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Welome to the Squared Circle Podcast with your host Marie Shadows and co-host Dos Evil as we talk about MLW!

In this episode, you and Dos Evil dive into MLWxDongato, breaking down the show from top to bottom with honesty, humor, and actual wrestling insight.

We discuss MLW’s big move to Charleston and how the energy of the crowd elevated the show despite obvious production flaws. The Scarlett vs. Isla Dawn opener gets praise for presence and charm, though you both agree they deserved way more time.

The Good Brothers tag match sparks a rant about commentary inaccuracies — especially Karl Anderson’s sobriety — and some of the awkward booking choices that made the finish feel unnecessary. Diego Hill’s lightning match and the Akamora interference angle leads into fantasy booking that makes far more sense than what MLW delivered.

Cross vs. Riddle becomes the segment of the night for both of you: strong character work, callbacks, and undeniable chemistry. This is the feud MLW should anchor their upper card around.

Then comes the big one: the bunkhouse match. You both unload on the poor layout, missing “bunkhouse” elements, confusing babyface/heel alignment, and the complete lack of time needed for a match with legacy names. This becomes the most passionate part of the episode.

We wrap by talking potential — MLW is clearly trying, but trying too much at once. With better planning, production alignment, and breathing room, they could turn these chaotic shows into something genuinely great.

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This Halloween episode is a fiery deep dive into the viral tweet that had wrestling Twitter on fire — and an honest breakdown of how fans, media, and content creators have stopped using their words correctly.

Marie starts the show with Halloween greetings and a quick reminder that the grind doesn’t stop — even on spooky season. From there, she recaps how one tweet about WWE’s triple threat booking went viral and turned into a full-on literacy test for wrestling Twitter.

The core debate? The misuse of the word “trope.”
Marie defines it clearly — a recurring theme — and then exposes how The Wrestling Observer twisted the term just to fuel anti-WWE sentiment. She then contrasts that bias by showing how AEW uses the same tropes — weekly multi-man matches borrowed straight from New Japan — but never gets called out.

From there, she gets into storytelling psychology:
Dominic Mysterio hiring mercenaries isn’t “stupid booking,” it’s character consistency. WWE tells stories rooted in motivation, consequence, and payoff — not chaos for chaos’s sake.

Marie also explains how she used her viral moment to teach about rhetoric, logic, and honesty — because the problem isn’t the “tropes.” The problem is that fans and media don’t understand definitions or context anymore.

She ends the episode with free advice for Tony Khan on how AEW could use Twitter Spaces and social media to actually build stories, while urging all fans to think more critically about wrestling and stop hiding behind tribal labels.

This episode isn’t just wrestling talk — it’s a lesson in media literacy, independent thinking, and keeping wrestling discussions honest and informed.

Time stamps

00:00 – 02:00
Halloween greeting, show intro, talk about making two podcasts in one day.

02:00 – 05:00
Explaining the importance of Patreon, creator economy, and independent voices.

05:00 – 10:00
The viral tweet breakdown — Wrestling Observer calls WWE’s triple threat booking a “bad trope.” Marie defines “trope.”

10:00 – 15:00
Storytelling psychology of Dom, Rusev, and Penta — why this is proper storytelling.

15:00 – 20:00
Observer’s anti-WWE bias vs. AEW’s constant multi-man match reliance.

20:00 – 25:00
AEW’s New Japan influence; how Tony Khan could use Twitter Spaces for story hype.

25:00 – 32:00
Social media bias, media literacy, and how the creator economy punishes independent truth-tellers.

32:00 – 40:00
Marie reacts to viral tweet replies — AEW defenders, bad-faith arguments, and misuse of “rhetorical.”

40:00 – 45:00
Debunking “booking pattern = trope.” Literary clarity meets wrestling education.

45:00 – 50:00
Closing thoughts: consistency, education, honesty. “Make honesty great again.”

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Join Marie Shadows and Dos Evil as they break down MLW Symphony of Horrors — a night filled with legends, chaos, and cross-promotion questions. From Blue Panther’s lucha legacy to Brock Anderson’s emotional promo and the mysterious attack on Shotzi, this episode goes deep into storytelling, booking logic, and where MLW fits in the wrestling landscape.

Timestamps:

• (00:00) Intro & show setup — MLW in Long Beach

• (00:01:00) César & Salina open; Matt Riddle’s confusing Lesnar jab

• (00:04:20) National Openweight Championship: Blue Panther retains — title confusion and lucha culture

• (00:12:00) Prestige vs. Money: MLW, AEW & CMLL partnership talk

• (00:17:00) Contra Unit analysis — Mads Krüger’s rise and MLW’s faction identity

• (00:23:00) Shotzi vs. Brittany Brooks — lightning match breakdown & mystery attacker theory

• (00:27:00) The Good Brothers’ promo — Marie’s honest take on their MLW arrival

• (00:34:00) Brock Anderson’s promo — emotion, family legacy & bunkhouse match setup

• (00:39:00) Scramble match — Diego Hill’s win, Akira Kwon’s frustration

• (00:43:00) Tag division & Hammerstone’s commentary brilliance

• (00:50:00) Final thoughts — MLW’s consistency, Contra’s future, and what fans should look forward to

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