By Gabriela Baron
A jam-packed crowd couldn’t help but root for their favorites as Filipino professional wrestling Manila Wrestling Federation (MWF) returned for the first time post-COVID-19 pandemic.
All-Filipino wrestlers Robin Sane, Crystal, Fabio Makisig, Bro Jomar Liwanag, and Nigel San Jose proved their mettle in front of a boisterous crowd of over a hundred people at the Doreen Black Box theater in Arete Ateneo, Quezon City Sunday night, June 5.
“We had a sold out crowd and everyone seems to be happy that wrestling’s back, so for me, I hope this is a sign of the things to come,” Veronica Shannon, MWF president, told PTV Digital Media.
“[We’re] very overwhelmed. Ito ‘yung very first live show na sobrang daming tao. Nakaka-miss, nakakakaba, nakaka-excite, ang saya. Two years ago, di ko alam kung magkakaroon pa ng ganito and here we are now. I’m overwhelmed and happy, kasi ito ‘yung gusto ko e, I love wrestling,” wrestler Ken Warren said.
More than promoting the hard-hitting and high-flying wrestling action every fan is used to, Shannon said they also aim to introduce “characters that are uniquely Filipino” with storylines “every Filipino will be able to relate to.”
“[It] doesn’t matter what your background is, where you come from, as long as you’re Filipino, you have something to feel when you watch MWF. So we just wanna reach more people,” Shannon added.
Reeling from the impact of COVID-19
As the pandemic forced wrestlers to disengage from wrestling, some had to find ways to still keep themselves in shape.
“Since pandemic, mas marami akong time mag-train sa bahay. Na-keep pa rin naman yung pagte-train kasi hindi naman natin alam kailan matatapos yung pandemic so bakit kailangang maghintay? Bakit ko kailangan hintayin matapos ‘yung pandemic to get back into wrestling,” Liwanag said.
“Honestly, just like everyone else, I was frustrated, I was hopeless to a point I even thought the world was ending. So what did I do? Tried my best. I didn’t let that hinder me from achieving my goal besides being a professional wrestler. I tried to look like a professional wrestler, so I had a pandemic [fitness] journey. That kept me busy for two years… I didn’t give up on my dream,” Warren added.
For MWF, Shannon said they had to make sure that the wrestlers are physically ready to return after a long hiatus.
“For us, the biggest preparation was making sure that all the wrestlers were ready to wrestle again and making sure that the audience were excited. Hopefully we’ll keep this momentum,” she added.
MWF was founded in 2014 and relaunched in 2018. – ngs
