Savio Vega Discusses MLW's Strategic Alliance With IWA Puerto Rico

Former WWE Superstar and former IWA Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship Savio Vega recently sat down with Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman to discuss all things MLW on The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast. Vega gave his thoughts on MLW's "strategic alliance" with IWA Puerto Rico.

"[It's] been coming for a long time since I heard they wanted to get in touch with me," Vega noted. "Then was a some time where I heard nothing about that. Then [they] came back again, and we sat down and talked. Court Bauer had that in mind. Coming up on this TV, Court called, and I agreed. Why not?

"We would like to bring the company here to Puerto Rico and why not join the IWA? You're going to have two banks of talent, and you could do a big, big show here in Puerto Rico and have a joint company with WWC, Carlos Colon's company there. You have a huge bank of talent from three companies, and a mega big show could happen here in Puerto Rico anytime soon. Hopefully, this coronavirus goes away and let's us do what we'd like to do."

MLW owner Court Bauer was recently on The Wrestling Inc. Daily where he stated his goal for MLW to hold an island show either in Hawaii or the Caribbean. Hausman asked Vega if there would be trouble with talent flying to and out of Puerto Rico due to the pandemic.

"They never closed the airport," Vega pointed out. "I mean, different cultures of course. They closed their airport because they own the town or whatever. In Puerto Rico, the airport is always kept open. I had the chance to fly a few times, and the army, when you're coming out of the plane, they're right there. [They have] papers for you to sign, where you need, how you feel, emails and your information, which is okay.

"If you feel something, whatever you cough, you have a fever, they take you to this other side where they do the test for you to check on you and not just a check on you, after that, they continue to check on you by text where every day they send you a text message where they ask you how you feel. If you have fever, how do you feel? A couple of questions and you say yes or not."

Vega continued detailing the procedures he goes through when he travels in and out of Puerto Rico. He noted that precautions airports are taking when people arrive and also the precautions being taken during flights.

"I want to do the test. I want to go through the procedure to see what's going on, and I went through there," Vega stated. "They did the blood test on me, and they did the nose one. And every day, since two weeks ago, they send me text messages asking me, so it's good. In the State's, when I arrived over there in New York, they do the same thing, which is okay. That's great to have because that way they can track who is sick and who isn't.

"And right now, it's okay to come into Puerto Rico. In the airplane, they seat you alone. They either seat you in the window or seat you in the aisle to keep the middle seat open, which is okay. It's not too much, but it's okay on the distance, and the planes that I've taken already, nobody coughs. You don't hear anybody sneezing and nothing like that."

The topic of the IWA Caribbean Championship came up with MLW star Richard Holliday's self-proclaimed run as champion. Vega stated his desire to take back the championship by challenging him to a Caribbean Strap Match

"I call him 'Papa's Boy' because he always mentions 'my lawyer / my father.' Well Richard, that I know of, never had a title in his hands and what he did was steal the Caribbean belt," Vega pointed out. "The belt has a lot of history here in Puerto Rico, and now, he proclaims himself the Caribbean Champion. So hey, I just already sent a challenge to him to go in a Caribbean Strap Match. Let's see what happens if he accepts, and let's see it happen in MLW."

Hausman noted that Vega was introduced as the IWA Caribbean Champion before. Vega agreed and named the many legends that have held the title and the history of the belt. He reiterated his desire to take the belt back and bring back to Puerto Rico.

"You have people like Hercules Ayala," Vega named. "He passed away. God bless his soul. You have people like Ronnie Garvin, you have Carlos Colon, you have Fit Finlay [and] you have Abdullah the Butcher. You have many many guys that been a champion with the belt. You have people that have [shed] blood, and tears and sweat in that belt. Richard just comes and says, 'This is mine.' I'm going to take the belt and nobody's going to play? No way Richard. No way. So that belt is coming to Puerto Rico and Savio Vega soon."

Vega discussed some of IWA Puerto Rico's top talents that could fight some of MLW's wrestlers. He also noted that sports in Puerto Rico are resuming with some arenas welcoming in 25% capacity of fans. He expressed his desire to have MLW in Puerto Rico depending on how COVID-19 numbers do in the future.

"Of course, you have Mr. Big. He's 6'8" almost 200 something pounds," Vega highlighted. "He's the champion right now. You got Manny Ferno, a big tough heel. You have some juniors that could have great matches with the talent in MLW, and also, I'd like to see a mixed card with MLW in Puerto Rico. We're talking about Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

"We just opened it now. Good news is basketball in Puerto Rico has started. Some baseball has started. It's 25% that they're going to let people come into the arenas. So we need to get the open space, open arenas, stadiums or baseball parks to do wrestling. If you have a 5,000-seat arena, building or stadium, you would have at least 1500 people coming in, and that's okay because if you have a small place [and] not too many people coming in — it's hard for the promoter to make some money because this is a business.

"So let's see what happens in the next year to see if the coronavirus [numbers are going] down. People have to take care of themselves because they don't take care of themselves this is going to continue for a long time. So we need to cut down the percentage of sick people so the government give us the time to open the arenas so that way we can entertain the people, and we can come back to normal. So let's see what happens next yea. You never know. I don't February, maybe the summer, we could see MLW in Puerto Rico."

Vega also discussed which MLW talents have caught his eye. Vega praised many of the young talent in MLW and also praised MLW owner Court Bauer for being open to ideas and collaborating with everyone.

"You got Jacob Fatu, what a talent, and he listens and takes that and does it in the ring," Vega said. "You have Hammerstone, what a great performer. Now, he is working out big time. You got two young guys that have a big, bright future in wrestling. You have Holliday, he's a great guy. You have Tom [Lawlor]. You have great talent in MLW. People that are making a difference in the business right right now.

"You have La Parka. La Parka has what, maybe 20 years in the business, and what a performer. La Parka and La Parka Jr., both great talents. I had the chance to work with them as an agent, what a performer. You have the Mexican traditional costumes. I still [remember] in my head, the match between La Parka and Jacob Fatu in Dallas or Chicago. What a match! You have the Von Erich's, who have a long way to grow, to learn and to be better and better every week. You have talent in MLW for years to come, to be the best company in the world to be honest, and you have Court.

"Court is focused on what he wants, and we agree on many things. We talk. 'What about this? What about that change?' This TV that we did, that happened. 'We need to do this again because I believe the way that I see is this. The way that he sees it is this.' So we went back. 'Let's do it again.' We did whatever you needed to do. Let's do it. That happened on this TV that we just did, and that's good because you have somebody that listens, changes it and [says] 'let's do it.' MLW has great, great talent."

"MLW: The Restart" begins tonight, November 18th. For more information visit MLW.com. You can follow Savio on Twitter @SavioVega.

Savio's full interview aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.