Court Bauer on Davey Boy Smith Jr. Doing More Singles Work in MLW, Discusses MLW’s Relationship With NOAH

– WrestlingInc.com recently interviewed MLW founder and CEO Court Bauer for its WINCLY podcast. Bauer discussed Davey Boy Smith Jr.’s future prospects in MLW, MLW’s relationship with NOAH, and more. Below are some highlights from WrestlingInc.com.

Bauer on Davey Boy Smith Jr. leaving NJPW: “Yeah I haven’t really talked too much to Davey Boy about it. He’s been pretty open about his frustrations over there and I was surprised to see him in a position where he wasn’t used at [G1 Supercard] in a role of consequence. I’m not privy to the details of the relationship, but he’s a stud. He first wrestled for MLW as an 18-year-old and he was studying for his mid-terms in high school along with Tyson Kidd as the Stampede Bulldogs. He worked in WWE but they weren’t using him at the time and I would ask why but never really got a straight answer. I’ve always seen everyone undervalue and underutilize him and it’s always baffled me. I didn’t get it. It’s so easy to use a guy like that and you could book Davey Boy in your sleep. He’s very easy. He had a great matchup with Thatcher that’s gonna air this Saturday on Fusion and hands down it was the best technical match in the history of MLW. I’m not saying that as a promoter…I’m watching it and I was glued to the screen. It’s the sweet science of technical wrestling at its best.”

Bauer on where Smith can go in MLW and doing more singles heavyweight matches: “Yeah that’s where we’re at right now. He’s kind of straddled the tag division and the heavyweight division. There’s been overtures to do more in the heavyweight division and I wanna see it. For Davey Boy, there’s matches in the singles division whether it’s with a guy like Tom Lawlor or Jacob Fatu. There’s a lot of interesting matchups.”

Bauer on MLW’s partnership with NOAH: “It’s been something we’ve been talking about for about five months and were able to close the deal a few weeks ago. It’s a great opportunity for fans that love NOAH and MLW fans. We’re gonna have fresh matchups and talent swaps and we’re gonna have fun collaborating.”

Court Bauer on if it’s similar to the relationship between ROH and NJPW: “100 percent. We’re sending Alexander Hammerstone, our national champ, over there for their N1 Victory Tournament and he’ll be there for about a month. We’ve coordinated some talent to come this way and I expect the first NOAH wrestler to come this fall and then we’ll see an escalation from both sides.”