Maple Leaf Pro is still a new promotion, but it is not a cold start. Scott D’Amore has positioned it as both a revival of the old Maple Leaf Wrestling name and a modern international project built around partnerships, outside talent, and a presentation that feels closer to a traditional supercard than a stripped-down indie. That is a big reason MULTIVERSE matters tonight. This is not part of The Collective, but it clearly wants to live in the same WrestleMania week conversation, and bringing the brand to Las Vegas under the SLAMFEST banner makes this feel like a statement play rather than just another date on the calendar.
Here is everything advertised for tonight’s show
- Kiran Grey vs. Steven Borden
- QT Marshall vs. Paul Walter Hauser (Sin City Street Fight)
- Gisele Shaw (c) vs. Shotzi Blackheart vs. Persephone (MLP Women’s Canadian Championship)
- Amazing Red, Mascara Dorada, and Mistico vs. The Rascalz
- Michael Oku, Rich Swann, and Sidney Akeem vs. The Demand
- Hechicero (c) vs. Jonathan Gresham (CMLL World Heavyweight Championship)
The history behind the promotion is part of the hook. D’Amore launched the revived Maple Leaf Pro brand in 2024 with Forged in Excellence and has spent the time since then trying to build out a company that feels connected to classic Canadian wrestling history while still working as a modern hub for talent sharing. That approach has shown up in its booking, its branding, and in the way the company has leaned into international relationships, including a formal partnership with CMLL and recent joint events with Ring of Honor. That is the larger idea behind MLP right now. It is not trying to be the biggest company in the space overnight. It is trying to become a serious crossroads promotion with a recognizable identity.
That also ties into the roster. MLP has leaned on a core of familiar names and returning Canadian-linked talent while mixing in outside names who can raise the floor of the cards. Gisele Shaw is one of the clearest examples of that and probably the closest thing the promotion has to a central women’s division pillar right now. Bhupinder Gujjar, Raj Singh, Bishop Dyer, Sheldon Jean, Brent Banks, Alice Crowley, El Reverso, and others have all been positioned as part of the larger MLP ecosystem, even as the company keeps using visiting talent and partner promotions to widen the cards. That blend is one of the company’s biggest strengths, even if it can also make the promotion feel more like a rotating supercard brand than a fully locked-in week-to-week roster.
Hechicero vs. Jonathan Gresham is the match that gives this show its clearest wrestling centerpiece. On paper, it is the most naturally compelling match on the card because both wrestlers fit each other, the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship adds real weight, and it lines up perfectly with MLP’s international-crossover identity. If MULTIVERSE is supposed to prove that Maple Leaf Pro can present major matches that feel bigger than novelty attractions, this is the one that has to hit. It is also the kind of match that makes the company’s CMLL partnership feel useful instead of cosmetic.
Gisele Shaw’s title defense is important for a different reason. Shaw is one of the promotion’s clearest homegrown anchors, and putting her in a three-way with Shotzi Blackheart and Persephone gives the card a women’s title match with recognizable names and different fan bases attached to it. The upside is obvious because Shotzi brings attention, Shaw gives the company continuity, and Persephone adds another wrinkle to the mix. The concern is obvious too. Three-ways like this can sometimes feel like finish-protection matches more than true centerpiece bouts. That does not mean it cannot work, but it does mean the execution matters more here than in a straight singles title defense.
The undercard says a lot about D’Amore’s booking instincts. Amazing Red, Mascara Dorada, and Mistico against The Rascalz is the kind of six-man that should bring speed and flash to the show, while Michael Oku, Rich Swann, and Sidney Akeem against The Demand gives the card another multi-man match that looks more functional than essential. That split is a fair way to look at MLP in general right now. The promotion is good at assembling featured attractions and recognizable combinations, but there is still a real question about whether too much of the product leans on multi-person layouts instead of more direct singles feuds and a clearer internal structure.
That is where most of the praise and criticism around MLP meet. The praise is easy to understand. The company has already built useful partnerships, landed a Canadian TV deal, created a bigger-stage presentation than most new promotions manage this quickly, and booked enough meaningful names to feel relevant right away. The criticism is just as fair. There are still times when the promotion feels more like a Scott D’Amore-curated event brand than a fully defined promotion with a sharply established identity from top to bottom. MULTIVERSE matters because it is another chance to sharpen that identity in front of a WrestleMania week audience.
There is also significance in where this show sits tonight. Running in Las Vegas during WrestleMania week means MLP is choosing direct comparison whether it wants it or not. That is why a card like this needs range. It needs one pure wrestling attraction, one title match with recognizable names, a lucha showcase, a little variety, and a little weirdness. MULTIVERSE has all of that. The real question is whether it comes off like a company planting a flag or just a brand trying to keep up with the week around it.
Final thoughts
MULTIVERSE feels like a test the promotion needs. Hechicero vs. Gresham gives the show a real centerpiece, Gisele Shaw’s title defense gives MLP one of its own focal points, and the rest of the card has enough range to make the event feel bigger than a niche side show. Maple Leaf Pro still looks like a company in the process of defining itself, but that does not have to be a weakness if the featured matches land and the overall card feels coherent. If MLP wants to prove it can be more than a nostalgia revival with a respected promoter behind it, tonight is exactly the kind of stage where that has to come through.
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