Ok, ladies and gentleman, I have to get back to work, and it is an exciting time to be tuning into wrestling, because this shit is heating up!
WWE
Fuller & Elias/Viking Raiders
First and foremost, I am going to take some shots in the dark for WWE, since we didn’t get a preview at all.
I begin with my suspicion that the failed steroid injection this past Monday will trigger a match between the Champions the Viking Raiders and Misfit members Flex Fuller and Elias. Honestly, I am not mad about it either. We will get to see Misfits doing something more than tormenting Johnny Lawrence or Michael J. Fox for a change, and this will help to serve two other ends: giving Flex more time to slowly turn against the group for interrupting his fun time at the dance off, and giving an opening for Danhausen to unleash his curse!
Lexis King/Bronson Reed
Lexis King is absolutely the best part of WWE right now for many reasons, but I see Bronson Reed putting the fear of God in Mr. King this week. Reed wants everyone to know that he is not some step for King to trample on en route to Raw. Instead, he wants it to be known that he plans to conquer King and rule over NXT!
Ryback/Lawrence
With Thomas Ian Griffith in the fray and creating some problems for Mr. Lawrence, it is hard to tell if Johnny can get back to his old ways of stealing the show. I’m telling you, Mr. Griffith is a real threat to everyone!
Gunther/Drew/Priest
Gunther’s quest to be the next “guy” in WWE journeys through a self-imposed path which takes him a title defense against two former WWE Champions in Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre. I am not sure what to expect this week except that WWE will give us some kind of advancement to get us excited for this impending showdown. I can kind of see Damian coming out strong this week, especially as he is flanked by Rhea Ripley.
Asuka/Rhea
Asuka spoke without the aid of Jim Cornette after making quick work of Lita last week. She declared that she is the most feared woman in the industry, and the records make it hard to disagree. The ONLY woman to hold a Women’s Title in all 3 major companies in one era. In fact, she is the first to ever do that, and I do mean EVER. I see Rhea aspiring to temper Asuka’s expectations perhaps with a blind-sighted attack.
Rock/Big E
Big E has had a great past couple of weeks. The Rock hasn’t been heard from in 14 days since Big E left him staring at the lights to close out Raw on the 11th. Now, after a great interview with Mick Foley, we have to know that the champion isn’t going to take all of that without some kind of response. What will the Great One have for us this week???
AEW
Shot at Tag: Omega & Page v. The Elite
On to AEW and they have – as of this writing – only given us a handful of previews for tonight’s Dynamite. The tag match of the evening will feature a potentially legendary tag team showdown between the team of Kenny Omega and Adam Page and their opponents, the former 2 time PWI Tag Team Champions, Miz and Morrison: The Elite!
In 2020 and 2021, Miz and Morrison took the Tag Division by storm here in PWI, swiftly becoming THE most popular tag team on Earth for a spell. Naturally, in a stacked division like we have long had in PWI, it is hard to stay on top for long and that fall from grace helped to create the conditions for a split…which lasted until the 2023 Draft.
Omega and Page noted this recent split in the first interaction between the teams last Monday, and while I love the Elite, I think that it is near impossible to stop Omega and Page from reaching a title shot right now!
Swerve Strickland Debut
Since HCW/PWI negotiated a complicated trade with AEW about 6 or so weeks ago, AEW has been promoting the hell out of Swerve’s impending arrival with a slew of Hollywood-esque vignettes. Now, we will finally see Swerve make his debut, and do we really doubt that he is going to win here? Seriously?
He will be impressive, as always, and – like I predicted last week – he will soon gun for the TV gold. Just wait and see.
Danielson v. Steiner or Wardlow
The AEW placeholder champion is miffed that he was attacked by MJF’s bodyguards last week, so he has issued his own death warrant with a challenge to whichever guard wants to face him in the ring.
I think this will be Scott Steiner’s moment to prove himself to MJF, but I do foresee Danielson pulling off a miracle here. After all, it is hard to keep making your champion look like the challenger’s bitch. Is it possible that Danielson could lose? Yes, but I doubt it.
PWI/HCW
Death From Above Match: Jade Cargill (PWI-7) v. Indi Hartwell (HCW) v. Liv Morgan (MDC-9) v. Charlotte Flair (PWI-3)
Ok, and now we arrive at the preview for PWI and HCW’s joint-extravaganza, the third installment of the Global Conflict Series, subtitled “The Epic”!
In the opening contest, we see the Women risk their lives in traditional Epic fashion in a Death From Above Match to determine who will challenge for the Women’s Title at Armageddon 4!
Jade Cargill comes into this match looking to bounce back after the possessed Alexa Bliss stole Becky’s spot and beat Jade in their encounter a couple weeks ago. As another analyst pointed out, that showdown was Jade’s return match since being out with an injury for nearly 3 months, but Alexa is no ordinary opponent when she is under the influence of Bray’s dark arts!
Indi Hartwell fought her way into this match a few weeks ago and is heading into this match as she has in all of her matches since jumping to HCW; as the underdog. Don’t underestimate her fighting spirit, though. Desperate people will do anything to overcome their odds!
Liv Morgan is representing the Million Dollar Corporation and there is a lot riding on this for her. I mean, Ted Dibiase spoke highly of how much he trusts that she will represent the brand, and while it is hard to argue with his glowing praise for her, it is hard to not interpret that as some passive aggressive warning to her by her boss. The 2023 Women’s Premier Athlete and former Women’s and Women’s Immunity Champion is definitely capable of getting the job done, but let’s not kid ourselves: this will be far from easy!
Finally, we have Charlotte Flair, who is representing PWI – just like Jade -, and who has the most experts clamoring for her to win it all. Since the outset of this era and Charlotte’s impressive showing at EWA’s Hell Hath No Fury in November 2019, Charlotte has been one of the few darlings of this era. Everyone expects greatness from her and if there was ever a time for her to shine, this is it!
Wrestlemania X Shot at Undisputed Title: Rhyno (PWI) v. Metalhead (HCW) v. Attitude (MDC-1)
Metalhead earned his way into this match in a house show against two fellow members of the HCW roster: including against Cena. Attitude did the same, but against fellow members of the Million Dollar Corporation. This past Wednesday, though, Rhyno was sent into this match because of Matt Cardona’s new alliance with FTR and their decision to prevent Randy Orton from earning this spot.
Still, we don’t have to have an extensive conversation about star power in this particular match. Rhyno and Metalhead are celebrated names in the singles divisions of every company they’ve ever worked, with numerous world titles between them. The two of them actually dominated much of the highly-competitive Third Era with Metalhead reigning as champion for almost 2 whole years and Rhyno celebrating 3 world title wins in UWA. Moreover, they each have success in the 2nd Era and the 4th Era. It’s hard to keep track of what they have meant for the business.
Then we have Attitude, a multi-time former world champion himself, but one who was more successful in the tag division than his opponents, and he heads into this match with a slight albatross around his neck in the form of his growing tension with teammate and former long-time rival, Teo. The greater question for Attitude is whether or not he can get past the distractions and make history as the first man to compete in three title matches (Tag, Premier, and Undisputed) in one night at Wrestlemania!
Regardless, each of these men represents a grave threat to whomever defends the gold against them on April 15th, so I highly recommend watching this one closely!
Women’s Title Match: Maryse © (HCW) v. Alexa Bliss (PWI-1)
As noted before, the demented and possessed Alexa Bliss weaseled her way into this match. In fact, this match only exists entirely because of Alexa’s deeds over the past month. Think about it: first Alexa manipulates AJ Lee to the point where Lee causes Becky Lynch to lose the Women’s Title to Maryse, and then the lingering effects of her manipulation of Lee leads that twisted soul to injure Becky Lynch before Becky’s slated match with Jade, which sends Alexa into a position as the mystery emergency replacement at which point Alexa’s seizes the opportunity with the element of surprise to steal a win over Jade and create this match.
One needs to also be careful to not look past the champion herself. Maryse is as crafty as they come and she has surrounded herself with loyal minions; even if Penelope and Jamie are at odds at the moment. Overall, Maryse is an incredible talent who needs to be respected by all who oppose her. She didn’t get to where she is just because of dumb luck!
Now, for the past two weeks, Alexa has been playing some freaky mind games with Maryse. Will Alexa successfully get in the champion’s head and win a third women’s title? Or will the Picture Perfect leader find her way out of yet another jam?
The Epic Royale
Admittedly, this is the match I may be looking forward to the most (which need not be interpreted to mean that I am lacking excitement for ANY of the other bouts, by the way!), as I have always been a fan of these types of matches. Ever since the 1997 USWA Royal Rumble, I have long looked forward to these typically annual bouts and I was so happy when I learned that the Global Conflict Series would include the 4th installment of this particular take on the battle royale!
The first three Epic Royales sent someone to compete for the PWI title at Motivation VIII, IX, and X. This year, the 40 man battle will determine the challenger for the Undisputed Title at Armageddon 4 on Memorial Day!
PWI, HCW, and MDC will all be represented in this match, so the outcome will absolutely count in the tally…unless if one person wins: Randy Orton. That’s right, since Randy declared that he was not taking a side in the war, his wins and losses are exempt from the count, and if he wins, that means the none of the warring parties will enjoy a win here.
Mathematically, PWI and HCW are the odds-on favorites to pick up the win, but Orton represents a threat to all of their agendas. Regardless, I am more than excited to see this unfold. I can’t wait!!
Main Event – Undisputed Title Match: Dragonfly © (HCW) v. Giant Gonzales (MDC-9)
Finally, we have our MAIN EVENT showdown for the Undisputed Title! In their first meeting ever, Dragonfly will defend his Undisputed Title on the 554th day of his reign against the most powerful and most famous giant in the history of the business: The Giant Gonzales!
By his own admission, Dragonfly may be a little intimidated here. He remarked that he has been watching Gonzales since his famous debut in USWA in the summer of 1997 when Dragonfly was merely 14. He has never fought the Giant before and may have never wanted to. Honestly, we saw a bit of that possible fear slip out when we watched Dragonfly show a bit of compassion two weeks ago coming to the aid of his older cousin, Krusader.
Giant Gonzales was brought back out of his wrestling slumber by an ambitious Ted Dibiase who is hell bent on both controlling the fate of the industry (or at least HCW and PWI) as well as making Dragonfly suffer for rejecting him. Then again, Gonzales has never been a man who takes orders. Dibiase may be playing with fire here when it is all said and done, but as long as they remain united they may be unstoppable.
Seeing what we all have seen since Global Conflict II last month, Mystico approached Dragonfly this past Wednesday to plead with him to be open to the help of those who care for him. Dragonfly was resistant to this, but Mystico’s words were very poignant: reject the help at your own peril.
Dragonfly has always been a man who knows how to survive, but one can’t help to feel that he may not know a way out if he doesn’t heed his younger cousin’s words.
And that does it for me this week, I look forward to sharing my thoughts this coming weekend!!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 