Gisele Shaw’s Maple Leaf Pro Women’s Canadian Championship reign wasn’t supposed to end this week. According to a new report, the title change only happened because Shaw’s new NWA contract forced Maple Leaf Pro to change plans.
Shaw dropped the MLP Women’s Canadian Championship to Priscilla Kelly during the September 17 episode of Maple Leaf Pro television, ending a reign that many fans assumed had simply reached its natural conclusion. According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that wasn’t the original plan at all.
“The NWA announced the signing of Gisele Shaw to what they reported as an exclusive contract.”
After Shaw’s signing became official, some fans wondered whether her departure from Maple Leaf Pro was connected to her split from company owner Scott D’Amore. Meltzer says the timeline doesn’t support that theory.
“The timing of this, because Shaw had posted photos of her new partner, led people to think she signed here and left Maple Leaf Pro over the split. But the timing doesn’t work out since the split was in the spring, and D’Amore still booked her strongly as champion. She was part of the TV tapings to build her as the top women’s star when they got television recently on TSN.”
Instead, Meltzer reports the deciding factor was Shaw’s new exclusive agreement with the NWA. Because the deal doesn’t allow her to appear on another television show, Maple Leaf Pro had to wrap up her title reign sooner than expected.
“The NWA contract does not allow her on any other television show, and they had already taped her losing the title to Priscilla Kelly, which aired this week, before making the deal.”
The report also reveals that Gisele Shaw was originally expected to remain champion for several more weeks. Those plans changed once the NWA deal came together.
“There was an original plan for her to at least hold the title through October, but the new deal wouldn’t allow for that, so they switched it at the recent tapings. But this deal had been in the works for some time before it was announced.”
Looking back, Shaw’s loss to Priscilla Kelly wasn’t simply a creative decision—it was the result of Maple Leaf Pro adjusting to a contract that changed what was possible. For fans, the championship change came out of nowhere. Behind the scenes, though, it appears the decision had a lot less to do with creative and a lot more to do with a deal that changed Shaw’s future before anyone knew it had been signed.
Do you think Maple Leaf Pro made the right call by pivoting once Shaw signed with NWA, or should her title reign have continued longer? Let us know in the comments.
