Manila Wrestling Federation (MWF) Debuts at Makati Cinema Square Arena
“Pro Wrestling returns to Makati Cinema Square Arena!”
Manila Wrestling Federation (MWF) had its very first stand-alone show at the Makati Cinema Square Arena last April 8, 2017. The MCS Arena hasn’t had pro wrestling action since last September 2015’s PWR Renaissance 2 and the MWF brought that action that the MCS Arena has sorely missed.
The MWF’s Goal
Commissioner Mike Shannon opened the show to thank everyone who was in attendance for their first wrestling event. He said that the MWF started from a dream and that this event was a couple of years in the making. Mr. Shannon also told the MCS Arena crowd that their goal is to become the no. 1 professional wrestling company in South East Asia!
Fabio Makisig vs Ninja Ryujin
The man with the long hair who called himself Fabio Makisig got the mic to berate the audience members for their looks. Makisig went so far as he taunted an audience member. Ninja Ryujin, MWF’s resident Urban Ninja, came to ringside to halt Makisig’s insults to the MWF audience.
Both men had a great start with them avoiding each other’s kicks and strikes. Fabio got the upperhand initially with a literal flip of his hair that landed on the face of Ryujin. Ryujin would try to deliver a spinning wheel kick, but Makisig caught the leg and trapped his opponent in a leg lock. Ryujin eventually escaped the hold and would deliver a fine spinning head scissors to take down his opponent. Fabio would wrest control of the match once more with a dragon screw on Ryujin’s leg. Makisig continued to work on Ninja Ryujin’s leg for a few good minutes to try and win the matchup. Ninja Ryujin surprised Fabio with a rollup and almost got a 3 count for the win. Eventually it would be Fabio Makisig winning after a well placed roundhouse kick to the back of his opponent’s head (after he tricked Ryujin to shake his hand) that he calls the Primera Klasika Sipa.
House of Wrestling Showcase: Moises Liwanag vs Hanzello Shilva
Moises Liwanag went to ringside to talk to the crowd. He told the crowd that they needed him as he is “the son of light”. The MCS Arena crowd would shout “Alien”/”Amen” to the charismatic minister after every line he spoke. He was against a fellow MWF trainee, Hanzello Shilva.
Hanz got the advantage early on as he tripped Moises and clamped on a leglock. Moises escaped the hold via the ropes and made his retreat to the outside. Hanz followed Moises outside and a small brawl erupted near the crowd. Both men return to the ring where Moises delivered an eye poke to Hanz and wrest control of the matchup. Hanz trapped Moises in a cross armbreaker, but Liwanag reached the ropes to break the painful submission maneuver. Hanzello tried to deliver a shinning wizard kick to Moises, but the latter caught him and put on a leg lock. Moises Liwanag used his brute strength to deliver a rolling fireman’s carry slam and punctuated it with a running splash for a two count. Shilva fought back and took his opponent down with an impressive springboard armdrag and won the match with his shinning wizard variant called the Bel-Earth.
An angry Moises dropped Hanzello Shilva down the mat after the match with a side suplex like maneuver he called the Liwanag Sa Dilim.
Gigs Stryker vs Rex Lawin (w/ Coach Gus Queens)
Coach Gus Queens went ringside and also thanked the crowd for attending the show. He said that show will be the best experience of their lives. Coach would leave ringside as the next match would happened…but he would return once more! Coach Queens challenged anyone at the backstage area to have a fight.
MWF’s resident Pinoy Action Star, Gigs Stryker, came to answer said challenge. Coach Queens told him and the rest that he will be facing his protégé, the proprietor of Filipino Strong Style…Rex Lawin!!!
Rex Lawin and Gigs Stryker had a nice exchange of kicks and strikes in this one-on-one bout. Lawin overpowered Stryker for most of the match, delivering some hard hitting chops and kicks on the action star. One of the most devastating kicks Lawin would give Stryker was on the outside with a hard kick across Stryker’s chest. Rex Lawin connected with a devastating spinebuster and pinned Gigs for a two count. Gigs Stryker mounted a superb comeback, cornering Lawin and delivering some fast strikes reminiscent of Pinoy Action Star Fernando Poe, Jr.!!! He connected with his enzugiri kick he called the Shoot to Kill and would lock Lawin in a sharpshooter that he dubbed the Asintado.
Coach Queens distracted Gigs and the referee for Lawin to reach the ropes and escape the submission hold. Gigs Stryker put an end to the match with his finishing move Kalibre 3:16 (stunner).
Post match, Coach Queens congratulated Gigs Stryker. Rex Lawin attacked Gigs from behind and dragged him back into the ring. Lawin planted Stryker on the mat with a vicious spinning gutwrench powerbomb. Coach Queens didn’t seem to have what it took to stop his protégé, and their relationship might be the most interesting thing to look out for in future MWF shows.
House of Wrestling Showcase: Morgan Vaughn vs Frankie Thurteen
The second House of Wrestling Showcase featured two young exciting talents in Morgan Vaughn and Frankie Thurteen. Morgan Vaughn was this wrestler who had a very interesting mask with some equally interesting ring attire.
Both men had a fist bump, as a sign of respect, to start off the match. The two competitors had an exchange of submission holds such as a couple of armbars, wristlocks and even a crossface. Morgan Vaughn planted Thurteen on the mat as a counter to the latter’s crossface for a 2 count. Thurteen connected with a vertical suplex and almost got an early pinfall. The fight spilt outside the ring where Morgan Vaughn delivered a devastating superkick on Frankie’s leg that was placed on the ring post. Frankie made a comeback and delivered a 619 to his opponent. Vaughn, however, would take control of the matchup soon. Vaughn planted Frankie on the mat with a DDT from the apron before he connected with a running ‘drive by’ kick on the outside of the ring. Morgan Vaughn delivered some “NO” kicks to the chest of Thurteen. Vaughn tried to deliver a GTS, but Thurteen converted the move into a DDT. Both men went down after they delivered their respective superkicks to the other. Frankie Thurteen would win the hard fought match with a flying stomp off the top rope that he called the “Angel Bullet”.
Manila Rules Match: Mr. Lucha vs Robin Sane
Mr. Lucha and Robin Sane competed in the very first Manila Rules Match in the MCS Arena. The match consisted of 5 rounds, with a 4-minute time limit each. There would also be a 30 second break in between these rounds.
1st Round: Both men had a quick exchange of holds at the start of the round. The highlight came with Robin Sane did a headstand off the head scissors lock on Mr. Lucha. Mr. Lucha would slowly get the leg scissor off Sane and did a light leg sweep on Robin Sane’s headstand.
2nd Round: Robin Sane tried to chop off the legs of Lucha with some well placed kicks. Both men showed off some rolls and flips to the amazement of the crowd. Mr. Lucha delivered a hard chest slap on Sane. Sane would try to deliver a spinning head scissors but Mr. Lucha did a cartwheel to counter the momentum and have him land on both feet. Mr. Lucha took off the top rope and landed a flying axehandle smash on Robin Sane outside the ring. Robin Sane countered with a suicide dive off the ropes on Mr. Lucha. Round 2 ended with both men down after a Mr. Lucha airplane spin.
3rd Round: Robin Sane took Mr. Lucha down a couple of times with his modified neckbreakers. Sane grounded Mr. Lucha momentarily for this round. Mr. Lucha fought back and delivered a hard backbreaker for a 2 count. Mr. Lucha hit a delayed vertical suplex on Robin Sane before the end of the round.
4th Round: A “Robin Sane” chant started as Sane was being urged to get up by the fans at the start of round 4. Both men deliver a slap on the other as they showed signs of frustration, most notably for Robin Sane. Robin Sane kicked out of a Mr. Lucha backslide pin by 2. Robin Sane would get hit by an enzugiri by Mr. Lucha. Robin Sane connected with a hurracanrana. Robin Sane performed the very first 450 splash in Philippine wrestling history on the last second of the 4th round. Sane got the 1–2–3,, but the time expired before the pin would be finished, giving neither men an advantage going into the 5th round.
5th Round: Both men started to brawl inside the ring and get the final round. Robin Sane connected with a discus chest chop on Mr. Lucha, followed by a senton splash for 2. Mr. Lucha responded with a huge discus clothesline on Robin Sane and a running senton of his own. Both men would go on a chest chopping/slapping contest on each other for a good while. Robin Sane’s codebreaker attempt was blocked and Mr. Lucha lifted him up for his finisher called the DVD-X (a powerbomb-into-death valley driver move) for the victory.
After the match, both men shook each other’s hand as a show of respect.
The very first MWF match was very enjoyable. There were some technical things that they can easily address the next time (microphone/audio issues and the 45 minute break), but overall it was a great debut show for the company. Special thanks to the people at MWF for inviting us and for printing and displaying the awesome Wheninmanila.com tarp that was on display at the MCS arena during the entire show (picture to be uploaded once the official blog entry release will be out :) ). I totally can’t wait for the next MWF show this year.
Photos by: Jonathan Guillermo, Hub Pacheco, and Martin Vicencio
MWF Live at MCS Quick Results:
Fabio Makisig d. Ninja Ryujin via pinfall
Hanzello Shilva d. Moises Liwanag via pinfall
Gigz Stryker d. Rex Lawin (w/ Coach Gus Queens) via pinfall
Frankie Thurteen d. Morgan Vaughn via pinfall
Manila Rules Match: Mr. Lucha d. Robin Sane via pinfall at the 5th Round
