This interview is with a member of the Middle Kingdom Wrestling roster. If you’re not familiar with MKW (which you very well may not be), check out some of their stuff here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/MiddleKingdomWrestling

Wrestling really is one of the most international sports you’re ever going to find. Where else do you have so many people from so many countries coming together in almost any country with so many different styles? One of the coolest things about wrestling is seeing all these styles come together and put on a good match. It’s even cooler when you get an interesting mixture of styles, which is where we are here.

You’ve probably seen wrestling from all over the world at one point or another. It might be the standard American style, the Mexican lucha libre style, the European technical style or something else entirely. One other place entirely is China, where professional wrestling is trying to establish itself. There is talent to be found in China and the surrounding areas, but bringing in outside help can make a difference.

One such talent is Big Sam, a British wrestler who is now performing in China. His size (6’4 and 260lbs) make him stand out with the mostly smaller members of the Middle Kingdom Wrestling roster not coming close to his physical stature. A British wrestler coming to China makes for an interesting story and I was able to get to hear some of that story. Here’s an interview with Big Sam, presented in a question and answer format.

1. How did you get started in wrestling? Were you trained in England?

When I was 14/15, I trained and took part in freestyle amateur wrestling in North Wales. I wrestled mostly within the British Isles (United Kingdom of Great Britain as well as the Republic of Ireland) – http://www.angelfire.com/wrestling3/balvinder/index.html

At the age of 16, I went for my first pro wrestling class held in Sheffield with Hammerlock wrestling (I believed it has closed its operations in Sheffield now). That is where I first learnt to bump and lock up. That was my first real taste of training to be a pro wrestler and I wanted more, however the distance was too far for me and it very impractical. I decided to carry on with freestyle amateur wrestling.

It was not until I was 19 that I started to train pro wrestling more regularly in Rhyl (North Wales), about an hour’s drive from my home. I had a few lessons with World of Sport’s legend, Orig Williams. Unfortunately these were near his latter years, and the lessons soon became inconsistent to eventually they were called off – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orig_Williams

I found that I learnt the most wrestling at Basix Pro Wrestling, which was closer to my home and offered me more opportunities. The trainers and owner, “Iron Man” Mike Roberts ran the promotion. http://prowrestling.wikia.com/wiki/Mike_Roberts

It was with Basix Pro Wrestling that I got debuted in my first match in front of a paying crowd in 2007. I was in a battle royal and was eliminated half-way through.

2. What brought you to China and how did your career begin there?

I came to China as an exchange student. There was nothing in the area I was at the time. I carried on teaching some freestyle wrestling while studying there. It was actually a few years later through a comedian that I got to introduced to former WWE Cruiserweight Classic wrestler, Ho Ho Lun that I got to know there was a small but growing wrestling scene in China. Through that I got introduced to Ho Ho Lun’s first trainer, The Slam. He took me and helped me shake of the ‘ring rust’ and had me bumping again. I wrestled for a couple of start-up promotions throughout China, before landing with Middle Kingdom Wrestling (MKW).

3. You’re a good deal bigger and taller than most of the Middle Kingdom Wrestling roster. Do you feel this is a strength for you and how has it affected your in-ring style?

I am a legit 6’4” and 260lbs. I have a huge advantage working in China at this size.
In the UK, I was big but not the biggest. I would work more technical with a few power moves, I kind of brought that to China.

However, as wrestling is still not mature in China, most wrestlers I work with want to take me off my feet in seconds. Ring psychology is thrown in the garbage a lot of the time here. I was very lenient when I first came to China and was bumping a lot for much smaller guys, and I did not really embrace the big man/monster style. I blame myself that I was out of the game for a few years and was being too kind, maybe naïve. Things changed when another British wrestler (Voodoo) came who had a ton of experience and said to me “What the f**k are you doing? No one should make you bump”. He would then watch every match and lay into me with strict criticism as well as suggestions. He told my opponents that they shouldn’t knock me down right from the bell. I began working a larger man style, which was slower but perfecting the moves that I did. I now work a match with 4 to 5 big moves. I don’t try and punch anymore because I believe if I was to punch a guy who was 150lbs he should be knocked out cleanly. I then notice other promotions wanting to book me. I tried to perfect the military press, which is probably my most over move in wrestling. I notice I have a growing fan base, and majority are Chinese who send me messages complimenting my size, strength as well as my ‘old school’ style.

4. Middle Kingdom Wrestling offers a wide variety of international talent from a long list of different countries, including French, British, Chinese and Taiwanese wrestlers. How important is it to offer such a variety of talent to the audience?

China is now growing in the pro wrestling scene and is attracted a lot of interest. Chinese like wrestlers who look like WWE guys. They like John Cena, The Shield, AJ Styles and even Sheamus. There for, guys from Europe and the USA are well received, especially if they got a bit of mass to their build and an obvious gimmick.

As MKW was starting, we did not have the biggest roster so we tried to work with other promotions to help us get started. One included a local Chinese promotion, China Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) led by The Slam. Ho Ho Lun helped out as well as a Taiwanese wrestler looking for his break and a French wrestling promotion that was on their way to Thailand. Now we have wrestlers from Italy and New Zealand. We all have slightly different styles, which we try to implement. I would say my style if more American than British now.

I personally think it is important to display different styles to keep the product interesting but not go too far from the original product and the idea of professional wrestling. We have been involved in shows that have boxing, MMA, kick-boxing and other combat sports, and pro wrestling have been welcomed to it. This has been good because usually these shows have huge budgets and attract audiences that are easily 1000+. This also shows that the fans want to watch a bit of everything rather than one whole show dedicated to just one sport.

5. Wrestling doesn’t have the strongest history in China. How can Middle Kingdom Wrestling expand and become a top player in the country?

Wrestling is growing, and WWE have taken onboard several Chinese born wrestlers in their training performance center. I have been in China for several years and have witness pro wrestling growing here. I have seen promotions come and go within China as usually they fail as they try to invest too much and lose all their money after several months. MKW has been smarter than most, and is slowly building up and now have their own training center in north China. MKW has tried to make several partnerships with other promotions but have wormed out the ones who don’t want to return the favour when we book and pay their wrestlers. Wrestling industry in China is becoming cut-throat now, so MKW is trying to be fair and work within our means. MKW has many wrestlers from around the world that want to work with them, however, the new strategy is to concentrate on our current product and invest their rather than spend bringing in many wrestlers from overseas like MKW did in the past.

6. Where can fans see you and all other Middle Kingdom Wrestling content?

www.MiddleKingdomWrestling.com

www.Facebook.com/MKWchina

WeChat: MKWrestling

https://www.youtube.com/c/MiddleKingdomWrestling

Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: February 17, 2017
Location: Pattaya Boxing Stadium, Pattaya, Chon Buri, Thailand
Commentator: Al Leung

We’re going to wrap up this very abbreviated season and hopefully head back to China where things are a bit better. The first show was a pretty mixed bad with one horrible match and one that was quite entertaining so it’s hard to guess what’s coming this time around. Let’s get to it.

Same opening sequence as last time, which isn’t the worst thing in the world given some of the eye candy in there.

We hear more of Dalton Bragg’s conversation. It’s true that he can’t wrestle but he’s found a replacement named Hayden Pearce, who is something called the Kingdom Wrestling Federation (no idea what/where that is) Champion. Tonight, he’ll defend against the Slam, though the graphic lists Pearce as Hayden Zenith. That’s the kind of thing that needs to be tightened up as I’m not even two minutes into the show and it’s already an issue.

Black Mamba/Big Sam vs. Maxim Risky/Malkeet Brawler

Maxim and Brawler are from India and one of them charges to the ring early, earning a good looking powerbomb from Sam. A boot to the chest drops Brawler but it’s Risky and Mamba starting things off as we hear the second bell. The commentator says this is in China, which doesn’t quite work after the whole point of this show is being in Thailand.

A suplex gets two on Mamba and Sam comes in….for some jumping jacks of course. Well you can’t do those on the apron. Sam comes in again for a regular save before distracting the referee so Mamba can choke. That second one threw the idea off a bit and it would have been a lot better if he had said it was a cramp or he was stretching or something like that. If you do it before and after but not in the middle, it weakens what you did in the first place (which was good).

Back to Sam for a clothesline on Brawler and what looks like a Sid Vicious pose. A gorilla press drop keeps showing off the power (smart) and it’s off to a camel clutch. Brawler makes the ropes so it’s another slam into a one finger cover. Mamba comes in again and plays Bret on something like a top rope Hart Attack but the referee is putting Sam out of the ring instead of counting. What would Danny Davis think of something like that?

Brawler gets in a TKO (love that move) and it’s a double tag to Sam and Risky. Sam takes a DDT and Risky gets in some really, really bad looking right hands in the corner. Follow through with those things. Brawler hits a running Fameasser (called XYZ) on Mamba and a slam on Sam in a fairly impressive power display.

A double suplex is another power display and Risky gets two off a superkick. I’m not sure how wise is it to have your monster getting beaten up and thrown around like this. Mamba sneaks in a low blow (second of the match but the first one meant and changed nothing) and Sam grabs a chokeslam on Risky. Mamba adds a frog splash for the pin at 10:39.

Rating: D+. There’s a LOT to talk about in this one. This is the best example I can think of to show how important psychology and match layout are to making something a success. Let’s look at Sam. He has the most unique look in this promotion (much bigger and Caucasian instead of the mostly Asian roster) and in this match he was acting like the opponents were beneath him (the one finger pin and various times where he acted like he didn’t even need to try). That’s playing to his character and very good. Sam is different and he should act like he is.

His move set made sense too. It was a lot of power stuff like the powerbomb, gorilla press and chokeslam. Back at Wrestlemania XIII, Shawn Michaels said there was no reason for Sid Vicious to deviate from his power game because the power was going to take him wherever he needed to go. That makes a lot of sense for someone like Sid/Sam as their offense is going to be more devastating due to their power so it should be the majority of what they do.

That brings us to the rest of the match, which had some issues. As I mentioned, Mamba hit two low blows. The first one just slowed his opponent down for a bit and then it was right back to where they were going before. Something like a low blow should be a match changer, not something on the same level as a clothesline or a few right hands. If you’re going to do those big spots, use them sparingly. Otherwise they’re just a regular move and people won’t care when they’re used in important spots. If you need proof, look at WWE’s main event style of spamming finishers.

There were good things in the match but there’s also a lot that needs to be tightened up. I didn’t really feel a flow to the match. One team was in control, then the other was in control, then the heels won. The ending felt like it came out of nowhere and the match just ended instead of building up to something. I’d also like to know a bit more about Risky and Brawler. All I know is they’re “stars in India”. How long have they been wrestling? Should I cheer for them? How long have they been teaming? Stuff like that can go a long way.

A big guy covered in tattoos whose name sounded like Humungous says he’s bringing underground wrestling to China.

Eurasian Dragon vs. Humungous

Dragon is the Singapore Champion and Humungous wants to make it a title shot. The request is accepted and we’re ready to go. This was another example of the disappearing and reappearing subtitles.

Singapore Title: Eurasian Dragon vs. Humungous

Dragon is defending and gets driven into the corner as we hear about Humungous wrestling around the world. A few forearms sends Humungous into the ropes like a cowardly heel and he flips Dragon off after teasing a handshake. Dragon misses a Flip Flop and Fly but grabs La Majistral for the pin to retain at 2:28.

Humungous hits him from behind and says he wants a rematch. I’m not sure if debuting someone and having them job immediately is a good idea but Humungous had a good look.

KWF Title: Hayden Zenith vs. The Slam

Slam is challenging and his CWE Title isn’t on the line. One side note here: all of the titles that I’ve seen around here look really good. There are a lot of ugly belts in wrestling but these are all very nice. Granted part of that might be due to the fact that the KWF Title is a WWF Attitude Era World Title replica. Eh if you’re going to use a replica, use one of the best looking of all time.

They start fast (a rarity around here) with Slam sweeping the leg but stopping to pose, allowing Zenith to pull him off the ropes and hammer away. Some loud chops set up a hard Saito suplex on Slam and we get a cocky cover. A hard kick to Slam’s back sends some sweat flying (always a good visual) and we hit an octopus hold. Zenith switches over to a few more submission attempts as this is already by far and away the most polished match of the two shows.

Slam fights up but eats a pair of superkicks (giving us a Superkick Party reference) and they head out to the ramp. Some rather hard forearms knock Hayden back in and Slam’s top rope forearm gets….no cover. Instead Zenith slips out of a Jackhammer and we get a ref bump. Cue Bragg to check on the referee as Slam hits a suplex into a cutter (not a Jackhammer as the announcer puts it). It’s a ruse though and Bragg hits Slam in the head with the crutch so Zenith can retain at 8:33.

Rating: C+. This was the first time I really felt like I got an angle this promotion has tried to run. It’s a very simple idea and I got the point without having to figure anything out. Zenith and Slam were some of the more polished guys and Bragg as the champion who is scared of Slam is a good enough story. Throw in Bragg having a #1 contender in Selfie King and you have the makings for something interesting. I haven’t felt that around here too often and it’s very nice change of pace.

Bragg beats on Slam with the crutch to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Much like the tag, there’s good and bad on here. Let’s get to the good first: this felt like a more complete show. There were three matches here and each one felt like it served a purpose. The tag match was good and made Sam look like a threat to someone down the line. Dragon vs. Humungous looks to be the start of a feud and Humungous has some charisma to him. Finally you have the main event which felt like a good angle. I’m pleased here and while the show had some quality issues, it had a good structure, which might be more important.

On the other hand, the promotion is still lacking in character development. Let’s take a look at the two shows combined. Other than having Sam in his corner, what separates Ash, Jason and Black Mamba? They have a similar look and wrestle a similar style. I barely know anything about them and they really lose me when I’m trying to remember which is which.

Finally, the offenses need to be varied up a bit. In the first three matches of these two shows, three people used a frog splash. There are a ton of moves to use from the top and just because a frog splash is cool, you can use something else. Drop an elbow, drop a knee, do a spinning splash. Just don’t do the same thing that so many people have done. It was annoying in the Cruiserweight Classic and it’s the same here.

I liked enough of the show and this episode showed some promise but they need to find a way to keep that momentum going. Maybe it was just a lucky night with an angle to help tie things together at the end but they need to build on that instead of having a bunch of one off shows before advancing the story. Have people cut a thirty second promo (throw in subtitles if necessary) and keep things moving. It’ll keep people coming back and that’s the key at this point.

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: January 20, 2017
Location: Pattaya Boxing Stadium, Pattaya, Chon Buri, Thailand
Commentator: Al Leung

If I remember right, the previous season ended with a line about things picking up in the spring so I’m not entirely sure what this is. This one is labeled as a Thailand Edition though so maybe this isn’t the third season premiere but rather just something as a bonus. Either way, they need all the ring time they can get so maybe we’ll have something here. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is in a club with some good looking women dancing. I’ve heard worse ideas.

We go to the arena for the first match and……there’s no one there. Of a few hundred seats, there might be two dozen people in the arena. I know there probably isn’t much of a wrestling scene in Thailand but this is really sad looking.

Selfie King vs. Candy Brother vs. Mickie Rawaz

The winner gets a future MKW Title shot and the ring is HUGE, probably bigger than a WWE ring. No one gets an entrance and right away we get to a major downgrade in the production. There’s a new (and far weaker) commentator who doesn’t give his name to start the match.

On top of that the camera work seems to have gone way down in quality, though having a camera at either side of the ring is certainly different. A sloppy looking Russian legsweep/DDT combo puts everyone down and we get the triple headlock spot. King is sent outside and Candy…..I guess dances as we’re told Mickie is a local wrestler. That’s the first thing we’ve heard about any of the wrestlers and we’re over three minutes in.

This time it’s Mickie being sent outside so Brother wraps a Twizzler around his hand….before kicking King in the ribs. Eh cute fake out. We continue the “theme” of the match with Brother being sent outside so King can hit a Cannonball. Candy comes back in as there are too many cameramen on the apron. They’re getting a bit distracting, much like having another camera in the corner for a lot of their shots.

Mickie slams both of them down and drops a double leg for two on both. Back up and Brother ties his legs between both of theirs’ and pulls back on their arms for a good looking hold which goes nowhere. Instead it’s off to some slaps to King’s chest, followed by the Tower of Doom to put everyone down. The announcer (still no name) explains that this is a kickboxing ring, meaning it’s much bigger and stiffer. That’s one of the first interesting things he’s said so far. King takes a few quick pictures and drops a frog splash on Brother for the pin at 10:31.

Rating: D-. And that might be too high. This was a real mess with absolutely no story, mostly bad wrestling and no help from the commentary. King winning is fine as he’s one of the better known names in the promotion but that might be the only positive thing I can come up with here. It felt like they were trying but the major production downgrade and lack of anything resembling a story to the match dragged it through the floor.

King takes a quick selfie next to the fallen Candy in one of the best gimmicks going in the promotion.

Dalton Bragg is on the phone in the back (with subtitles, which help overcome some sound issues) and says he’s not medically cleared to defend the MKW Title against the Slam.

ABC Tag Team Titles: Ash Silva/Jason Wang vs. Claude Roca/Tony Trivaldo

Roca (in his 70s) and Trivaldo are defending their French Tag Team Titles. Everyone (who I can identify thanks to some better graphic placement) seems to be a face here and it’s Claude vs. Ash to start. A monkey flip sends Ash flying and Claude headlocks him over for good measure.

Trivaldo (easily the biggest guy and with by far the best look) comes in for a slam and headlock but it’s off to Wang as this is already more structured than the first match. Want takes over with some knees to the head and a frog splash connects (albeit being left a bit short) for two. We get some challengers miscommunication and it’s a double clothesline to set up the tag to Roca. Claude continues to use basic wrestling (I need a Drew Gulak joke there) until Jason throws him into the corner.

The challengers take over and turn into the de facto heels with Wang grabbing a camel clutch. Claude nips up (because of course he can) and monkey flips both of them down at the same time. There’s the hot tag to Tony so house can be cleaned and everything breaks down. Tony spears Jason and gives Ash a release F5. Claude is thrown onto Jason for the pin at 11:20.

Rating: C+. This felt like a different promotion and that’s the best thing that could happen. It’s amazing what a simple story (work over the older guy and keep the younger, stronger champion on the apron) can do for a match and these guys worked fine together. Ash and Jason are old rivals (thank you commentator) so they had their own little story built in. Good match here and I had more fun with it than I was expecting to.

Ash and Jason get in a fight post match.

Overall Rating: D+. That tag match did wonders for this show and really does feel like it came from a different company. The opening match felt like something thrown together by people who had no idea what they were doing. Then everything improved in the second match, including the commentator (whose name was listed on the YouTube page but never on the show itself).

Overall, this was a downgrade from the China shows and some of that might be due to the length. This would have been better off at about five minutes shorter and just one match with more promos to fill in the extra time. It’s far from terrible but as usual, there are a lot of adjustments to be made.

I know I keep harping on it but the commentary here was a big issue. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss the old commentary team (maybe they’re gone due to different location), who were far better than the lone guy here. Commentary can do a lot for a show, especially one like this where there isn’t a deep history. Something as simple as “Ash and Jason have feuded before) was a big help but it was one of the only things we were given all night. The commentary is our guide and without it going well, it’s hard to know where things are supposed to go.

Maybe this show didn’t work as well because it was part of a co-promotion and more of a feature than a regular show but it wasn’t as good as the normal stuff is. There was something good in there though and the teaser for next time gave me some hope so maybe there’s hope to be had. Not terrible but again the big problems really hold things back.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: September 18, 2016
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China
Commentator: Eddie Strong

It’s the season finale with MKW Champion Dalton Bragg defending against the huge King Michael. This has been a rather different season as there hasn’t been much of a focus aside from the stuff over the title near the beginning. I’m still liking it well enough though and there’s a story to get us here, which is the most important thing. Let’s get to it.

M.A. vs. King of Man

This is a bonus match and a Kung Fu Showcase. No story or anything here and I don’t know who either of them are but that’s standard around here. They trade kicks and strikes to start of course with King (there probably shouldn’t be two Kings on the same show) getting the better of it until he gets thrown off the top. I don’t remember that in the full two Kung Fu movies I’ve seen.

A nice looking headscissors sends M.A. flying and a Vader Bomb elbow gets one. M.A. comes back with some running clotheslines in the corner as Strong (dang it I miss Ferguson) tells us that M.A. is the heel. See, that’s something so easy that a simple statement clears up. King gets caught in a hard chokeslam for two but he comes right back with a basement dropkick for two of his own.

We hit a dragon sleeper on M.A. as Strong tells us about the horrible weather in China at the moment. A missed moonsault from King sends both guys outside and M.A. hits a Triad Kick (Mafia Kick) for two. M.A. gets a bit more creative with a chokeslam spinebuster for yet another two, only to have King throw him down and hit a spinning top rope splash for the pin.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure where the Kung Fu part came in but this was another nice match with some time to make it work. Of course it’s not exactly up to par with most stuff you’ll see but it was still an entertaining match with one guy as the heel and the other as the face. A story would have been nice but at least we had something entertaining for the first half of the show.

Quick recap of King Michael vs. Dalton Bragg. Michael attacked Bragg earlier in the season and a match was made. Simple, yet effective.

Middle Kingdom Wrestling Title: Dalton Bragg vs. King Michael

Bragg is defending and this is anything goes. This is kind of an odd visual as Michael is huge and Bragg is a stick but he’s still taller than Michael. I also don’t buy for a second that Michael is 500lbs as he looks closer to 350. You can gimmick the weights but there’s a limit. Bragg gets shouldered down and splashed for two so it’s time for weapons.

Michael sets up a piece of wood over some boxes but has to shrug off some clotheslines before easily blocking a suplex. Instead it’s a chokebomb to put Bragg…..onto the wood, which just kind of flew to the side instead of breaking. A World’s Strongest Slam sets up some kendo stick shots but Bragg takes it away and pounds on Michael.

We hear about Bragg’s deathmatch background (which was mentioned in season one) as Michael takes it outside where some of his cronies get in a few shots to Bragg’s back. Another table is set up but Dalton gets in a few more kicks to stagger Michael in front of the table…..for a very, VERY long time……until a jumping kick knocks Michael onto the table (again, not through it) to retain the title.

Rating: C. This is a tricky one as the story was there but there’s only so much you can do when Michael is a one dimensional monster and Bragg MIGHT weigh 140lbs if you put a half dozen bricks in his pockets. The match was watchable enough but I really could have gone with another segment between them or some promos about why these two wanted to fight.

Post match the Slam comes out for a staredown. Bragg punches him in the jaw and a really bad looking slugout wraps things up.

We get a graphic for an upcoming wrestling festival featuring the MKW roster and some other wrestlers, including the Powers of Pain. Well that’s a bit of an upgrade.

Overall Rating: C+. For a stand alone show, this was fun enough but not so much as a season finale. For the last show we’ll be seeing from these guys for months, your longest match probably shouldn’t be between two newcomers without much of a story. That’s where MKW starts to fall apart for me: they rarely have more than one or two stories going on at a time and that gives a show like this a hard time. It’s still an easy sit through and that’s important.

Overall season two was…..odd. They set up the title match to start things off but then it was a few one off matches before we got to the six man (which is still confusing) and the season finale. It was cool to see the international talent but they all feel out of left field and therefore like filler instead of something out of MKW. I still liked it (partially due to the length of the shows and some better details in the stories we had) but it would have been nice to have some better character development and a reason to care about these people. I’m not sure I’d call it an upgrade but it’s definitely different.

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: June 29, 2016
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China
Commentator: Cam Ferguson, Eddie Strong

This is a big show as it’s finally time to see the six man tag that has been in the opening video all season long. They’ve treated this as a major match with a story behind it and all that jazz so maybe it’s going to feel like a bigger deal than most of what they’ve done so far this season. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of the six man tag which still isn’t really clear. I’m not even sure who all these people are and who they’re partnering with but hopefully we get a bit better explanation as we go.

The video ends with the teams listed together and their names next to their pictures. It really is that easy and that actually helps a lot.

Andruew Tang/Big Sam/Black Mamba vs. Ash Silva/Eurasian Dragon/Jason Wong

Jason is a mystery partner and a fairly big deal. It’s a brawl to start at the bell as the bad guys (I think? I honestly have almost no idea what’s going on here other than Sam, who works for Mamba, cost Silva a match in the title tournament last season) attack at the handshake, which is the first clip shown on every episode. Tang, the Singapore Champion, starts off with Ash and hits a nice dropkick. A headlock keeps Ash in trouble with Tang pulling the hair. Ok so they’re the heels.

Tang’s bulldog is countered into something resembling a belly to back suplex and it’s off to Dragon, who has apparently been feuding with Tang for years now. Tang screams about being in a wristlock and keeps screaming after Dragon lets go. So wait did the hold hurt or not? Now it’s off to a test of strength with Tong kicking him in the ribs like a villain should, only to have it turn into a chop off. A tornado DDT plants Dragon as it would be nice to see the other three people actually wrestling.

Tang loads up a suplex (Tong: “SUPLEX CITY!”) but Dragon is a bit too big to be pulled over. It’s off to Mamba who walks right into a hiptoss. Jason comes in for a bad looking Paisan Elbow as the announcers talk about Ash and Jason developing respect for each other, thereby explaining their partnership. That should have been mentioned earlier but it’s much better than not mentioning it at all.

Jason gets so sick of getting stomped that he takes off his headgear to make things serious. Sam comes in for the first time and drops Jason with a gorilla press. You can hear Ferguson drooling over Sam and the size difference really does show here. Ash escapes a powerbomb attempt and knocks Sam down with a palm strike, followed by a high cross body for two. Sam blasts him with a clothesline (needed more follow thru) before taking Ash into the corner for some double chops.

Sam’s running clothesline hits Mamba by mistake though but he makes up for it by launching Ash over the top. Unfortunately that means we have to hear about how amazing instant replay is again. Back in and a Tombstone plants Ash and it’s off to Jason for a spinning side slam on Mamba. Tang kicks Jason in the back though and the heels take over again. A suplex earns a ten (on paper even) from Sam, who then comes in and does a slightly less impressive one. A top rope Hart Attack plants Jason but he easily gets the tag off to Ash.

Everything breaks down and the Dragon scores with a pop up powerbomb on Mamba. Jason picks Sam up for an AA, only to get caught in a Shell Shock from Tang. A belt shot knocks Mamba down by mistake and Mamba gets in a superkick, meaning I have to hear SUPERKICK because the Bullet Club nonsense is in China now. Ash drops a top rope splash on Mamba and, after two replays, we actually get to see the pin.

Rating: B-. Again that’s on a very sliding scale but it was entertaining enough. They had the story working well enough and explained why I’m supposed to care about these people fighting. It also helps that the wrestling was decent by MKW standards and they kept things moving. I’d like to see Sam be more of a power guy instead of a wrestler who happens to be big.

Take the suplex spot for instance. Sam praised a guy for doing a suplex and then does basically the same move. That doesn’t really make Sam look any more dominant, but rather makes him just look taller than the first person to do a suplex. He’s the biggest standout based on looks along and Ferguson built him up very well but I didn’t quite see it in the ring.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m starting to have more fun watching this show and having a big match like this build up for several months until the payoff was a good sign. I could still go for seeing the stories be tighter though as this match has been built up for a good while but then really just popped back onto the radar in the last few weeks. At least the match was good though, which is the most important thing they can do. It’s still a fun little show and next time’s season finale continues the other story so all is well.

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: April 7, 2016
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China
Commentators: Eddie Strong, Pressley King

Season two started well last week but you never can tell what these shows are going to bring. In this case it’s going to be a tag match with MKW Champion Dalton Bragg teaming up with the Slam, possibly to set the stage for a title match between the two down the line. Slam has been one of the best in the promotion so far so this should be fun. Let’s get to it.

We get the 8 bit intro, which is still cool but could get old if there are more episodes than last season.

The opening video talks about the big tag match between Ho Ho Lun/Claude Roca, a 70 year old French wrestler and Bragg/Slam. Yeah 70 years old and still in the ring. I’m still not sure how I feel about that.

Dalton Bragg/The Slam vs. Ho Ho Lun/Claude Roca

Bragg, who now has better looking tights, starts with Roca and gets snapmared down for his trouble. King is already getting on my nerves on commentary as he’s doing a horrible Elvis impression and isn’t funny. We get an awkward sequence in the corner with Bragg trying a headscissors but Roca isn’t ready to take it, leaving Dalton to just kind of crash. Bragg superkicks the 70 year old man before it’s off to Slam vs. Lun, the latter of whom will be in WWE’s cruiserweight series in a few months.

Slam tells Lun to bring it on and kicks him down, which Pressley refers to as mashing that tater. Lun avoids another kick in the corner and it’s time to hide for a bit. It’s back to Roca who gets kicked down again, complete with instant replay which has too many sound effects and looks like the camera is glitching more than anything else.

Roca gets two off a sunset flip (a flip pin according to Strong) before Slam kicks him down again. Everything breaks down and Slam cleans house even more before it’s off to Bragg, who Roca trips to the mat before cranking on the legs. Strong doesn’t think Bragg has ever fought anyone with Roca’s experience. You know, of all those people with fifty years’ experience. Roca actually gets in a surfboard while Lun is walking around with a kendo stick for no apparent reason.

The hold doesn’t last long so Bragg kicks him in the head, meaning it’s time for a tag off to Lun. Slam comes back in for a side slam as Bragg drops a top rope legdrop. Naturally Pressley is talking about A Million Little Pieces as Roca hits his partner by mistake, allowing Slam to send Bragg into both of them in the corner. A double DDT gets two on Roca/Lun, followed by a top rope forearm to drop Lun again. The fans aren’t exactly thrilled by this.

Lun gets two off a dropkick as Pressley continues to babble incoherently without being funny. Slam gets double teamed and Roca hammers away, only to have Slam get away for the tag. Bragg starts hammering away but we get another awkward moment. That’s fine with Claude who uses his experience to hit Dalton in the face over and over. Cue the overly large King Michael to blast Bragg in the head with a kendo stick, allowing Roca to throw Bragg in an airplane spin, which also knocks Slam out to the floor. Roca actually goes up top for a high cross body and the pin on Bragg for a big upset.

Rating: C+. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting with Roca being limited but still more than capable of doing things in the ring. The ending wasn’t the best idea in the world but there really isn’t anyone you want to see lose in there. It’s an entertaining match and helped set up Bragg’s first challenger so it’s decent wrestling and well booked, save for maybe the person taking the fall. At least it wasn’t clean though.

Post match Slam is ticked and throws the MKW belt at Bragg. Dalton says he wants to fight King Michael for the title tonight. Well next week but you get the idea. Bragg isn’t the best talker but it got the point across.

Overall Rating: C. Pressley is the biggest reason to downgrade this as he was driving me crazy with his unfunny comedy stuff and adding nothing whatsoever. I can get behind these shows being one match long and the storyline stuff at the end helps a lot. That’s the thing I’m not wild about here: everything is a one off match without much being built up for the future. At least with this you get a title match set up for the future and even the long term feud with Bragg vs. the Slam. Well done here but please get Ferguson back.

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling
Date: March 20, 2016
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China
Commentators: Eddie Strong, Cam Ferguson

This is a promotion that I looked at late last year and kind of got attached to. In a rare personal note, I’ve actually been chatting with the promoter and one of the wrestlers so I’m hoping that the second season is a step up over the first. There are a lot of improvements that could be made but I like the core they’ve got here. Let’s get to it.

In case you missed it, one of the perks around here is the length of the episodes. For instance, this one clocks in at 16:18 total so it’s a VERY quick sit.

We’re already off to a good start as the opening is set up like an old NES Tecmo wrestling game, complete with the screen jumping.

We see some clips of what looks like a six man tag. No idea what the context is there.

Promoter Adrian Gomez is in the ring when Selfie King (apparently a parody of American culture) interrupts. That’s not very nice as Gomez was talking about…….I have no idea actually as the announcers talk about Selfie King wanting to face Tyler Breeze. Either way, Selfie King gets a match.

Selfie King vs. Candy Brother

Candy Brother is a guy who hands candy out to the fans, sending Ferguson into an amusing rant about how he’s poisoning the teeth of our children. The graphics are set up like an NES game as well. I’m already sold. King jumps him from behind with the selfie stick but Brother (whose mask is made of candy wrappers) throws him to the floor. Back in and we get some acceptable chain wrestling with Selfie King easily being taken down to the mat.

Candy Brother (I keep wanting to call him Candy Man but I’m too much of a Brad Armstrong fan.) sits on the arm and cranks away in something called a Snickers Sunrise. Strong says the MKW Universe loves this guy and it really doesn’t work for a place with so few fans. Then again it doesn’t work when WWE says it either. Candy Brother grabs a Tarantula of all things as Ferguson calls this season one. They botch a headscissors takeover so it’s tried again (never a good idea) before it’s off to a Black Widow on King.

Ferguson keeps making me laugh as he rails against Candy Brother’s love of cavities. A DDT gets two on King but he comes back with a really awkward looking clothesline. Off to a full nelson (with a Masterlock Challenge reference) for a bit before King throws him down with a German suplex. He takes WAY too long going outside but still hits a frog splash for another near fall. It took long enough that Strong plugged every single one of the company’s social media sites.

There’s another delay because it’s time for a quick picture and the distraction lets Brother get in a running kick to the chest. Another Black Widow is broken up (smart) and King puts him in a fireman’s carry for some squats. Brother isn’t all that big but that looked good, as did the Samoan drop. King’s standing moonsault is actually enough for the pin, which I’d call a surprise.

Rating: D+. So here’s the thing about Middle Kingdom Wrestling: for the most part, the wrestling isn’t all that good. Some guys are better than others and it was clear that Brother was much better in the ring than King but this was still pretty low level looking stuff. It also didn’t help that the match wasn’t put together very well. Brother dominated for a long time at the beginning and then things started to come together but this could have used a few minutes cut off.

That being said, there’s some stuff in here that I liked. Above all else, these two have very easily defined characters and you can tell who you’re supposed to cheer for. Brother wants to make fans happy (and give them diabetes but you can’t win everything) and King only cares about himself. That may not be a great story or even a story at all but you have a good guy and a bad guy which is a bigger step than so many promotions can pull off.

King was a BIG improvement over last time as well where he felt like much more of a joke than an actual wrestler. He’s nothing great or anything but it’s cool to see him as an actual threat to something. The match wasn’t terrible and some of the spots were decent enough but it’s clear that these two haven’t been in the ring at a very high level all that long.

A quick preview of next week’s tag match takes us out.

Overall Rating: C. I know it’s a bit weird to give a show with one match a rating other than that of the match but the production stuff was an important step up here. There were more cameras and better editing (though it was jumping around more than it needed to) here to make things feel a bit more important. It still looks very low level but at least they’re moving in the right direction. Get some more stories and some more characters and this could be a more enjoyable promotion. Finally the commentary is still one sided as Ferguson makes me laugh and Strong is……well he’s there too.

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling Episode 5
Date: December 13, 2015
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China
Commentators: Eddie Strong, Cam Ferguson

This is the first season finale, meaning the finals of the MKW Championship tournament. The show started really slowly but it’s picked up a bit in the last few shows. I still wouldn’t really call it good but given how different this is, you can only ask so much. It’s going to help to get to some different stories aside from the tournament, which is the case in any wrestling company. Let’s get to it.

We open with a much needed recap of the tournament as it’s been about two months since the last episode went up.

CWE Title: The Slam vs. Black Mamba

Slam is defending and is a much bigger deal than most of the people in the tournament, though I’m still not sure what the CWE is. Mamba jumps Slam from behind to start and gets two off a quick clothesline. Something like an AA into an armbar puts Mamba down as Slam continues to be one of the most polished guys in the promotion.

A quick consultation with bodyguard Da Li Sam doesn’t really work as Mamba walks into a Side Effect for two with Sam breaking up the count. For some reason that’s not a DQ and neither is Sam CHOKING THE REFEREE. Dude even ECW would have thrown this out already. Mamba sprays something in Slam’s eyes to take over before grabbing a DDT for two. Slam pops back up (without selling the eyes) and grabs another AA for two more.

The announcers debate whether a knee drop is legal or not (huh?) as Mamba heads outside again. This time it’s the much bigger Sam getting in, which could be a bit more interesting. Slam beats up Sam and suddenly I feel like I’m in a Dr. Seuss book. Mama comes back in and rakes the eyes (this referee is worthless) to set up a Scorpion Death Drop for two. That’s about it though as Slam pops up (again) and grabs a suplex into a cutter (kind of like a TKO) to retain.

Rating: D. This didn’t do it for me. The idea of Mamba having to cheat to stand a chance against Slam was fine but they probably should have just done Slam vs. Sam (egads with the rhyming) here. Mamba really doesn’t have a character other than he’s a guy with a bodyguard and that’s not really enough to get me into a big showdown.

Also Slam not selling ANYTHING got old in a hurry. I get that he’s a Goldberg style character, but even Goldberg would go down if someone blinded him. This had the structure of something good but needed a lot more thought and a better heel. Oh and the referee sucked. Like really sucked. At least have him get distracted or bumped or something.

Da Li Sam introduces the replacement opponent for Dalton Bragg in the tournament final: Voodoo, a guy in a red mask. Well that’s rather simple.

MKW Title: Dalton Bragg vs. Voodoo

The title is vacant coming in and Bragg is pretty easily the crowd favorite. Voodoo keeps saying he’s got this. We hit the stall button and as usual, Bragg comes off as the most experienced guy in the company as he tries to get the crowd to boo the cowardly heel. We get the opening bell and Voodoo wants to shake Bragg’s injured left arm (Which sends us into a flashback of Len Bai injuring Bragg’s arm earlier in the tournament. You don’t often see flashbacks on wrestling shows so points for something new, though shouldn’t commentary be pointing that out?).

As expected, Voodoo cranks on the arm as commentary finally kicks back in, ranting about how Voodoo has been thrown out of every Chinese promotion. You would think that could have been set up before the match. Now they start talking about various things Voodoo pulled in other promotions. Naturally they don’t go into specifics because I highly doubt these things ever happened and that’s the best sign I’ve seen yet from these guys. Wrestling promotions don’t seem to get that THEY CAN MAKE STUFF UP. Do that more often.

Bragg comes back with some cross bodies for two before crotching Voodoo on top. Everyone heads to the floor and Bragg gets caught by Sam, allowing Voodoo to get in a kick to the arm. Voodoo stays on the arm and tries to get the fans to cry. Nice touch. Back in and we hit the armbar, followed by some good old fashioned cheating from Sam.

Bragg gets his boots up in the corner but runs into a DDT on the arm to keep Voodoo in control. There’s a hammerlock slam to stay on the arm, only to have Bragg nip up and catch Voodoo with an enziguri on top. The high spot of the match is a superplex to put both guys down again. They trade kicks to the arm with neither guy getting the advantage in another sequence that doesn’t make a ton of sense.

Commentary is gone for some reason as Bragg nails a spin kick to the head for two but Sam offers more distraction, allowing Voodoo to get in a good looking wheelbarrow faceplant for two of his own. Since he doesn’t seem to have a finisher, Voodoo loads up a chain but hits Sam by mistake, allowing Bragg to come back with a springboard Codebreaker for the pin and the title.

Rating: C. Definitely a better match with the arm work, though it kind of disappeared halfway through. Voodoo was much better than Mamba as he actually did something, though again you can see that Bragg is the most experienced guy around here. This probably needed to be two minutes shorter and Voodoo needs a finisher, but the groundwork was much stronger here and it made for a better match. It’s also rather surprising that they went with an American champion and actually pushed him as a face, but I’d rather do that than go with an inaugural heel champion.

Bragg gets the title and the credits roll.

Wait we’re not done as we get a teaser for season two. The Slam comes out for a staredown with Bragg, presumably making him the first challenger. That’s the smartest thing they could do right now.

Overall Rating: D+. This show was watchable but it’s still needing a lot of work. Focusing on Bragg and the Slam is the best thing they could do, but at the same time the rest of their roster really needs the most help. The good thing here though is they have a champion and now they can move on to some other stuff which could do wonders (well ok maybe just some good) for the promotion as a whole. It’s a nice effort but the glaring holes are still around.

That’s it for season one and I’m really not sure what to think so far. Above all else, it’s clear that there isn’t a lot of experience on the roster. If there’s one thing this company needs more than anything, it’s coaching. It really feels like these guys have been given very little direction aside from the bare bones of “you’re good, you’re bad and you win.” Off the top of my head, aside from Selfie King, I can’t think of anyone on the roster who has a gimmick. You don’t need anything mind blowing, but there’s really nothing separating most of the characters.

This is where promos could help, even if they’re translated to English. Just tell us something about each person and give me a reason (as moderate as it might be) to be interested in them. On the fourth episode, Ash had a promo about how he was mad about being cheated out of the tournament and wanted a match for revenge. That told me everything I needed to know about the next match and gave me a reason to care about the story. Do more of that and explain who these people are a little more (commentary can do a lot of the heavy lifting there) and things will get a lot better in a hurry.

Also, get these guys on some weights. Save for Sam, everyone looks like they weigh about 150lbs. I know there’s a limited talent pool to pick from, but there almost has to be some people with better physiques to pick from. It gets distracting at times as it feels like I could take some of these guys out.

Overall though, this really does feel like the bare bones of a promotion. Now that being said, there was a story being told and I could pick up on it more often than not which is the most important thing a wrestling promotion can do. There’s A LOT of stuff that needs to be improved on but this could have been a disaster and wound up being watchable most of the time. Keep the shows short and give us some more stories/characters and things will get better.

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling Episode 4
Date: October 12, 2015
Location: CWE Gym, Dongguan, China
Commentator: Eddie Strong, Cam Ferguson

Back to the east again with the latest offering from a company that I like for reasons I can’t put my finger on. We’re moving forward in the tournament but it’s been a long time and I might not remember everyone involved. Hopefully they have a decent recap, along with a better announcer. Let’s get to it.

The opening sequence has changed a bit but the recap is still the same. They still need to get a better graphic though.

We open with a recap of Black Mamba being ejected from the tournament for cheating and getting to face the Slam as a result. That right there is all I needed for a recap so far as it took less than a minute and summed up the big story. Well done.

Ash isn’t pleased with being cheated out of the tournament by Black Mamba and Da Li Sam. After implying that Sam is a prostitute for fat women, he talks about ripping the stitches out of his head with chopsticks. I think that deserves a HE’S HARDCORE chant. He’s back earlier than the doctors recommended and he wants the Slam’s top student Jason. Therefore, Jason needs to go tell Slam that he’s tired of taking out the trash and buying toilet paper and wants to face Ash instead. The delivery wasn’t the best but he definitely had some charisma to him and was comfortable in front of a camera.

Ash vs. Jason

This is billed as a special challenge match. Ash has an American flag on his jacket so I’m guessing he’s the heel here. He comes out with a good looking woman so he can’t be all bad. We have a new commentator named Cam Ferguson who apparently has a Masters in Confucianism and is clearly a heel.

Jason hides in the corner to start as Eddie recaps the story so far in that annoying voice of his. A dropkick gets two on Jason and Ash messes with the hair. Ferguson says that’s typical American bullying but Eddie says he’s supposed to be hitting him in a wrestling match. Ferguson: “So it’s ok to kick him in the stomach?” A quick belly to belly puts Ash down and Ferguson accuses Ash of hitting low.

We hit a chinlock from Jason (Or a rear naked chin hold according to Eddie. That sounds like the Matt Striker school of “here’s a WAY more complicated name than you need.”) as Ferguson accuses the referee of being a traitor to the Communist Party. Ash comes back with some forearms and a middle rope kick to the chest (think RVD) for two, followed by a Boston crab for the win.

Rating: C. You can really tell which people in this promotion have the ring experience. Ash isn’t great but he clearly has a much better idea of what he’s doing. There was even a little story here and it helped the match move on a lot. Also they’re starting to go longer and I’m not bored so things are definitely improving.

MKW Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Dalton Bragg vs. Len Bai

Bragg has comically skinny arms. Bai doesn’t like Dalton taking his time on the floor and dives over the top, only to crash down in front of him. It doesn’t really matter as the ring is only about three feet above the ground but it was still quite the crash. Bragg gets in a cheap shot form behind to take over and we get a ridiculously slow motion Irish whip into a monkey flip to Bai.

Back up and they trade chops (with Bai’s lacking any follow through) until Bragg asks a little girl to rub his hand to make his stronger. Bragg’s cross body is countered into a backbreaker for two and Strong is somehow still on my nerves. After Bai hasn’t done anything flashy all match, he slaps on Cattle Mutilation of all things. Where did he learn that? A fisherman’s buster gets two on Bragg but he pops up and hits a nice middle rope Codebreaker to advance to the finals.

Rating: C-. Not the best match here but you can see that Bai is still new out there. Bragg isn’t anything worth watching either though he definitely has more experience and looked more comfortable. The Cattle Mutilation and Codebreaker looked good and the right guy won though so it’s not the worst in the world.

Post match Bai breaks Bragg’s arm in a surprisingly big heel move.

After the credits, Black Mamba and Da Lip Sam say they’re not worried about the Slam. Bai promises to take care of the tournament final too.

Overall Rating: C-. The tournament is coming to a close as we’re wrapping up the first season but this wasn’t their strongest show. You can clearly see the difference between the talent levels and it can be a bit tiring watching the people with next to no experience. The show is still watchable at less than half an hour but I’m hoping it picks up a bit in the final.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of Wrestlemania at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Middle Kingdom Wrestling Episode 1
Date: September 5, 2015
Commentator: Eddie Strong

It’s wrestling in China. I have no idea what to expect here and the show is only nineteen minutes long. This is one of the major countries where wrestling hasn’t spread yet and it should be very interesting to see where it goes. I’m hoping this is in English as otherwise, it could be a rather confusing show. Let’s get to it.

So it seems that we’ll be having a tournament to determine the first ever MKW Champion, though it says that the CWE Champion The Slam (I’ve heard worse names) defended his title twice this weekend. So did they just spoil the whole thing?

MKW Title Tournament First Round: Hoho Lun vs. The Selfie King

Selfie King is exactly what he sounds like. Lun has sunglasses on the back of his head. King is sent to the floor and it’s time for a picture. Lun is apparently from Hong Kong and is one of the company’s founders. The ring is really short as King is above the middle rope while standing on the floor.

Back in and King’s kicks to the leg have almost no effect and Lun gets two off a running forearm in the corner. They hit the floor for a chase until Lun takes him back inside for a Boston crab. King makes the rope and tells the referee that he saw a bird, allowing for some selfie stick shots to the back. A standing moonsault (with the camera out of focus for some reason) is enough to pin Lun.

Rating: D. Yeah this was bad. Lun was a mile ahead of King, who might have been making his professional debut here. Above all else here, the commentary is killing it. The guy sounds like he’s about 19 years old and trying too hard. He never stops talking and is more annoying than anything else, but it sounds a lot more like he’s brand new at this and has no idea what he’s doing.

MKW Title Tournament First Round: Len Bai vs. Tangguo Ge

Ge is a masked man in a full body suit and what looks like CM Punk trunks. He gives candy to some kids and comes out to Christina Aguliera’s Candyman. So he’s the reincarnation of Brad Armstrong? Bai has his face painted and looks like a cocky heel. Ge (whose name means Candy Brother) tries a quick cross body but gets caught in a fall away slam. Back up and Bai is Irish whipped but doesn’t seem to know what to do so he just stops. Ge gets whipped into the buckle, followed by a backbreaker for two.

We hit the chinlock on Ge for a bit before he tries……something like a Canadian Destroyer. That’s pretty high up on a list of moves I never thought I would see here, even if it was more of a roll into the piledriver than a jump. A big clothesline gets two for Bai but Ge grabs the Black Widow of all things. This match continues to surprise me. Bai drops him down in a side slam to break it up before a pair of fisherman’s busters are enough for the pin (with the three in slow motion).

Rating: C. WAY better here as both guys looked like they knew what they were doing, at least for the most part. They definitely had some issues out there that can be helped a lot with more experience and some coaching, but both of them looked a lot more polished. It also helps that they were wrestling instead of being obsessed with the gimmick like King was. Far better match here and it even had a story with Bai working on the head to set up the fisherman’s buster.

The credits, including thanking the wrestlers, take us out.

Overall Rating: D+. That’s on a very strong curve. It’s very clear that this is their first show and it looks like they had a budget of about $18. That being said, I can’t imagine there’s a very deep talent pool to pick from and they were doing the best with what they had. I’ll check out the second episode which might be an improvement, but they have a lot of stuff to fix, some of which might be out of their control.

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