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Manila Wrestling Federation

Manila Wrestling Federation (MWF) was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Philippines. MWF was founded in late 2014, and relaunched in 2018. It shut down on May 25, 2024.

MWF promotes itself as the home of "Aksyonovela" – a portmanteau of the Filipino word for "action" and the suffix of telenovela – representing the mix of athletic wrestling action and timely, relatable storytelling that the promotion presents.[1]

History

MWF's beginnings came on the heels of another Philippine pro wrestling promotion, Philippine Wrestling Revolution (PWR). Some of MWF's founders – like Mike Shannon, Robin Sane, Mr. Lucha, Tarek El Tayech, and William Elvin – had worked with PWR, but internal issues led to their departure from that company in late 2014.[2] They then started laying the foundations of MWF along with co-founder Tala Haliya, recruited wrestlers and talents, and started wrestling training.[3][4]

MWF informally launched at History Channel's HistoryCon event in August 2016, staging wrestling matches across three days of the convention. MWF wrestlers were joined by wrestlers from Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW), like The Eurasian Dragon, "The Statement" Andruew Tang, Alexis Lee, and The Thaibarrian.[5]

In April 2017, MWF produced its debut show, MWF Live, at the Makati Square Arena.[6][7] After 4 more shows, MWF did a relaunch of its product in February 2018 at MWF Open House: Level UP, at the University of the Philippines Diliman.[8][9]

Starting MWF 1: Kasaysayan, all of MWF's shows are numbered sequentially.[10][11][12][13][14]

MWF also produces an online weekly wrestling show, Aksyonovela TV, on its YouTube channel. Its first episode aired on October 23, 2019. In November 2019, MWF started to tape episodes in front of a live audience.[15]

On May 25, 2024, on a Facebook post, Manila Wrestling Federation announced its abrupt closure.

On June 27, 2024, one month after the closure of MWF, PUSO Wrestling was on the soft launch featuring most of the MWF wrestlers as its current roster. It will be officially launched in August 2024.

Championships

MWF Championship

Established in 2018. Redesigned in 2019 and is now known as the “Jeepney belt”, which contains Filipino themed symbols like perlas "pearls", araw "sun", tambo "reed/bulrush", manok "chicken", pula at bughaw na strap "red and blue strap", and Jeepney main plate.[16]

Combined reigns

Roster

Male wrestlers

"The Senyorito" Jake de Leon

Female wrestlers

Crystal

Other personnel

Mr. Sy

MWF Alumni

Visiting international wrestlers

2013 Singapore. Ho Ho Lun against a wrestler called Bit Man, operating an arm bar on his opponent.
2013 Singapore. Ho Ho Lun against a wrestler called Bit Man, operating an arm bar on his opponent.

References

  1. ^ "Rappler Talk Sports: Manila Wrestling Federation". Rappler. July 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "PWR 2014: From My Side of the Fence [No Curtains Needed #3]". MWF Insider Blog. March 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "Manila Wrestling Federation". The Philippine Star. August 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Musings from the Tech Booth – Part 2, and Your Questions Answered [No Curtains Needed]". MWF Insider Blog. June 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "3 Things We Learned From The Manila Wrestling Federation's Debut". Smark Henry. August 31, 2016.
  6. ^ "[FULL RESULTS] MWF Live: MWF x MCS". Smark Henry. April 8, 2017.
  7. ^ "The Arena (Rune Stones & Voodoo, Who Do #6)". MWF Insider Blog. April 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Here's What Went Down At The 2018 Relaunch of the Manila Wrestling Federation". Smark Henry. February 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "New and improved MWF at 'Open House: Level UP'". Rappler. February 26, 2018.
  10. ^ "MWF 1: Kasaysay makes history". Manila Bulletin. April 10, 2018.
  11. ^ "Manila Wrestling Federation makes history in Quezon City". Fox Sports Philippines. April 9, 2018.
  12. ^ "Event Results". MWF Insider Blog. February 25, 2018.
  13. ^ "MWF 6: Noche Buena Delivers One Strong Ending to 2018". When in Manila. December 4, 2018.
  14. ^ "Fabio Makisig and local wrestlers strike back vs 'Foreign Invasion' at MWF 11: Road to Fate". BusinessWorld. September 24, 2019.
  15. ^ "MWF tapes episodes for 'Aksyonovela TV' weekly online wrestling show". Rappler. November 15, 2019.
  16. ^ "BAKIT GANYAN ANG MWF BELT?". Manila Wrestling Federation. September 2, 2022.
  17. ^ "Robin Sane becomes inaugural MWF champ". Manila Bulletin. December 3, 2018.
  18. ^ "Ex-WWE superstar Tajiri claims he's the 'mother' of Philippine wrestling". Spin.ph. May 21, 2019.

External links