AksyoNovela TV returns later today, and I went ahead and checked the last three episodes over on YouTube to catch up. How has the Manila Wrestling Federation been doing, 12 episodes into their weekly show? Let's find out.
Quick Match Results
Episode 10Frankie Thurteen defeats Nigel SSJ with a suplex - Like
Jeff of the Man Bros vs Jomar Liwanag ends in a no contest - Like
Episode 11
Ken Cifer defeats Red Shirt Trainee - Like
Fabio Makisig defeats "Godkiller" Dabid Ravena - Like
Episode 12
Man Bros defeat Bahay ng Liwanag (c) for the AWGC Tag Team Championships - Like
HoHo Lun (c) defeats TAJIRI to retain the MWF Championship - Dislike
Are Championship Expectations Too High?
As you may have noticed, almost all of the matches were enjoyable for me. What can I say? I'm a wrestling fan who's not really well-versed in the technical aspects, and generally I'm just happy to see some action. Nigel continues to impress in defeat (though he really needs to win a match soon). Frankie Thurteen is adopting a more aggressive style. Jomar is a solid wrestler who's able to hide Moises's shortcomings well. It's too early to say if Ken Cifer will be awesome, but his first impressions are promising. Even their trainees do their jobbing well, if that makes sense.But interestingly, the match that really bummed me out was HoHo Lun vs. TAJIRI, and I've been thinking about why. Was it too long? The match took about 12 minutes, whch seems about pretty standard. Were they pacing themselves? After all, taping-wise this was just the midpoint of their day. Currently, this might be the more likely reason. The local talents are eager to amaze us, but the veterans know how to work long days, even if it means some of the matches are more boring.
Episode 12 Had Spotlight Issues
One of the camera angles for Episode 12 (and Episode 12 only) was too bright, and it interferes with the enjoyment of the match. At first I thought it was part of the difficulty in taping in the Arete Black Box for the first time, but I went back to the previous episodes and it wasn't happening there. The best guess is that they made the light intentionally stronger for the two title matches/main events, and the taping issues weren't noticed until after the event. It's too bad, too; it's possible that it contributed to making these matches less enjoyable. Verdict: DislikePolitician on a Wheelchair
PAC RG returned in Episode 11, and he quickly reminded us that he's one of MWF's best promos. It's not just his skills with the mic, too—he truly knows how to present how to presnt his character in a way that gets great fan reactions. This time around, he borrowed a page from the corrupt politician's life cycle by blatantly lording his injury over everyone else. We were primed to cheer him for being legitimately injured, but in a heartbeat he's a heel again. And he did this even as he teased a potential break from the CoCo Gus administration. Verdict: LikeNew Characters Get Introduced
Episode 10 opened with Gigz Stryker finding the discarded body of PAC RG in the UP Lagoon, of all places. He then brought RG to some Doc Dexter, a quack doctor of some kind, to fix him. This video segment was a little too long for my tastes, but it was intriguing enough. I wonder if Doc Dexter will enter the active roster. Also, Gigz, kailan ka magre-wrestling uli?Meanwhile, the man in the shadows who snitched on the CoCo Gus administration in earlier episodes has now been revealed. He is a new character named is Ken Cifer, also called the Asian Nightmare. There was a bit of a disconnect with how his behind-the-shadows promos were in Tagalog, while he spoke on English on the mic. At any rate, it looks like more wrestlers are now positioned against CoCo Gus. Verdict: Like
It Was Fun While it Lasted
And just like that, the AWGC Tag Team Championships are no longer in Filipino hands. It was probably inevitable - unless MWF puts the belts on a tag team who has the disposable money and the passport to travel to different countries of Southeast Asia, we weren't going to hold international belts for a long time. It would be nice, though. Verdict: DislikeOh, on a slight tangent—hardcore fans probably know this already, but I found out that apparently the main difference between the MWF Championship and the upcoming Kampeon ng Masa is that the former can apparently be defended outside the country, whereas KNM is Philippines-only. That's an interesting distinction. Currently, the main contenders for the Kampeon ng Masa are Jomar Liwanag, Rex Lawin, and Classical Bryan Leo (who was reintroduced into the tournament by a vindictive PAC RG.) Given how the current storyline is playing out, it looks to be Rex Lawin's belt to take, but imagine if Jomar wins it...
Total Likes: 7
Total Dislikes: 3
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.
