The Rooster’s Call: How Jake de Leon is Fighting to Put Filipino Wrestling on the Map
In two weeks, on the 18th of May, at DEXCON Dakila , Filipino pro wrestler Jake De Leon will step
into the ring alongside Zack Sabre Jr. They will be facing off against Fabio Makisig and El
Phantasmo in a Special Tag Match main event. For JDL, this match is more than just another
booking. It’s a statement and a bold declaration that the Filipino is not just worth dying for , but also
worth paying attention to, worth supporting, and worth believing in.
For years, De Leon has been the face of Philippine wrestling. A two-time PWR Champion, MWF
Champion, and the self-proclaimed Filipino Fighting Rooster, he has fought for recognition not just
as an individual, but as a representative of an entire scene, of an entire nation. Yet despite the
undeniable passion and talent of local (and regional) wrestlers, Filipino wrestling still faces a stark
reality: without international stars on the card, shows rarely sell out.
But this moment has been a long time coming. For the past decade, De Leon has been hustling to
make Pinoy Wrestling more than a local curiosity. From his early days training in rundown gyms
to self-financed trips to Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, he has pushed to prove that Filipino
wrestlers can hang with international talent.
Despite becoming one of the most recognizable names in the scene, that recognition hasn’t come
easy. De Leon has fought for every inch, winning titles, cutting promos, and sharing the ring with
top-tier opponents. But for all the work—the championships, the international matches—the reality
remains: Filipino wrestling still struggles to draw without international stars.
For De Leon, that stark reality is exactly what fuels his mission. ‘Every match is a fight for survival,’
he says. ‘If I lose this fire, I’m basically dinner.’ It’s a mindset forged by years of being told that
Filipino wrestlers can’t draw, that they’re undercard talent at best—good, but not good enough.
Now, with DEXCON DAKILA just days away, De Leon isn’t just fighting for a win. He’s fighting to
prove that Filipino wrestling belongs on the map, that Filipino wrestlers are more than warm-up
acts for international stars, and that the Filipino Fighting Rooster is far from finished.
The Rise of Mr. Philippine Wrestling
Before he was the Filipino Fighting Rooster, Jake De Leon was a kid sneaking out of his room at 9
PM to watch wrestling syndicated on a random TV channel. ‘I was four years old,’ he recalls. ‘I
wasn’t supposed to stay up that late, and I definitely wasn’t supposed to be watching wrestling.’
But one night, he caught a glimpse of a bloody Stone Cold Steve Austin being stomped on by
either The Undertaker or Kane. ‘I couldn’t look away,’ he says. ‘Something about that moment just
burned into my brain.’
Growing up in Bacolod, several islands away from Manila, wrestling wasn’t exactly accessible. The
Philippines aired WWF/WWE programming, but beyond that, there was nothing. Still, JDL found
ways to stay connected to the spectacle. “We had a club in grade school called the Wrestling
Bunch,” he says. “During lunch, we’d throw each other against the blackboard and put each other in
figure-four leg locks. Nothing safe, nothing smart. But that was the start.”
Years later, when he was in university, De Leon stumbled upon a Facebook post that would change
everything. It was a call for tryouts for a new wrestling promotion in Manila: Philippine Wrestling
Revolution (PWR) . “At first, I just wanted to help them with marketing,” he admits. “I was working a
9-to-5 in digital marketing, and I thought maybe I could just contribute behind the scenes.”
But once he stepped into the ring and took his first bump, everything shifted. “We were training in
this dingy boxing ring in an army base,” he says. “There was no professional setup, no experienced
trainers. All we had was a John Cena training DVD and YouTube clips.”
The person who held it all together was Bombay Suarez , a Filipino wrestler known for his reckless
backyard stunts. “Bombay was the only one who had any experience, but it was just backyard
wrestling,” JDL says. “He had this sense of fearlessness. He’d gig himself open just to make the
match feel real. It was insane.”
Despite the rough conditions, JDL kept showing up, week after week. “I don’t know why, but after
that first month, I was hooked,” he says. “It was like something clicked. I wasn’t just a fan anymore.
I was a wrestler.”
The makeshift nature of the PWR training grounds and the lack of resources mirrored the state of
Filipino wrestling itself. “We were building something out of nothing,” JDL says. “We were hungry,
we were reckless, and we had no idea if anyone was even watching.”
Their efforts paid off as people started watching. By 2014, PWR had grown from a ragtag group of
backyard enthusiasts to a legitimate wrestling promotion with a roster of up-and-coming talent.
And at the forefront of that roster was JDL, a kid who went from backyard brawler to the face of a
movement.
Breaking Out: Going International and Finding Identity
For years, Filipino wrestlers fought to get noticed outside the local scene. In 2017, Jake De Leon
decided to take matters into his own hands. “I put together a highlight reel, started sending out
emails, DMs. Anything to get noticed,” he says. The first country to respond was Malaysia, and it
was there that JDL had his first international match.
“I met British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven) there,” he recalls. “At the time,
they were blowing up in the UK scene, and here I was, this kid from the Philippines, getting to
share a ring with them. That was the moment I realized, okay, I can hang with these guys.”
Japan was a different world. It was a place where every match was a trial by fire, every opponent a
test of whether JDL could hang with the best. In 2024, JDL was invited by DDT’s own Chris
Brookes to compete in his BAKA GAIJIN + Friends FUCKED UP FEST on 24 August 2024, a
showcase for international talent. The tour lasted ten days and included four matches, one of which
took place in Korakuen Hall—hallowed ground for wrestling in Japan.
“I had a match at Korakuen Hall in the morning, then took a train to Saitama for a second match
that evening.” he says. “That day was brutal but amazing. I felt like I was living the life of a real pro
wrestler.”
It was during this trip that JDL encountered Emi Sakura, the veteran wrestler and founder of
ChocoPro. It was a conversation with her that would shape his persona going forward. “Emi
Sakura just straight-up asked me, ‘Besides being a wrestler from the Philippines, what are you?’”
he recalls. “I had no answer. I was just some dude in the ring.”
That question echoed in his mind for days. Back home, he had been using a chicken heart logo on
his gear, a nod to his hometown of Bacolod, where cockfighting is a cultural staple. But in Japan,
the symbol began to take on a new meaning. “I realized that in cockfighting, if you lose, you’re
dinner,” he says. “And that’s exactly how I felt. Every match felt like life or death, like I had to win or
get eaten alive.”
From that realization, the Filipino Fighting Rooster was born. The mask, the swagger, the fire…it
all stemmed from that trip to Japan and the existential crisis that the joshi legend’s question
provoked. “If I lose this fire, I’m basically dinner,” he says. “That’s my mindset now. Every match is a
fight for survival.”
If I can last with a technical wizard like Zack, I can hang with anyone
Japan not only gave JDL a new identity, it gave him a new level of confidence. “I wrestled guys like
Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Yoshi Tatsu, and I held my own,” he says. “I went thirty
minutes with Zack Sabre Jr. in a time-limit draw. That was a huge moment. If I can last with a
technical wizard like Zack, I can hang with anyone.
But back in the multi-thousand archipelago, the landscape was a different story. While Japan
opened doors, the reality in the Philippines remained the same: Filipino wrestling was still
struggling to draw without international stars.
Notable Matches:
Dexcon Dekada match : Jake de Leon vs Zack Sabre Jr.
ChocoPro match : Chris Brookes, Dr. Gore & Masahiro Takanashi defeat JDL, Sawasdee Kamen &
Shivam (8:05)
GatohMove match : Chon Shiryu, Makoto & Mochi Natsumi defeat Antonio Honda, Dr. Gore & JDL
(w/UMA) and Hiyori Yawata, Nonoka Seto & Shin Suzuki and Monomoth, Sawasdee Kamen &
Shivam (6:41)
The #PinoyWrestling Scene
Compared to sports like basketball and boxing, professional wrestling in the Philippines is far from
mainstream. While the scene has grown significantly over the past decade, it remains a tough sell,
especially when international senshu aren’t on the card.
“When Zack Sabre Jr. or El Phantasmo are here, we can sell out,” Jake De Leon admits. “But when
it’s just Filipino wrestlers, it’s a struggle. We have a hard time selling even half the tickets.”
Today, there are four main wrestling promotions in the Philippines, each with its own focus and
identity. However, they often collaborate and share resources—a necessary strategy to keep the
scene alive.
The primary three collaborators are Dexcon, PUSO, and World Underground Wrestling PH (WUW
PH).
Dexcon is the most internationally focused. It streams on Triller TV, the same platform that hosts
AEW and GCW.
“We’re trying to get more eyes from outside the Philippines,” De Leon says. “If we can get people to
watch us on Triller, maybe we can convince them that Filipino wrestling is worth paying attention
to.”
PUSO takes a hyper-local approach. “It’s the homegrown one,” De Leon says. “The local talents are
very unforgiving in terms of our Filipino-ness. We talk in Tagalog. We do our segments in Tagalog.
We speak to people in Tagalog.” The entire presentation is steeped in national pride, down to the
ring colours: red, yellow, and blue, reflecting the Philippine flag.
WUW PH is the most intense of the three. “It’s a subsidiary of World Underground Wrestling in
Japan, and it’s brutal,” De Leon explains. “Hard-hitting matches, less about storytelling, more about
beating the hell out of each other.”
The fourth promotion, FPW (Filipino Pro Wrestling), has also hosted notable international talent.
Jeff Cobb, a recent WWE signee, currently holds the FPW Championship. Robbie Eagles, a
Filipino-Australian and member of NJPW’s TMDK faction, has also competed in FPW, further
boosting the promotion’s growing profile.
Despite their differences, these promotions share the same venue, the same resources, and the
same struggle for visibility.
“There’s no big money in Filipino wrestling,” De Leon says bluntly. “We’re all just trying to survive.
And that’s why we’re all working together to get more eyes on us.”
De Leon, however, is determined to elevate both himself and the entire Filipino wrestling scene.
“I’m doing everything I can to bring Pinoy wrestling to the global stage,” he says. “I want people to
know about Dexcon, PUSO, WUW PH, FPW. I want people to know that we’re here, that we’re
fighting, and that we’re good.”
Claiming the Mantle of Messiah
For years, Jake De Leon did everything to get Filipino wrestling noticed: training relentlessly,
promoting every show, and travelling to any ring that would have him. He wasn’t alone, but he’s the
one willing to call himself the Messiah. But he wasn’t alone. Wrestlers like Fabio Makisig, Crystal,
and Bombay Suarez were right there with him, hustling to put Filipino wrestling on the map. Yet
despite the collective herculean effort, the scene still remains under the radar.
Now, as the scene continues to grow, the challenges remain the same: keeping fans engaged,
drawing without international stars, and making Filipino wrestlers household names. For De Leon,
the tipping point came in the lead-up to Dexcon DAKILA, when he decided he was done waiting.
Done waiting for a hero to step up. Done waiting for the scene to get its due.
In a promo that was equal parts manifesto and declaration of war, De Leon made a bold
proclamation: he would be the Messiah of Pinoy Wrestling. It was a statement that immediately
drew both admiration and criticism.
“Fabio Makisig has been saying it for a while now,” De Leon says. “He’s been looking for a messiah
to save the scene because we’re still struggling to sell out without big international names on the
card.”
De Leon’s declaration of himself as the Messiah wasn’t driven by ego, but by necessity. In his
promo, he declared:
“I’m tired of waiting around for a messiah. I’m tired of waiting for someone to save us. I have not
been busting my ass for the past ten years to be saved. I’m going to be the one that saves us.”
De Leon insists the idea of being the Messiah is less about playing the hero and more about taking
responsibility. “Why can’t it be me?” he asks. “Why shouldn’t it be me? I’m doing everything I can to
get people to notice Filipino wrestling. I’m putting in the work. I’m talking to promoters.
I’m sending out clips. I’m sharing the ring with guys like Zack Sabre Jr. and El Phantasmo.
If not me, then who?”
But De Leon is quick to acknowledge that he isn’t the only one putting in the work. Fabio Makisig
has been relentless, using his platform to call for a saviour in Pinoy wrestling. Crystal, the first
Filipino wrestler to compete in the UK and Japan, continues to open doors for women in the scene.
Bombay Suarez, a pioneer in the Philippine wrestling circuit, remains a crucial figure, training the
next generation of wrestlers and keeping the dream alive.
Despite the collective effort, the Filipino scene remains largely overlooked. “When Zack Sabre Jr.
or El Phantasmo are on the card, people show up,” De Leon says. “But when it’s just us Filipinos,
we’re lucky to fill half the seats.”
De Leon’s claim to the Messiah role is underpinned by this reality. He’s not just fighting for himself;
he’s fighting to change the perception of Filipino wrestling as a whole.
“A few years ago, Fabio Makisig said something that stuck with me,” De Leon reflects. “He said the
god of pro wrestling doesn’t really smile down on the Philippines. We’re not the US. We’re not
Canada. We’re not Japan. And he’s right. But that’s not a reason to stop fighting.”
De Leon’s recent ‘Messiah’ promo captures this frustration and unwavering determination to
change things. He exclaims, ’I’m tired of waiting…why can’t it be me? Why shouldn’t it be me? I’m
doing everything I can to bring Pinoy Wrestling out into the Pro Wrestling world.’
De Leon views Dexcon DAKILA as his chance to make a statement. Teaming with Zack Sabre Jr.,
he considers this match against Fabio Makisig and El Phantasmo as an opportunity to declare his
intentions clearly.
“If I can hang with Zack and ELP, if we can tear the house down at Dexcon, then maybe people will
start paying attention,” he says. “Maybe people will finally see that Filipino wrestlers can draw. That
we can be main eventers, not just undercard fillers.”
Even with this newfound intensity, De Leon is brutally aware of what’s at stake. “If I lose this fire,”
he says, pausing, “I’m basically dinner. That’s the thing about being the Filipino Fighting Rooster.
Every match is a fight for survival.”
Culmination to DEXCON Dakila
Now, as the countdown to DEXCON DAKILA continues, Jake De Leon is stepping into the ring with
more than just fighting spirit. He’s carrying the weight of a scene that’s been told it can’t draw—a
scene that’s still waiting for its Messiah. But for JDL, being the Messiah isn’t about claiming a title.
It’s about proving that Filipino wrestlers can draw, can sell out shows, and can headline without
relying on foreign talent to fill the seats.
“I know I can’t tell people to buy tickets to Dexcon anymore because it’s already sold out,” he says.
“But for everyone who bought a ticket, and for everyone watching on Triller TV—I’m going to make
sure you regret not getting a ticket, because we’re going to make this one unforgettable.”
At DEXCON DAKILA, JDL will team with Zack Sabre Jr. against Fabio Makisig and El Phantasmo
in a match that represents more than just another booking. It’s a chance to flip the narrative and to
show that Filipino wrestling isn’t just a sideshow, but a legitimate force.
“I’m tired, but I’m more fired up than ever to become the Messiah,” JDL said in his promo. “Right
now, I’m just a humble Filipino Fighting Rooster, but what’s another ten years of fighting to put
Pinoy Wrestling on the map?”
For JDL, every match is a statement, every promo a battle cry. And as he prepares to step back
into the ring, this time alongside, not against, one of the world’s best technical wrestlers, he’s ready
to show the world what the Filipino Fighting Rooster is truly capable of. Now, as he prepares to
return to the ring alongside one of the world’s best technical wrestlers,
Zack Sabre Jr., JDL is ready to show the world what the Filipino Fighting Rooster is truly capable
of.
Stay connected with Jake De Leon and follow his journey across platforms:
Instagram: @SenyoritoJDL
Facebook: SenyoritoJDL
TikTok: @SenyoritoJDL
YouTube: SenyoritoJDL Channel
X (formerly Twitter): @SenyoritoJDL
BlueSky: SenyoritoJDL
Threads: @SenyoritoJDL
Support JDL’s mission to put Filipino wrestling on the map by contributing to his sponsorship drive:
Sponsorship Drive: Learn More and Support
Direct Donations: PayPal
Catch JDL in action at Dexcon DAKILA, streaming live on Triller TV, and support PUSO Wrestling
by watching their latest matches on YouTube!
Art by Neon Ghost