Welcome back yet again for my preview and predictions for the week which starts today! WWE, HCW, and AEW are slated to compete for ratings supremacy this week, but WWE has shared no preview of what’s on tap. So, in lieu of a preview, I will discuss the top 3 things to look out for in WWE in the week ahead, and that will be the model going forward:
WWE
Continued chaos with the Celebrities
I am saying “Fuck It!” and lumping all the crazy actors into one category here. I fully expect to continue to see follow-ups in the Johnny Lawrence v. The Misfits saga. Lawrence escaped with nothing more than his sensei being hurt and in denial about his pivotal role in raising Johnny to be the future of Cobra Kai. Ryback is definitely going to be out for blood and maybe we will finally see some on-screen interaction between Christopher Lloyd and Lawrence. That moment will be GOLD (whenever it happens)!
While Lawrence and Lloyd are sure to face off, I think we may see some developments with Lloyd, Fuller, and the largely absent Curtis Axel. I can see Curtis finally making an appearance, only to offer a full-throated protest against what the Misfits have been up to. Maybe he will bring the Panda and Jones with him again!
Drew takes on the Final Judgment
This week will most likely see the establishment of the foundation of the end of this journey. Perhaps a match will be set for Then. Now. Forever. 2? Regardless, I can see a path wherein this comes down to Damian Priest seeking some payback for Drew dethroning him last fall. Drew’s ability to overcome Damian and the Final Judgment will have major ramifications for all involved.
On the one hand, Drew needs to get back to The Rock. No, he doesn’t absolutely need to be a champion to remain a serious part of the WWE, but his journey back to the Rock could be epic if it is told correctly.
Then again, The Final Judgment’s fate could be hanging in the balance. Do we really need to see them failing to stop Drew right now? The only way I can see that working is if it somehow leads to Lexis King looking like the breakout star of the group.
Either way, this is exciting stuff to keep an eye on!
The Rock versus Big E build
The ball is rolling and time is ticking away for this build to be done right. The goal doesn’t have to be that Big E wins, just that he doesn’t leave that arena looking like a jobber. Honestly, the next few weeks are very important in shielding Big E from that perception. If WWE missteps here, then they could even do some harm both to The Rock and to the WWE Title. Get it right, and you continue to solidify the prestige of this prize.
I’m not betting against Murrey, by the way, but I do believe that Big E winning the Rumble was a gamble which risked putting E in Terry Austin territory (may he rest in peace). I believe that WWE has escaped the possibility of getting bogged down in that muck, but they need to do everything they can to make us take Big E seriously whether it is as a near-equal to The Rock or as an underdog. Last week was a tremendous first step in the right direction, but now we have to see a build of anticipation for the clash to come so that it doesn’t fall flat.
I’m excited to see the next phase of this journey, and I know you are too!
Bonus Thing To Watch: Mystery Board Member!
But wait! There’s more! We have seen Roddy Piper, Jake Roberts, and Camden Cross all revealed as some of the Secret Board Members for WWE. I suspect that the remaining 8 or so members will be revealed one at a time for the next month and a half. I also suspect that they will include the likes of Chase, Jesse Ventura, and there’s a slight chance that they pull a swerve on us with John Brown. I do suspect that at least one celebrity is on the Board. It’s probably Jim Carrey.
Anyways, this mystery is increasingly one of my favorite things to anticipate in the business. Looking forward to an incredible Raw tonight!
AEW
Savage & Riddle v. The Usos (Non-Title Match)
On to AEW, and the first match on my list (and this is in order of how important I perceive them to be) is a non-title match pitting the Champions against the hastily assembled team of Randy Savage and Matt Riddle.
Apparently Savage has been too busy silently protesting Riddle’s involvement with the Hulkster to grace us or at least his buddies with his presence as of late, and this match may reveal that Savage is pretty bitter about becoming a sort of third wheel in the entourage.
I don’t expect Savage and Riddle to win at all. They will probably lose easily due to the disagreements expressed between them only to then get mauled by the only members of the Bloodline to have gold. I think we might see Yokozuna appear to squash the odd couple as a message to the TNT champion!
Danielson v. Fenix
Look, I think that Bryan Danielson is ABSOLUTELY an important part of the show, especially as the “number one contender” for the AEW Title, but this match seems a bit random. It has its purpose, for sure, which is to both showcase the incredible talent of Ray Fenix whilst also giving Danielson a vital chance to get a victory under his belt en route to challenging Styles.
This will probably prove to be the “Match of the Night” as it involves two of the top talents in the industry today in what is likely their first singles match ever. Just don’t expect Bryan to take a loss this soon after being announced as a title contender unless there are shenanigans.
Athena Star’s Open Challenge
Any Knockout “past or present”, eh? The farewell tour of Athena is going to give us many memorable moments, and I suspect that Athena is going to have her work cut out for her here. Who will be the Knockout to accept the Open Challenge?
Well, that’s a good question. It has to involve someone who wouldn’t get hurt too bad with a loss, and it will be a loss, because Athena is very unlikely to lose until it is either for a title or her very last match.
I do know one name which immediately jumps out to me, but I don’t think she can withstand a loss right now. Who am I thinking of? Living Dead Girl.
They have a history, as Living Dead Girl was teased repeatedly as a foe for Athena throughout the build to her arrival long ago. Also, we literally haven’t seen Living Dead Girl since she was drafted by EWA. Is it the first ever female phenom? Let’s wait and see.
Darby & Brothers of Destruction v. Splinter & Harlem Turtles
This match is important for Darby and his band of dead men. It is NOT vital that Splinter and the Harlem Turtles win at all. Why? Ummm, because Splinter is on the very short list for being considered as the Greatest of All Time and the Harlem Turtles are unquestionably the Greatest Tag Team of All Time (and the most decorated as well).
We are seeing these guys square off for two primary reasons: Darby and the Zombie Boys need punching bags for their first official outing as a unit and their iconic opponents are the perfect targets. Secondly, Sami Zayn is doing everything in his power to stop Splinter from revealing the truth, and this beat down will largely silence him for this historic night wherein Benny will be returning to a microphone!
It’s all connected (a line that I just shamelessly stole from “The Manifest”), and the we are going to see it all come together.
MJF is a guest on Impaulsive!
I wanted to place this as the MOST IMPORTANT part of the week, but I can’t despite every fiber of my being fighting to make it so! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!
MJF will be featured as the greatest possible guest of honor for the dishonorable scumbag-who-may-have-accidentally-saved-the-day, Logan Paul. Maxwell will get a chance to confront the man who screwed him over, but this is where my anxiety kicks in, because I sense that AJ will make an appearance as well.
Either way, if you choose to skip most of this show, you absolutely can’t miss this because MJF is money and I AM STILL FUCKING PISSED THAT HE DOESN’T WORK IN PWI ANYMORE!!!
Benny Speaks!
…
…
Now that I have had a chance to breathe, let’s get to the part that everyone who doesn’t agree with me about MJF will be calling the most important part of the show.
My brother has played the part of Waldo and the proverbial needle in the haystack for long enough. Now, he must allay the fears of everyone watching by affirming that he is of sound mind and fully in control of all of his mental faculties.
If he fails to demonstrate – independent of Sami’s coaching – that he can handle the spotlight amidst the biggest controversy of his life, then I am afraid that his removal from power by the Board of BWM Inc. must be swift.
A lot is riding on this very moment. Hell, AEW’s very existence could be in jeopardy.
…what the hell is it with my brothers trying to destroy the industry? It’s not like I ever…wait…nevermind.
HCW
Tommaso Ciampa v. Mystery Opponent
Now we move on to my preview of the shows to come for HCW and PWI! First off, Monday Night Mayhem will kick off with Ciampa taking on a mystery opponent. What is the significance of this? Well, we could either be seeing an HCW star returning from injury, some kind of prank, R-Truth forgetting to sign his name on the dotted line to officially set up this match, or the defection of yet another talent to HCW.
Either way, Ciampa is looking to welcome to the square circle some unfortunate soul, and I think this will prove to be a great way to open the show!
Michelle McCool v. Maryse
One week before Michelle McCool takes on Charlotte Flair in their Semifinal Premier Tournament bout and one week before Maryse challenges Becky Lynch for the Women’s Title, we are seeing both of these ladies square off.
Michelle McCool was picked by Slammu back in December to represent HCW in her ambitious goal to steal the Women’s International Title and make it the first ever HCW Women’s Title. She has since managed to survive Liv Morgan, but now she has to prepare for Charlotte by taking on Maryse.
Since arriving in HCW, Maryse has been on a mission to “fuck shit up”. She, Penelope Ford, and Jamie Hayter – known collectively as “Picture Perfect” – started by targeting Amazon, and they were successful until Amazon received some help. Now, after stealing a victory in becoming one half of the final Women’s Tag Team Champions, Maryse has set her sights back on the PWI Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch. But first, she has to get through a determined Michelle McCool.
Don’t sleep on this one!
MAIN EVENT, HCW Extreme Title: LA Knight © v. The Crock
I am not sure what Chris Hyatte was going on about, but LA Knight has essentially been on an every other week schedule since Rising (with a couple exceptions). He took a week off last week just as he had a few week before that. It’s not like he was forgotten. He was merely off to give others a chance to shine.
Still, the concern expressed by Chris speaks to something else here: LA Knight remains a highly-valued part of the show. Yet, here he is with his biggest match to date, as he defends his Extreme Title against The Crock in Crock’s first title match in just over 15 years since Kevin Nash retained the Immunity Title against him on UWA-WWF Raw on February 9th, 2009 (Global Conflict I marked Crock’s first match in almost 14 years as he defeated Aiden English after last defeating FRIED on an episode of UWA-WWF Raw on May 10th, 2010). Knight heads into this match at a career high and Crock is resurgent, at his highest point in nearly 2 decades!
Crock and Knight promises to be a match that you seriously can’t miss!
PWI (Wednesday Night War)
Shawn Spears v. Adam Cole
Cole and Spears were forcefully separated a few weeks ago when an apparent disagreement led to fisticuffs. Since then, they have been at each other’s throats, including Spears being prematurely taken out of an Undisputed Title opportunity last week.
This match comes to a head on Wednesday night!
Thunderosa (5) v. Liv Morgan (10)
Fresh off of mutually costing each other a match at a recent live show, which followed a series of missteps for both women, Liv Morgan looks to regain some of her mojo against the relative newcomer in Thunderosa. This could prove to be the match of the night!
MAIN EVENT, Premier Tournament Semifinal: Attitude (7) v. Petey Williams
Finally, we have the last men’s Semifinal Match in the Premier Athlete Tournament Roulette. The winner of this will join LA Knight, Phobe, and Matt Cardona in the Fatal Four Way finale to crown our first (and possibly last) ever Premier Champion!
Attitude is desperate to bounce back from his unfortunate loss to the Young Bucks – alongside Teo – as well as his loss to Finn Balor in the Main Event of last week which sent Balor to challenge Dragonfly for the Undisputed Title. That match also saw some tension emerge between the members of The Attraction for the first time in a couple years. Will that play a factor in Attitude’s ability to punch his ticket to the tournament finale?
Then we have Petey Williams. The first ever Men’s Premier Athlete has had a rollercoaster career since the original HCW closed in 2010. Williams was a top priority for Mickey in the 2011 draft and he impressed everyone in management during the sloppy 5th Era. Since, though, Petey has stumbled time and again as he has tried repeatedly to regain the momentum he enjoyed in the first 6 years of his mainstream career. Ted Dibiase recently thought he had Petey Williams signed as a Corporation member, but it turns out that Petey was unsure about the commitment all along.
Will Petey overcome the challenge of standing in his own way? Will Attitude finally get past his recent failures? Who will join the others in the finale of the Men’s Premier Athlete Tournament Roulette? Tune in this Wednesday to find out!
That’s all for today, I look forward to sharing my thoughts again in a few days. Until then, stay tuned, because the PWI-HCW World Tour report will be dropping in a few hours and then it is off to the races!!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 