Rush Signs With ROH, Sends MLW Rise of the Renegades Into Disarray

The rise of lucha libre in the United States has been well documented and unmissable with names like Pentagon, Fenix, and Bandido routinely stealing the shows of cards across the country. MLW, who has had their finger on the pulse of independent wrestling, was quick to capitalize on the popularity up and down their cards.

In recent weeks, Rush debuted for Major League Wrestling to much fanfare with a highly anticipated match against LA Park being built toward in April. That match, and Rush’s MLW future, are both now off of the table with an exclusive contract having been signed with Ring of Honor.

If you’ve been watching MLW Fusion at all (and you definitely should be), it should come as no surprise that the company was beginning to build Rush as one of the top names in the company. Before his in-ring debut, vignettes aired for weeks to promote the arrival of the founder of Los Ingobernables.

Rush’s Major League Wrestling debut came in the form of a match with standout high flyer, and reigning AAA World Cruiserweight Champion, Sammy Guevara at the promotion’s Chicago debut this past November.

"“We’ve been working on this deal for over a half year,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “Big players take time to close big deals and Rush is as big as it gets in Mexico. Chicago is in for something special.”– Court Bauer, MLW CEO"

From there, Rush found success against Rich Swann and Shane Strickland as part of MLW’s Miami double-shot in December. All the while, Rush made clear that he had one purpose in Major League Wrestling – to bring the hottest feud in Mexico to the United States by clashing with LA Park.

MLW made the Rush/Park match and feud the center point of what would be one of their biggest shows of the year, Rise of the Renegades in New York City during WrestleMania week. With what would be an international audience coming from all over the globe, MLW was poised to present another blockbuster fight.

Then, it was announced that Rush had signed an exclusive contract with Ring of Honor. Like PCO before him, Rush was able to curtail his success in front of American audiences into a contract with one of the top US promotions. With the exit of The Elite from ROH, the company not only has spots to fill but also the need for marquee names to highlight their events.

With a shot thrown, MLW’s Court Bauer noted that “sometimes politics get in the way and that’s what this comes down to: politics” in a release from the company. In place of Rush and LA Park headlining the April show, LA Park will now collide with Pentagon Jr in a rematch from their fight in Fort Lauderdale last September.

It’s a crazy thought to feel disappointed at the announcement of any Pentagon match, but replacing Rush in this match does feel like a major step backward. MLW clearly had high hopes for Rush and wasn’t holding back on pushing him as a huge name and potential cornerstone of the company.

Rehashing the Park/Penta rivalry out of nowhere simply doesn’t pack the same punch. Plus, with several weeks of MLW Fusion yet to air before the next taping with SuperFight in Philadelphia, the company will need to get creative quickly to build toward the second meeting of two of their hottest names.

With AEW on the horizon, ROH scooping up more and more talents with exclusive contracts, and WWE constantly attempting to sign every wrestler under the sun, what could the future hold for the rest of the Major League Wrestling roster? Without exclusive contracts of its own, can the promotion compete with what could be three major US-based promotions? Or, will Major League Wrestling succeed in spite of the big money and exclusivity offered by other companies?