Hello! I’ve been away for awhile because of real life, but I am now back for more MWF coverage. And it’s been a busy couple of months for the promotion—Youngblxxd won the AWGC Tag Team Championships, the MWF Championship belt got a major overhaul, and the championship eggs got scrambled. A lot. But let’s get to the most recent development, shall we?
Ever since MWF relaunched in 2018, the promotion has collected a small wealth of footage of video productions, in-ring promos, and wrestling matches. MWF has posted these sporadically on their Facebook Page or YouTube accounts. But they’re likely still sitting on a large stash of raw, unedited files, and a weekly show is a good way to get these out for public consumption. What can they do with all this footage?
Enter AksyoNovela TV.
To be honest, a small part of me wanted this to be a live show. But realistically, we’re not quite there yet. Pro wrestling is still a niche form of entertainment, and the infrastructure required to demand weekly performances from wrestlers isn’t there yet. So instead we have what is essentially a recap show that uses their footage archive.
The first episode show ran for close to 20 minutes, and for now, we can expect the succeeding shows to last around the same length. It opened with a photo tribute to the late Tony Mabesa, one of the greats of UP theater and film and onetime actor in MWF’s vignettes.
It then showcased two matches, both of which were main events for previous live shows. The first was the MWF championship bout between Khayl Sison and Ho Ho Lun, held during Road to Fate just last month. Meanwhile, the second match was the Robin Sane versus Fabio Makisig match at Noche Buena to determine the inaugural MWF champion last year.
There’s commentary by Sonny Go and Tarek El Tayech to keep things new, but as these are past matches, there’s not a lot to see here if you already watch all MWF live shows. Incidentally, though, I’ve missed both shows due to real life, so I am personally grateful to finally see these matches that I’ve only heard about from friends who watched. This is the other value that AksyoNovela TV provides. As a promotion that is heavily invested in their storylines, it helps casual fans to catch up even if they don’t get to watch every MWF event.
So yeah, all in all, I am glad that AksyoNovela TV exists. Let me end this with a wishlist of things I hope to see in future episodes.
- AksyoNovela TV as a hub for promo vignettes. MWF does amazing promo videos, but it can be scattered all over Facebook and YouTube. By adding them to episodes, important storyline promos can be centralized in one series.
- The occasional live match. In its early days, MWF used to show dark matches in an otherwise empty Makati Cinema Square. I think that same formula can work here.
- Better audio for the commentators. We love your enthusiasm, Tarek, but please don’t kill our ears.
Photo from MWF
Disclaimer: BJ Recio is personal friends with the wrestler who plays the Fabio Makisig character. He is otherwise unaffiliated with the Manila Wrestling Federation in any way, shape, or form.
