MLW Roundup: Lucha Underground brain hired as executive producer, Zeda Zhang’s first opponent, more!

The MLW Roundup is socking it to you one day early, because MLW is having their first PPV on Saturday, November 2. Let’s get caught up on the week’s news for the wrestling company that never sleeps.

Saturday Night SuperFight

MLW’s first PPV is Saturday night (Nov. 2). The stories and feuds have been building to this moment since February. Saturday Night SuperFight will be headlined by Jacob Fatu defending his Heavyweight Championship against LA Park.

Get pumped.

PPV lineup:

• No DQ Heavyweight Championship: Jacob Fatu vs LA Park
• Middleweight Championship: Teddy Hart vs Austin Aries
• Texas Tornado Tag Team Championship: MJF & Richard Holliday vs Von Erichs
• National Openweight Championship: Alexander Hammerstone vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.
• Stairway to Hell: Mance Warner vs Jimmy Havoc vs Bestia 666
• Timothy Thatcher vs Tom Lawlor
• Low Ki vs Brian Pillman Jr.
• Injustice vs Gringo Loco, Septimo Dragon, & Puma King

Pre-show bouts:

• Simon Gotch & Ikuro Kwon vs Douglas James & Dominic Garrini vs Spirit Squad
• Zenshi vs Hijo de LA Park
• Savio Vega vs Leo Brien
• Gino Medina vs Air Wolf

The pre-show kicks off at 7 p.m. ET live on FITE, YouTube, and other cable and dish systems. The PPV begins at 8 p.m. ET. The suggested price is $19.95. It can be streamed online through FITE and viewed via numerous other cable and dish systems. (Use this handy tool to find the channel near you.)

Check back with us on Cageside Seats for full coverage of the event with a preview, live results, and post-show reactions.

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Chris DeJoseph on board as executive producer

MLW announced that they have hired Chris DeJoseph as a co-executive producer. DeJoseph was one of the brains behind the fantastical Lucha Underground universe. He also has creative experience with WWE and made on-screen appearances as Big Dick Johnson.

DeJoseph provided the following statement to Justin Barrasso at Sports Illustrated:

“Since the last season of Lucha Underground, I’ve had an itch to get back in the game. I’ve been watching what they’ve been doing and the steps they are taking to keep building, and I can’t wait to get my hands dirty with MLW.”

DeJoseph’s main focus is to help the younger talent become better characters and performers. His first day working for MLW will be at Saturday Night SuperFight.

This is super exciting news for fans of Lucha Underground. The show did a great job of giving future stars (Fenix, Pentagon, Cage, Ricochet, and more) a platform to develop their skills to the next level. Sure, it is not realistic to expect the same level of zaniness being incorporated into the world of MLW, but it will be interesting to see if any subtle supernatural elements make their way onto Fusion. That idea ties in to the next topic.

Zeda Zhang’s first opponent

Zeda Zhang was the first signing for MLW’s upcoming women’s division. Zhang is set to usher in a new era at Blood & Thunder in Orlando on November 9. Her opponent hadn’t been named until now...

MLW

The Spider Lady is presented as a mysterious grappler in the press release. No other information is revealed.

With the hiring of DeJoseph, it reminded me of the spider story with Sexy Star that never really developed. How cool would it be if MLW tweaked the idea for that same spider character? This is most likely wishful thinking on my part, but we’ll find out soon enough.

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Quick Hits

Pro Wrestling Illustrated began a top 10 singles ranking for MLW. PWI has been a prime publication in the wrestling industry since 1979. Check out their first rankings (here) and let us know what you think. In my opinion, Low Ki is ranked a little high and I wouldn’t have Jimmy Havoc or Brian Pillman Jr. in my MLW top 10.

Here is a cool FIREBALL!!! photo from last week’s MLW Fusion.

Watch Salina de la Renta badger beIN SPORTS host Alessandra Bonte.

Who’s brave enough to summon the legend of the Beef Castle to their local wrestling venue?

Mance Warner is a cat man, daddy. Meet Helen.

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We’ll close with the Salina de la Renta’s cigar promo from last week’s MLW Fusion. I’ve watched it plenty of times and it still fires me up for the PPV.

Hot damn. The war of the monsters is going to be so badass.

What do you think about the hiring of Chris DeJoseph? Who would you cast to fill the role of the Spider Lady?