MLW fans are in for a treat, as tonight is the night for MLW and VICE TV’s anticipated Fightland special, which airs on VICE TV at 10 PM EST. The one-hour special features a title vs title superfight between National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone and World Heavyweight Champion Jacob Fatu (with Josef Samael), but it will also feature the debut of a brand new segment. That segment is titled MLW Embedded and will be run by MLW’s Alicia Atout, who will be joined by a number of wrestling journalists to talk about the biggest news of the moment and what’s happening in MLW. ComicBook.com had the chance to talk to Atout about the new project and what fans can expect from it.
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“Yes. So, it’s a brand new segment on MLW called, MLW Embedded. I will be your host, and I’ll be sitting down with some of the hottest, most well-respected, journalists and analysts within the wrestling business. No topics are off-topic. We are not afraid to go right into things. No tiptoeing. And it was so much fun to film,” Atout said. “We had this crazy round-table filled with, like I said, some of the biggest names. We had Dave Meltzer, we had Raj Giri, Andreas Hale, and then Emilio Sparks. So, I see you nodding your head there, right away, recognizing some of those names. As I said, nothing was off-limits, off topic. So, we were diving into other promotions, some of the craziest stories happening right now.”
“And sometimes everyone saw eye-to-eye, and other times we didn’t. So, we got right down into it. I also was able to break some crazy, crazy news in terms of, in my opinion, one of the best wrestlers in the world, coming to MLW this fall. So yeah, there was just a lot that happened within the segment. And it Will be airing during FIGHTLAND, which is taking place October 7th on VICE TV at 10:00 PM. So yeah, it’s very exciting. And it was a blast to host,” Atout said.
As to whether fans can expect a debate-style show or something a bit more conversational, the answer is both at any given time.
“Imagine a bunch of wrestling nerds and lovers just hanging out a bar and someone says, ‘What do you think about this?’ And then, we all just say our opinions and shoot the breeze,” Atout said. “That is exactly the style that we went for. It’s very conversational, very open. And that’s the beauty of it. When you have four/five people sitting at the same table, you’re not always going to see eye-to-eye, and sometimes you are. So, that was so much fun, being able to see everyone’s opinions on things and their take on some of these crazy buzzing topics.”
The new project is another showcase of MLW’s continued evolution and openness to new projects and creativity, and for Atout, that freedom is one of the things that makes MLW so special.
“Oh, I could just say so much right now, in the best of ways. So, I think my favorite part, for me, and it ties into one and two, for your questions. It’s the freedom that talent gets. Of course, we do have things that have to get across. We all know that. But, at the same time, we have a lot of freedom in terms of what we can say and what we can do,” Atout said. “And I have never been in another locker room where that is the case. I have had promos where literally, word for word, it had to be verbatim. I couldn’t smile here. I couldn’t say something here. You can’t laugh there. And with MLW, they want us to be ourselves. They want talent to shine because that’s the reason they hired them. They didn’t just hire somebody to make them into somebody else. They can see that raw talent is there.”
“So, I love that about the brand, how raw and gritty it can be. And plus, just the wrestling is so good,” Atout said. “We have so many different types of wrestling and genres. And I mean, even just thinking about FIGHTLAND for our main event, we have Fatu going against Hammerstone for the world championship. That is just massive! And then, the other match that will be airing during that, we have Myron Reed, Tajiri, Aramis, and Aries. The latter two are some of the best luchadores I have ever watched live. Tajiri is a legend. I got to film some promos with him over the weekend and that just blew my mind. And of course, Myron Reed is one of the best high flyers, not just in MLW, but in wrestling. So, it’s just stacked with talent. So, that’s another thing I love about the brand, honestly. I get to do my work, and then afterwards just watch amazing wrestling.”
With how creative and open MLW is to new projects, we had to ask what her dream project crossover would be if she could combine MLW with her favorite franchise, and two ideas quickly came to mind.
“Oh my gosh. If we could do something with Marvel, my mind would be blown, absolutely blown. I grew up going to Comic-Con and I have a crazy comic book collection in the basement. I grew up just loving everything in-between that. So, that would be insane to me,” Atout said. “And another thing, which probably does not make as much sense is, if we could do something with a couple of the bands that I love. If we could have some kind of Steel Panther show, where MLW had matches going on, or something.”
Since she’s such a big comic fan, I wanted to know who her favorite three heroes were, and yes, I lost my mind when the words “Green Lantern” came up.
“Okay. So, my favorite of all-time is definitely Spider-Man,” Atout said. “I just, growing up, thought Peter Parker was so relatable. I was such a nerd growing up. And seeing somebody being able to deal with so many different issues and adversities, and just becoming a freaking superhero when he is a teenager. I just thought it was the coolest thing, ever. So, definitely Spider-Man. And I loved Spider-Man Blue and Ultimate, those were my favorite volumes of all time.”
“Then, I’d have to go with Batman because The Long Halloween, in my opinion, is the best comic book ever written. So, definitely have to go with Batman. And then third would probably be Green lantern because I remember… Yeah. I remember doing the mantra, the chant all the time with my sister. We literally had, from Comic-Con, these amazing rings of our own,” Atout said. “We’d put them together and it was… we were such nerds, but, I just loved the comics, too. So, I think those are my top three. Definitely my top two. I feel like the third is interchangeable with maybe Flash, but the top two are locked down.”
Now we just need to figure out a way to get a Green Lantern oath into a Fightland special to bring this full circle, so fingers crossed.
You can check out MLW Embedded during MLW Fightland, which airs on VICE TV at 10 PM EST.
What do you want to see from MLW Embedded and Fightland next? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
