Major League Wrestling CEO Court Bauer discusses the company's latest partnership with Veeps and the opportunities it will bring.
Major League Wrestling (MLW) announced a partnership with Veeps earlier this week, marking the latest free streaming platform the promotion will appear on – joining YouTube and beIN Sports.
“MLW Fusion” will debut on Veeps Saturday with a full wrestling lineup without fans needing an additional streaming service that might hit them harder than a Killer Kross chair shot.
MLW CEO Court Bauer emphasized the importance of staying open and open to the viewing public in an interview with FOX Business, comparing the experience to NFL fans.
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Major League Wrestling founder Court Bauer at the event. (Major League Wrestling / Fox News)
“I'm a big sports fan so as we've seen organic streaming happen, it feels like you're paying tolls as you go from game to game,” Bauer said. “You may need this subscription to follow that game and what you subscribed to get that game and now you need to subscribe something to get that special Christmas game. Then, you start looking at what it costs. It's not $9.99 a month anymore. Some of these services are $30 a month. And that's right, Netflix is 30 (for some programs), ESPN looks like 30 and you think that the subscription is a tired period where you can subscribe to toothpaste and and exotic sweets from Japan and you get them every month and I think everyone starts looking at their bill and says, 'Yeah I think I'm over all these subscriptions.'
“So, I've always felt that YouTube is an infrastructure to give the fans some access to the content. I think what we're doing with Veeps is now we're opening a free window to watch it on their huge site and that's going to be great for us. It's going to be great for them. It's going to be a great success. So, I think if you have this kind of league, we're not going to force it to disrupt, we can't pay the challenge. We're giving it to you for free, that means a lot when times are hard for a lot of people, so, to be able to watch fight every Saturday and don't look at your bill and pay that number, I think we will be well received From our point of view, we always want to help the fans more, give them our best product and give them the best price.
Bauer said the partnership with Veeps opens up new ways for MLW to bring in fans.
Veeps was founded by Good Charlotte members Joel and Benji Madden and Live Nation later bought a majority stake in the broadcast platform in 2021. Pro wrestling fans can claim a “free ticket” to a show before watching it.
“It's huge for us,” Bauer told FOX Business. “We've been really building for the last two years and we're looking at things globally. This is a huge strategic opportunity that we're opening up with this relationship. Live Nation is the world leader in live entertainment, of course in ticketing with Ticketmaster, touring logistics, their investment in the arenas is huge, sales, sponsorship and marketing. We've been growing for the last two years selling our tickets from trade and trade. release every show from January 2024.
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MLW and Veeps will co-host a weekly show and other marketing promotions. (MLW / Unknown)
“So, this partnership will charge MLW in many ways.”
Published in a press conference on Tuesday, it was mentioned how the two sides will “incorporate the culture of music into the events of the future, creating interactive moments that connect wrestling spectators and musicians from all communities of metal, country, punk, hardcore, and other communities.”
Bauer said the idea had been discussed for about a year.
“That's something we've been mapping and talking to for about a year. We started mapping this about a year ago with Joel and Benji Madden, who launched Veeps back in 2017 and of course Live Nation bought it in about 2021,” he said. “Paul Walter Houser, Brian Walsh and I, we all sat down with the Veeps team and Live Nation to see what opportunities are there that you guys are doing with this platform in what you're doing with Live Nation and touring and what you're doing with your production and all your great artists? And we were like what's the synergy there? What's the opportunity to come together?
“Pro wrestling has always been associated with the fabric of Americana. You think back to the '80s. You've got MTV and wrestling, it was like peanut butter and jelly. It just goes together so well. In pop culture in general, you can look back to the black and white days of TV and Gorgeous George on TV. So, there's always been a unique crossover. There's been opportunities to combine what Live Nation and the Veeps are doing with artists, and popular artists, touring artists and MLW.
“Now, MLW is in business with the world's largest live entertainment and ticketing company. There is unlimited potential in this relationship.”
Pro wrestling fans who may be introduced to the company through Veeps are on the show.
The MLW roster consists of household names that are probably already known to the general wrestling audience, such as Kross, Bishop Dyer, Alex Hammerstone, Donovan Dijak, Shotzi, Scarlett Bordeaux, Trevor Lee, Austin Aries and others. But the company also consolidated its relationships with places like Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Stardom in its talent pool.
Killer Kross in Major League Wrestling's Battle Riot. (MLW / Unknown)
“We start airing this Saturday with the new season and it's free. It's free on YouTube, it's free on Veeps and it's going to be a two-hour stacked special,” Bauer said. “We got Austin Aries vs. Trevor Lee. Killer Kross, our world heavyweight champion, will be there and at the press conference and Danny McBride and yours truly will be at the press conference. We have a great women's division with Shotzi and Priscilla Kelly. They will be fighting this weekend. Bishop Dyer, some of you remember him as one of the Whalf's World, Baron Talf Corbin. Champions will be working.
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“Just a who's who of our show from Japan to Mexico to the top stars here in the US. We're kicking this thing off live and in color this Saturday night, 6:05 pm ET on YouTube, Veeps and beIN Sports all night long. But on Saturday, we're going to plant our flag and make it big.”
