Manila Wrestling Federation and World Underground Wrestling Philippines refuse to let Filipino wrestling die, team up for year end joint show
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact on the pro wrestling scene. This includes the pro wrestling scene in the Philippines where pro wrestling has essentially been brought to a stop due to COVID-19 restrictions.
However, the Manila Wrestling Federation and World Underground Wrestling Philippines have come together for an end of year event that will ensure that the Filipino pro wrestling scene stays alive after nearly two full years of forced hibernation.
Medyo Noche, as the event has been titled, will be a video only release that will be available to fans as of 8 PM Manila time on December 30th, 2021. The event was filmed on a limited set (the facility belongs to World Underground Wrestling Philippines) featuring a bare bones crew that were all fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The event’s title is a play on the Christmas meal shared by families in the Philippines, Buena Noche, which is also the name of the MWF’s largest yearly event. Medio Noche is the meal before Buena Noche. But the MWF cleverly swapped out the word Medio with Medyo, a word that means “somewhat” in the Tagalog language, making the event title essentially Somewhat Buena Noche. For a big return event that’s still not quite as big as the MWF would have liked to have made it due to the lack of fans that will be on set, the title works perfectly.
Along with the title, the MWF is bringing more to Medyo Noche that will make their product feel more distinctly Filipino. The company plans to introduce a new in ring style, a style that they’re calling Manila Style, and one that they think Filipino fans will find the most enjoyable. According to the MWF’s Fabio Makisig that style will consist of more high paced mat grappling and more striking with less focus on “pro wrestling-isms” that don’t quite translate to a Filipino audience.
A piece from the Filipino news provider Business Miror has some more details about the Medyo Noche card.
“Medyo Noche features the soft opening of the MWF roster in 2022. The Almighty member of Bahay ng Liwanag: Jomar Liwanag faces a debuting female wrestler temporarily going by the moniker “Red Shirt”. The Former MWF champion Robin Sane returns after his supposed retirement in 2019 and is better than ever, but HSSL’s Keyan Khayl Sison gets first dibs on the former champion.
Rex Lawin will introduce his Filipino Strong Style to a debuting Blue Shirt named CJ Serafin. Lastly, the main event features the MWF championship’s number one contender, Nigel San Jose against Fabio Makisig, the leader of HSSL.
Incidentally, no match is booked for the reigning MWF champion, the Hong Kong local Ho Ho Lun. Furtherly, the ex-ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling), and WWE veterans, Chilly Willy and current MLW (Major League Wrestling) World Middleweight champion Yoshihiro Tajiri are not on the card as well.”
Fabio Makisig lands a drop kick on Tajiri at a previous MWF event. Image courtesy of the MWF Facebook page.
The MWF has also released a preview video of the event to their Facebook page which you can view below to get an idea of what is in store for Medyo Noche.
The event is available for purchase for either one time viewing or unlimited views with prices varying for each purchase. For access to the event for a one time watch, the cost is 150 PHP (approximately $2.95 US) and for unlimited views, the fee is 250 HP (approximately $4.90 US). This post from the MWF’s Facebook page provides more exact details on how to purchase the event and what steps to follow in order to watch it.
WrestleMap had a chance to catch up with the MWF’s Fabio Makisig about where things stand right now in The Philippines and in Manila in particular in terms of COVID-19 restrictions, some insight into the Filipino pro wrestling scene up to this point and what the future holds for Filipino pro wrestling.
On the current COVID-19 restrictions, Fabio shared that there is still some uncertainty as to what those restrictions will look like in the near future. Live wrestling shows with fans in attendance are still not possible due to the restrictions currently in place and with the pandemic still ongoing, there is still no certainty of when that may become possible again in the Philippines. For the time being, the MWF plans to continue moving forward by producing online video events similar to Medyo Noche until live events become possible again. They feel that is the best way to reestablish the momentum that they had created with their new YouTube series Aksyonovela TV prior to the start of the pandemic and the most sensible way to move forward and keep the Filipino wrestling scene alive while sorting through restrictions and avoiding another two years of inactivity.
A poster advertising the MWF’s last live event prior to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic dating back to December 2019. Poster courtesy of Manila Wrestling Federation’s Facebook page.
It’s excellent news to us at WrestleMap to hear that pro wrestling in Philippines will be kicking off again even if it isn’t under the most ideal circumstances. The live audiences will return someday. But for now, it’s great to see the MWF and World Underground Wrestling PH keeping the Filipino pro wrestling scene alive.
