[8.0] "Another great show. The production values were very professional (and possibly a little smoother than night 1). The women's title and main event matches were the standouts, but the rest of the card was pretty decent. My only real issue was that it felt like the AEW presence was a little heavy - they even ended the show with a tease for Ricochet vs Takeshita. I felt like the end of MLP's debut weekend should have been more centred around their own talents. Nonetheless, a successful weekend for MLP."
[7.0] "Another good event with the usual suspects putting on the best matches of the night. The scramble match was surprisingly fun as well with Psycho Mike stealing the show"
[8.0] "Forged in Excellence night 2 was another great show from Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. It's another declaration of interests and after waching both events I want to see more of MLP in 2025. The show starts with another 6 man tag with fast action to get the crowd hot for the rest of the night. And even if I prefer the one of the first show, this also accomplished that mission. The babyface team made a great performance. After that El Reverso won the QPW Qatar title on an average encounter, but it was cool to see the hometown boy won a title. Next was a womens tag team match where Kylie Rae & Miyu Yamashita defeated Harley Cameron and Laynie Luck. This match was set after Kylie Rae stole the win from Luck on Night 1. The star of the match was Yamashita with her stiff strikes and offense, such as the Skull Kick. Harley Cameron also made a good impression with her selling. Next was the Six Way Scramble Match. It was a very fun spotfest, where everybody looked very good. Something's spot stomping Grayson's foot was very good. Grayson is a great pound for pound wrestler that can do everything. But the real star was Physcho Mike with his bodyslam spot and then winning with a rollup out of nowhere. He has great charisma and hopefully we'll see more of him. Then Mike Bailey defeated El Phantasmo on a big junio heavyweight match, with tons of spots, flips and moves. The match was very good, but it bothered me Bailey's lack of selling of his shins that were very hurt, but that didn't stop him for doing flips, kicks or powermoves. But anyway, the action was very smooth. The tag team match with Bully Ray and QT Marshall was the worst match of the card. I get the point of Bully's character and I enjoy that he is a trashtalking bully who can't match the strenght of his words with his fists. And that's fine, no one expects a good match at that point of his career. But even that doesn't work well if you don't match it with the correct people or book it well. What was the point of having this two matches appart for a "big" win for Gujjar, the hometown boy, but I'd prefer seeing paired with better wrestlers that can make him improve. The two final matches were pretty good. First, Athena successfully defended the ROH womens world championship against Gisele Shaw. I liked the hard hitting action and great nearfalls, but for me it went a couple of minutes long. But it was very good. And finally the main event. The best match of the card and my favorite of both shows (Takeshita vs Bailey is in a close second place). And I prefer this one because it had more intensity and sense of struggle between two equal opponents. I trully enjoyed the slow built to the high spots. It was a perfect way to end the second PPV. Alexander's spots and the nearfall of the C4 were very very good, as well as the selling and the stiff strikes. And that final sequence with Alexander ripping off his head protection and tossing it to Takeshita, to then be down after a stiff forearme, the power drive knee and the Raging Fire was a perfect spot. After the match Don Callis and Takeshita continue beating the Walking Weapon until Ricochet makes the save. Two great events, I'm a big fan of this new MLP."
[7.0] "Night two of Forged in Excellence was probably better overall compared to night one thanks to the higher ceiling and higher floor, but the undercard remained mostly the same story. Not a whole lot of great down there, but a fun watch all together. The main event was the obvious star performance of the night though, with ELP vs. Mike Bailey being second for me. [MOTN: Josh Alexander vs. Konosuke Takeshita]"
[6.0] "Night 2 for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling was better show overall then Night 1 but not by much the Bailey vs El Phantasmo & Athena vs Shaw & the main event between Takeshita vs Alexander are matches to check out."
[7.0] "I felt similarly to both nights by the time it was all over with similar highs and lows. Another great Takeshita main event in his first proper International Title defense against Josh Alexander (my favorite match from Josh this year since his match with Will Ospreay in TNA in January.) Both Takeshita matches on these shows were ones I enjoyed more than any he has had in AEW this year and up there with his best from the G1. A very good match with Gisele Shaw challenging Athena for the ROH womens title (my favorite defense of Athenas since her 2/3 Tables Match with Nyla Rose) as well as one of Giseles best. A very good match with ELP/Mike Bailey. Good scramble and opening trios match. The Bully Ray match was better on this show but both nights I would call it the low point of the night. Still a very enjoyable show and hope to see more from MLP in 2025."
[9.0] "Because it was absent, for the most part, of the TNA-style silliness that plagued Night One (but wasn't completely free of it), Night Two was probably the better show. Seriously, between the Speedball, Athena, and Soup matches, you really cannot complain you didn't get your money's worth. Good show."
[9.0] "For the final night of Forged In Excellence they went all out. The match quality was much much higher and it seems like the talent all really put it all on the line to leave a good final impression for MLP. I think opening the show with another fast paced 6 man tag was an excellent choice, it really helps set the pace for the rest of the show. The Qatar title match was solid seeing Reverso win was super shocking and made for an awesome moment in front of his home crowd. Women's tag match was good Miyu Yamashita is so damn good anytime she was in the ring she always got the crowd super into the match. The scramble match was complete chaos in the right way, it was a lot of fun to watch and Psycho Mike getting the win was also a shock and well deserved as he's been a really fun Smash Wrestling Champion for a good bit. ELP vs Mike Bailey was nothing short of spectacular, as soon as the match was announced I knew it was going to be an epic Junior Heavyweight style match between the 2. Great selling from both men, great psychology and some super exciting spots showing off both men's athleticism. the Gujjar & Dhesi vs Bully & QT tag match was alright once again it was the weakest match of the night by far. ROH Women's title match was great but it did drag in the middle and I think if it was closer to 18-20 minutes it would have been amazing, really fun clash of styles with solid heel work from Athena, Gisele definitely proved she could compete in high level matches although I already knew she had it in her while she was in TNA. Only other thing I didn't like about this match was the use of the kickout at 1, I just hate those spots and they did it back to back and yeah it was no good. The night 2 main event was the reason I got tickets for these show's as soon as they were available. Alexander and Takeshita are 2 of my favourite wrestlers outside of WWE and seeing them in the ring title on the line with no timelimit more than delivered. The only thing I can say I didn't like about this match was Josh kicking out of Takeshita using the C4 spike at 1. Besides that one little thing this match is a prime example of the kind of match I enjoy and would show non wrestling fans. Josh Alexander will be the perfect posterboy for MLP in the future and he has all of the tools needed to be a star when given the platform. As for the post match festivites I am not a super huge Ricochet fan but I completely marked out when his music hit, it's always a special feeling when someone with the accolades and reputation as a ricochet comes down to little ol Windsor. I am not a fan of what MLP closing their show promoting a match that most likely won't happen on their programming since I feel like Takeshita vs Ricochet will happen on an AEW show obviously but I would love to be wrong! It does sound like Ricochet should be at the next show though which is a lot of fun, I think if they can get ELP back that would be the perfect opponent but if ELP isn't available than Mike Bailey is easily the next best option! As for what I want to see coming from MLP heading into 2025 I think they should get some proper Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling championships I think going simple is the best choice slowly introducing the belts throughout the year starting with a world title that I feel like would be contested between Alexander and Bailey since they delivered such breakout performances this weekend really wanting to put MLP on the map again. A women's title is equally important out of the talent booked for the weekend I think Kylie Rae vs Gisele would be the best match up to crown the first champion. Tag titles are definitely a toss up since there aren't many established teams on the roster atm besides Prince & Reverso and Rogue Squadron that are both readily available most likely. Mid Card title isn't a priority but the other 3 definitely would add levels to the show and letting MLP be it's own thing rather than just using other companies titles for every show and not having something to represent the canadian made company. I think having other titles on the show is fun but titles for the brand is gonna be a big upgrade for a company off to a solid start with it's revival. Lots of promise with MLP and I can't wait to see what's next."
[9.0] "This show was definitely a step up from the first night. I rated that one an 8, so this will have to be a 9. The combination of Speedball/ELP, Athena/Giselle, and Takeshita/Alexander made for three excellent matches. The scramble was fun as well. Psycho Mike was the surprise standout for me. Really looking forward to where the promotion goes from here."
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