The Andersons are ready to show MLW fans what they are all about.
The duo will make their MLW tag team debut at Thursday’s “Summer of the Beasts” event in New York City. Brock Anderson is making his debut for the promotion, while CW Anderson prides himself on being an MLW original. The “distant cousins” spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of Thursday’s show and shared how they first linked up, and what MLW fans can expect to see from them in the ring.
CW Anderson: “This [opportunity] actually fell into place. Brock and I even joke about it, that this makes too much sense. Why wouldn’t it be done?”
CW explained how Tracy Myers and Brian Hawks, owners of AML Wrestling and WrestleCade in North Carolina, first pitched them working together about a year ago. They’ve exclusively teamed since then and clicked immediately. Now, the pair is excited to bring that to a new platform with MLW, where CW has a rich history.
CW: “Brian and Tracy, and Arn collaborated and wanted us to run in together. [Arn Anderson] said it would be great, it made great sense. And it’s been something. Well, I think it’s like about a year now. Almost a year Brock and I have been tagging together exclusively. And it’s been really enjoyable and now, Court Bauer and MLW have taken us on. We’re getting ready to join them. And we’re really excited about being a part of MLW and of course, me being one of the originals, I knew what working for Court was like. I always enjoyed when we were doing the Extreme Horsemen there. And I’m ready for Brock to experience this and we’re ready for everybody to see what Brock and I can do as a tag team.”
Brock Anderson on how AEW prepared him for his next chapter
Brock Anderson left AEW after his contract expired in October 2023. Asked about how his tenure in AEW prepared him for what’s next, Anderson said being thrown “into the deep end” during the pandemic tapings showed him how to prepare for the unexpected.
Brock Anderson: “I think just in the sense of being thrown into — I don’t think a lot of people know that my very first match was on National Television. It was that tag match with Cody [Rhodes] against QT [Marshall] and Aaron Solo. I didn’t do any independents or anything because it was [during the pandemic]. So, that was my first-ever match. So being thrown into the deep end like that. And then about two-and-a-half years just being in those bright lights, big crowds working for a TV promotion, I think helped me tremendously in that respect… It might have been two or three weeks before we went back on the road. I think that was one of the last Covid tapings. And then we hit the road running.”
CW Anderson joined MLW in 2002 after ECW closed its doors, making him an ‘MLW Original.’ CW says he takes pride in seeing MLW continue to be a hybrid wrestling promotion, and he’s proud to carry on that tradition today.
What is CW Anderson most proud of in MLW?
CW: “Besides the name and Court, just trying to keep that tradition of what MLW is. Major League Wrestling, they’re a hybrid. That’s what we were when it [debuted]. You get everything. You get old school, you get the new school, you get the High Flyers, you get the Japanese legends. That was what Court was really good at was bringing — back then, the Japanese guys weren’t as well known as they are today.
“When you are bringing Kojima over at the time, that was unheard of. And bring Tanaka and guys like that. And then you had CM Punk, Homicide, Sonjay Dutt, guys that were just getting started. You had Simon Diamond, Steve Corino and then the older guys of Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes… Such a hybrid of group of guys and meshing them all together. And Court has done that as well today. But even taken a little but further with the newer style and embrace that. It seems like it’s working really well and that’s… I’m proud that I’m one of the originals. And also proud that I am coming back to be a part of MLW again.”
CW Anderson on Who are the opponents of CW and Brock Anderson for Summer of the Beasts?
CW and Brock Anderson’s opponents were not announced at the time of our interview. It’s now known they will face the duo of Love, Doug, and Jay Lyon. No matter who is across the ring from them, the Anderson plan on showing what real tag team wrestling is about.
CW: “Most of the people should know my work. And basically it’s Brock’s work as well. It’s taking a page out of the Extreme Horsemen and taking a page out of the Four Horsemen. But if you go back and you know anything about Ole and Arn, or Arn and Tully, things like that, that’s kind of what to expect from us. Do we know what’s going on? No. It doesn’t matter who we step in the ring with to an extent. We’re looking forward to making an impact from day one. And us being Andersons, whatever it’s going to take, we are definitely going to make an impact. So, that’s the one thing they can look forward to. When they see us come out, whoever is in the ring with us, it’s going to be a tag team lesson, to some extent.”
Brock: “I’m just excited to be, just be at MLW. This will be my first time as a fan or as a talent stepping foot into an MLW show. And I am excited to see what they have for us. Like we said, we have no idea what they have for us. But I think over this past year, me and CW have really started to gel, and I think we are confident in our ability to basically take on anything they got that they can throw at us.”
MLW Summer of the Beasts takes place on Thursday, August 29 at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City. The event will also stream live for free on MLW’s YouTube channel.
Watch our full interview with CW and Brock Anderson below:
