I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Major League Wrestling superstar and self-proclaimed Caribbean champion Richard Holliday, where we discussed a multitude of topics including MLW’s marketing strategy and expansion, the super series crossover with AAA, his feud with wrestling legend Savio Vega, future goals, and whether or not MLW should run events during the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights can be found below.
Q: It feels like every week…MLW is growing in their broadcast and viewership opportunities. They recently announced a partnership with WAVE.tv, they recently announced a distribution agreement with Digital Original Entertainment, and they also revealed that MLW will now air in Brazil on DAZN. How does it feel to see the company growing in visibility?
Well I’ve always appreciated the strategic marketing strategy that MLW has implemented for the brand. It’s something that MLW has done really well…it has differentiated itself within the marketing place and targeted different demographics. As a marketing expert myself I appreciate that, and that is what is going to allow you to become successful especially in a very competitive market like professional wrestling. You, as a consumer, have so many different options for you to view and consume and you can only consume so much. So for MLW to get on different platforms in different countries and different regions of the world is only going to help you grow.
Q: One of the last shows MLW ran prior to the pandemic was the Super Series against AAA in Mexico. You defended the Carribbean championship against Chessman at that event. Could you talk about your experience working with the AAA roster and performing in front of the consumers in Mexico?
Well first and foremost…the consumers in Mexico are vastly different than the consumers here in the states…the fact that they are extraordinarily rude and actually like to throw beer at you, which I am disgusted by beer in its general form but when its thrown at me it is far worse. They are very rambunctious…I will give them that…they are very passionate about professional wrestling, lucha-libre as they like to call it. The luchadores there are very talented, and to get in the ring with someone like Chessman, who obviously is a cosplay Sting, was very entertaining for me. To look across the ring and see someone like that was a thrill for me and I know that the consumers there…they love Chessman. I was able to not make quick-work of him…it was a very challenging match for me to defend my Caribbean championship out there in Tijuana and make that an international championship more-so than it already was. It’s always great to go there.
Q: You took that title from Savio Vega, an experienced veteran and legend in Puerto Rico. What are your thoughts on Vega and how have you enjoyed feuding with him on MLW?
At the end of the day Savio Vega is a legend within professional wrestling. You will never hear me deny that, I will say that right here on this broadcast. However, he just wasn’t doing the Caribbean title any justice. He wasn’t elevating it, he wasn’t making it prestigious, he wasn’t making it talked about amongst the consumers. Now that I have it…think about it. Most of this interview is going to be credited to the Caribbean championship. It’s one of your highlights…one of your talking points. It’s a lot of people’s talking points in MLW. As of right now it’s STILL not a recognized championship on the official MLW roster. What’s going on with that? It may be more talked about than the heavyweight championship. That’s because it’s relevant, that’s because of marketing, that’s because I’m putting it out there. I’ve elevated that championship to a point where it’s the focal point of the company.
Q: You are also a former MLW tag champion and a part of one of the promotion’s top acts in Dynasty. What future goals do you and Dynasty hope to achieve?
When MLW returns I think consumers are waiting for what Dynasty is going to do next. As I’ve mentioned several time already…we are the focal point of Major League Wrestling between Hammerstone and myself. MLW went out and made sure to reach agreements with the both of us to keep us long term with the company, and that’s for non slight reason… that is for very good reason…because they see money within the Dynasty. In terms of goals, what I have personally, capture as much gold as we possibly can. We already have the Openweight, we have the Caribbean, we had the tag titles, it’d be great to get those back, next is the heavyweight championship. Maybe I’ll cut weight and get the Middleweight championship, I’m only a few pounds off. We’ll see…there’s so many things that we can possibly do, but the overall goal is to make Dynasty synonymous with Major League Wrestling more than we already have.
Q: Final question…Davey Boy Smith Jr. said in a recent interview that while he respects MLW for playing it safe from COVID-19, he believes they should be running empty arena events while testing their talent so they’re not sitting at home. Do you agree with Smith? Do you think MLW should be running shows?
I mean it’s a very delicate subject when you’re dealing with people’s health and you’re dealing with the overall safety. If it were me…I’ve said on a few different interviews that I’m not entirely a huge fan of empty-arena shows. However, I do understand distribution deals and knowing that works do require content in order to fulfill obligations and things of that nature. So it’s much different than just saying, “well we just need to strictly focus on safety.” There is unfortunately the business end of it, which is kind what is dividing the country non-related to sports entertainment and professional wrestling. Is it business or is it safety? Do you open the economy do you not? Again you can be on either side of the fence and I think you can make an argument for both ways. What I will say…I do appreciate that MLW is taking its time. That’s not to say that we are not going to run empty arena shows. I don’t know what the future is going to hold. I don’t know what Court Bauer and everybody is going to want to do. What I do know is that even while we have been absent from providing live content…we are still doing tremendous things like providing MLW Underground and giving consumers a taste of the past. We’re still doing Pulp Fusion on a weekly basis and keeping everybody engaged…letting everybody know what we’re doing, and we’re still growing. We’re still signing international partnerships. Even in the midst of a global pandemic MLW is finding a way to grow, and that is very impressive.
Full interview can be found below.
