The Road to NORTHERN RISING has begun and it kicks off on the weekend of March 14 and 15, 2025 in Windsor, Ontario with MLP MAYHEM, live at St. Clair College and live around the world on Triller TV!
On Night One of MAPLE LEAF PRO Mayhem in Windsor, Ontario, the Ten Pounds of Gold returns to a Maple Leaf ring as the reigning NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Thom Latimer puts his title on the line against “The Nomad” Bishop Dyer!
The NWA World Championship has been defended in a Maple Leaf ring going back to to the reign of Lou Thesz in the late 1940s, and was defended in multiple cities on the Maple Leaf Wrestling circuit over the decades, by names like Whipper Billy Watson, Buddy Rogers, Dory Funk Jr., Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Harley Race, and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Now the NWA’s top prize returns to Windsor, Ontario for the first time since 2005, when Jeff Jarrett defeated Raven to win the NWA World’s Heavyweight title at Border City Wrestling’s International Incident, which became known as the “Controversy in Canada” and launched the Golden Age of TNA Wrestling on Spike TV. Will Thom Latimer defend his gold and continue his reign of over 180 days? Or will Bishop Dyer, the former WWE Superstar known as Baron Corbin, secure his place amongst the legends of yore and add it to his trophy case alongside his WWE United States Championship?
Find out on March 14, 2025 at MLP Mayhem in Windsor, Ontario at St. Clair College!
In 2017, two promotions a world apart engaged in a student exchange. Border City Wrestling in Windsor, Ontario, Canada chose Can-Am Wrestling School student Sheldon Jean to travel to Japan to train at the Pro Wrestling NOAH Dojo, while NOAH sent young Dojo prospect Kaito Kiyomiya to Windsor to train at the Can-Am School. Eight years later, the students have now become scholars, but one has stood higher than the other. While Sheldon Jean became a face on TNA Wrestling and Big Brother: Canada, Kaito Kiyomiya became a three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, won the prestigious N1 Tournament, and has faced the greatest the world has had to offer, including battles against Kazuchika Okada, Naomichi Marufjui, Kenoh, KENTA, and more. While one student has gone on to become the Ace of Pro Wrestling NOAH, the other is still looking for his foothold in the world of professional wrestling. And it burns Sheldon Jean up.
Now, in a first time match up, the two students who swapped schools in 2017 lock up in a MAPLE LEAF PRO ring for their first singles match against each other, on Night One of MLP MAYHEM in Windsor, Ontario at St. Clair College! Will Sheldon Jean rise to the occasion and finally prove he belongs on the global stage? Or will Kaito Kiyomiya show the form that won the top prize in NOAH three times and show his international dominance?
Find out on March 14, 2025 at Night One of MLP MAYHEM!
At MLP Forged In Excellence last October, MAPLE LEAF PRO was proud to introduce the Champion’s Grail Championship, a new title to represent the Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA) of MLP, Qatar Pro Wrestling (QPW) and Oceania Pro Wrestling (OPW). Built on the legacy created by the original Champion’s Grail of legendary Japanese icon Rikidōzan and the follow up tournament in 2011 which saw Kenny Omega win the trophy, the Champion’s Grail is the new standard bearer for the PWA and its affiliates. On October 19, 2024, it was “Ravenous” Rohan Raja who won the battle to be crowned the inaugural holder of the PWA Champion’s Grail, and since then he has taken the title around the world to defend it’s honour, most recently against NJPW’s Robbie Eagles at SuperSlam III in Qatar for QPW.
Now he’s back in Windsor, title in hand, and ready to defend the title once again in the city and venue where he won it, as the Ravenous One faces off against former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rich Swann in what promises to be a fast paced spectacle full of viral-inducing moments! Can Rohan Raja hold on to his coveted 15-pounds of gold or will “Mr. All Night Long” pull a fast one and dance out of Windsor as the NEW holder of the PWA Champion’s Grail? Find out on March 15 at Night Two of MLP Mayhem at St. Clair College!
On March 2, 2025, out in the middle of the ocean on the Chris Jericho Rock N’ Rager wrestling cruise, Canada’s Mo Jabari defeated UK phenom Michael Oku to become the new Oceanic Champion! Now he brings that title to Windsor for Night One of MLP MAYHEM in a huge title defence!
Mo Jabari is a protege of WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart and a regular performer for Hart’s sons in Dungeon Wrestling in Alberta, Canada. The gifted youngster has been traveling the world of late, competing for AEW in Canada, as well as in Qatar, Japan, and beyond! Now he’s coming to Windsor, Ontario and putting his newly won gold on the line in a six-man challenge that could make or break the new champion!
Taiji Ishimori is one of the men looking to take the gold and he’s collected a lot of his own over the course of his legendary career. He’s a former 3x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he’s a member of the Bullet Club’s War Dogs faction. Prior to that, he was a 3x GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Stu Grayson is a Canadian veteran and former star in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a member of The Dark Order, but prior to that he was part of the heavily decorated Canadian tag team The Super Smash Bros alongside Evil Uno, including reigns in such notable promotions as CHIKARA and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The rugged competitor is hungry for singles gold after an impressive showing last fall at MLP Forged In Excellence!
Brent Banks has been one of the pillars of the Ontario independent scene the past decade and has taken his skills to Europe on multiple occasions. No stranger to gold in Ontario, the athletic marvel is looking to up the game once again, this time by capturing the Oceanic Championship!
Michael Allen Richard Clark, the longest name in professional wrestling, is no stranger to Mo Jabari, being a Western Canadian star as well. He’s made several appearances for AEW in the past and continues to rise in the ranks and scoring a big victory over his Western Canada rival Jabari would be another feather in the cap of Team Flex Appeal!
Rich Swann has proven he has the talents to win it all, having won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in 2020 as well as the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) World title in 2023. A former TNA X-Division Champion as well, Swann is accustomed to wearing belts around his waist, and adding the Oceanic title would be just another day at the office for Mr. All Night Long!
Will Mo Jabari be able to fend off the advances of five other combatants? Will a new champion be crowned in Windsor? Find out on Night One of MLP MAYHEM at St. Clair College!
It’s an explosive tag team encounter featuring two of the best tandems in the world and they’re your main event for Night Two of MLP MAYHEM in Windsor, Ontario at St. Clair College!
First up are New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Intergalactic Jet Setters, featuring former 6x IWGP Junior Heavyweight and NXT Cruiserweight Champion KUSHIDA alongside his protege Kevin Knight. A high-flying unit of clockwork precision, the pair are former 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions in Japan, who held the first title defence of their second campaign right here in Windsor at MLP Forged In Excellence!
Their opponents are known worldwide simply as The Kingdom, and Matt Taven and Mike Bennett have the hardware to prove their abilities are nothing to be scoffed at. The duo are 3x Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions over their run together, as well as holding tag team gold in TNA Wrestling and NJPW.
Will the explosive speed of the Jet Setters power them to victory? Or will the experience and familiarity of longtime partners The Kingdom prove to be just too much to overcome? Find out on Night Two of MLP MAYHEM at St. Clair College!
On Night One, Mike Bennett of The Kingdom goes one-on-one against the aerialist Alex Zayne in a match sure to bring the fans to their feet!
Mike Bennett is a veteran who has travelled the world and collected gold, most notably as a member of the faction The Kingdom, alongside his partner Matt Taven. Together the duo has captured World Tag Team titles in Ring of Honor, TNA Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling, while as a singles competitor, Bennett is a former TNA X-Division Champion and WWE 24/7 Champion.
Alex Zayne originally caught the world’s attention in Game Changer Wrestling in 2019 and has gone to become one of the most innovative high flyers in the game, as a featured star in NXT, Ring of Honor, and, most predominantly, in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he’s competed in esteemed tournaments like Best of the Super Juniors (2022) and World Tag League (2023, 2024).
Can Bennett overcome the aerial assault of Alex Zayne? Will Zayne be able to outsmart the more technical prowess of Mike Bennett? Find out on Night One of MLP MAYHEM in Windsor, Ontario!
It’s official! After issuing an open challenge to the entire MAPLE LEAF PRO locker room, it was “The French Canadian Frankenstein” PCO who answered Michael Allen Richard Clark’s call to battle and now the duo will go at it on Night Two of MLP MAYHEM in Windsor, Ontario…in a Street Fight!
Michael Allen Richard Clark may have the longest name in professional wrestling, but he also oozes with “Flex Appeal”, which has made him one of the top names in the Western Canada independent scene for much of the past decade, including working for Dungeon Wrestling, the promotion run by the sons of WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hitman” Hart, as well as appearing for AEW on Western Canada dates.
PCO is a legend of the business and a former 2x WWE World Tag Team Champion in the Quebecers. But since reinventing himself as an untamable monster, PCO has emerged into his most powerful form yet, capturing the Ring of Honor World Championship, as well as adding more gold during his tenure with TNA Wrestling. Now, the French Canadian Frankenstein is ready to show the young Canadian that it’s never a good idea to pick a fight with a monster!
Will Michael Allen Richard Clark make a name for himself by defeating the goliath in Windsor? Or will PCO continue his rampage across the wrestling world by making Flex Appeal just another victim? Find out on Night Two of MLP MAYHEM at St. Clair College!
It’s an explosive match that could headline any arena in Japan, but on Night Two of MLP MAYHEM in Windsor, Ontario, it’ll go down right here in Canada, as Pro Wrestling NOAH megastar Kaito Kiyomiya, high-flying Alex Zayne, and NJPW’s Taiji Ishimori of the Bullet Club War Dogs enter into a three-way battle!
Kaito Kiyomiya is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion in NOAH and one of the best young stars in all of Japan and he’ll have to pick up from his war against Sheldon Jean the night before to stay on target in this huge match-up! Kaito has been an elite level performer for years in Japan, going against the likes of former New Japan star Kazuchika Okada, as well as his many battles in NOAH against names like KENTA, Kenoh, Takashi Siguira, Gabe Kidd, and Naomichi Marufuji.
Taiji Ishimori is a former 3x GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion in NOAH who made the move to New Japan in 2018, where he’s gone on to become a former 3x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, during a time that also saw him capture the TNA X-Division Championship.
Alex Zayne continues to wow the world with his aerial innovation, from Game Changer Wrestling to Ring of Honor, NXT to New Japan Pro Wrestling, and will have no problem keeping up with the other two in the ring – in fact, his speed may guarantee that “Hot Sauce” will be the one who sets the tempo!
Will Kaito prove his superiority on Saturday night and why he’s the true Ace of NOAH? Will Ishimori resort to Bullet Club tactics and pull off a win through nefarious means? Will Alex Zayne score the huge upset on these two young legends and create a new ripple in his Japanese adventures? Find out on Night Two of MLP Mayhem at St. Clair College!
It was already a world-class showcase featuring Pro Wrestling NOAH Ace Kaito Kiyomiya, NJPW’s Bullet Club War Dog member Taiji Ishimori, and high-flying sensation Alex Zayne in a three-way, but after a standout performance on Night One of MLP Mayhem (not to mention his prowess at MLP Forged In Excellence), “Born and Bred in Canada” Stu Grayson has been added to the match, making it a truly international showcase and now a HUGE four-way match-up for Night Two of MLP Mayhem!