeredness, and a prime target for face-punching.
Still, Vaughn is a capable wrestler who executed a number of moves with style. He showed fans "something cool" with his meteora and shotgun dropkick with theatrics, and perhaps in the future, he'll flaunt more tricks for the kids.
In the end, Vaughn's arrogance caught up to him as Ryujin was able to reverse an extended set-up to send him to the middle of the ring with a headscissors for an Asai DDT that got the ninja the 1-2-3.
Winner: Ninja Ryujin via pinfall
Robin Sane & Ho Ho Lun vs. Mr. Lucha & The Eurasian Dragon
It was amazing how time flew by to get to this match. Whereas technical hitches and unmanageable match lengths extended the length of previous shows, "Kasaysayan" only took two hours to reach the main event.
And truly, the four men in this match made it worth the wait. A match that sent folks happy, this tag match generated the most reaction from the crowd through its sheer entertainment value.
Lun, unsurprisingly, was the star as his aloof persona and — barring a flip to the outside — mostly grounded style clashed with the always-hyper Sane. He knows his character, how to portray his arrogance effectively, and back it up with excellent in-ring work.
Sane and Lun supposedly being unable to coordinate for their match was evident in their lack of teamwork, made more obvious by Lucha and Dragon's tag moves and easy camaraderie.
Dragon, to his credit, was energetic and tapped into the easy-going nature of the crowd by regularly interacting with them. Lucha and the opposing Sane were able to keep up with the two, though the former had moments where he felt as if he was running out of gas.
What made this match fall flat was its finish: at the end, Dragon took hold of a distracted Lun to hit a blockbuster and a side Russian leg sweep for a pin that did not look planned at all.
Winner: Mr. Lucha & The Eurasian Dragon via pinfall
Lun, a consummate professional, took his complaints to the referee after the three-count and then to the timekeeper when he couldn't get the decision reversed.
Perhaps driven by rage, or mad that Sane was not as angry as he was with the loss, Lun returned to the ring to attack his partner with several chair shots until Lucha came in to rescue Sane, his self-professed friend.
When Filipino wrestling fans chat about their local scene, they think of three promotions: MWF, Philippine Wrestling Revolution (PWR), and Art of War Wrestling (AOWW).
Each three have their own unique offerings: MWF has its family-friendly, comfortably Pinoy characters; PWR has a strong internet and international presence with top-quality matches; and AOWW has the most wrestlers with physiques that people who have not kept up with modern wrestling think when they say "pro wrestler."
With this show, MWF was able to distinguish itself further and become a true alternative to other promotions, through strong production values, Pinoy pop culture tropes not in use elsewhere, and a firm emphasis on keeping things family-friendly.
"Kasaysayan" was by no means perfect, but it was history-making for a company with bold ambitions, as stated by MWF's real world president Tayech in his interview with GMA News Online:
MWF's second event for 2017, "Maki-Wrestling, 'Wag Matakot," will be held on May 27 at the UP Bahay ng Alumni. Ticketing and scheduling details will be finalized in the upcoming weeks. — LA, GMA News
Footage courtesy of Meanne Bruan, editing by Rie Takumi.
