Listen, I know it’s been a few weeks since I’ve blessed the fans with my thought provoking insights into the world of professional wrestling, and I know it’s been painful to live your worthless lives without my hot takes, but sometimes shit happens. That’s it. Shit happened, and I’m not gonna apologize for it. Either suck it up and forgive me, or wallow in it and cry about it. I don’t really care which option you choose, but this is the last I’m gonna mention of it.
WWE:
Jesse’s Back: Jesse Ventura returned to television this week as he cut a promo on Brock Anderson, as the two prepare to square off against one another at Stand And Deliver in a match that will pay homage to one of the most legendary feuds of all time, Jesse Ventura and Arn Anderson. Jesse looked great, and he packed a lot of history into his promo, spelling out why he is and always will be a Jeff Murrey guy. Like Lenny said, I’m a sucker for the nostalgia, so this popped me big time. Can’t wait to see how it plays out!
WWE Speed: Doc Brown has the best ideas in all of professional wrestling. I want nothing more than a WWE Speed Championship, something I’d never even thought of before the Good Doc pitched it to Jeff Murrey. Unfortunately, Murrey said we can’t have talent doing cocaine races off a circular table, as Netflix wouldn’t be happy with the optics. That’s unfortunate, because it would have been money.
Love on the Water: Ya know, if this whole wrestling thing doesn’t work out for Johnny Lawrence, maybe William Zabka can star in rom coms where he goes after old ladies looking for love? We saw Lawrence save the life of Ryback’s Mom this week, in a continuation of their nursing home affair from several weeks back. Either Ryback is going to rip Lawrence apart at Then Now Forever 2, or Lawrence is going to pull off the upset of the century and capture the Intercontinental Championship. There’s no inbetween here, folks! That said, the Ryback/Lawrence angle is in the running for Storyline of the Year, and if they keep it up at this pace, I hope it never ends.
The Viking Raiders: In what I am sure is going to be a controversial pick for this list, I wanted to take a moment to discuss WWE’s most dominant tag team, the Viking Raiders. The Viking Raiders have been silently dominating the WWE tag division all year long, and nobody ever gives them the credit they are due! That ends now, because I see you, Viking Raiders, and I’m proud of the work you both are doing! While the celebs are causing all the commotion in WWE, the Raiders are quietly stacking W’s and proving themselves as the most formidable tag team in the industry!
Murrey’s Mansion: One thing that BWM Inc. has always done well and deserves to be emulated for is how we always have at least one storyline running throughout the entire show, getting several segments and helping to give each individual episode its own identity. In the AEW this week, we saw that with High Minded. Last week, it was with Benny and Sami. In the WWE, we saw that same presentation with Jeff Murrey at Murrey’s Mansion, in which Murrey confronted Terry Silver while the real danger loomed from Camden Cross and Fandango. The Board of Directors vs. Murrey storyline is another favorite of mine, as we’ve discussed before, and I think Raw did a good job of kicking it up a notch by allowing them several segments to tell the story throughout the night. Absolutely terrific stuff, and something I want to see more of from all three promotions. Give me stories, and the ratings will follow!
PWI:
PWI Finishes First: Like a 13 year old boy getting laid for the first time, the PWI has FINALLY gotten a first place victory under its belt! Remarkably, this is the first win in head to head competition for MMouse Enterprises in 15 years – something pundits really should talk about more, because it’s pretty amazing that the once dominant company behind USWA had, before Monday, failed to best the competition in direct competition for one and a half decades! Now, this win does not come without its asterisks (Global Conflict 3 won the night by under 4,000 viewers, and all three shows were within 8,000 viewers of one another. Additionally, AEW Dynamite bested PWI in the second, third, and fourth segments when compared directly), however, a win is a win, and I’m happy that PWI finally broke the streak. (Is this the first time PWI has ever won a ratings war? I think it is, as 15 years ago the PWI didn’t exist…) All the same, congrats to the competition, and please, let us not wait another 15 years before doing it again.
The Epic Royale: I’ve been critical about the PWI’s main event scene the past few months, because outside of Randy Orton, no one the company has put before Dragonfly felt they had a realistic chance of winning. However, while watching the final moments of the Epic Royale, I thought I needed to give the company props because I went back and forth between Orton and Cardona on who would win the right to challenge for the title at the company’s final PPV. Hell, at one point I even briefly thought the PWI would hitch their wagon to LA Knight! Cardona won the match thanks to Dragonfly, so the Orton/Dragonfly story definitely isn’t over. I could see Orton finding a way into the title match at Armageddon 4, but we’ll talk more about that down the line. For the moment, I just wanna give props to the Epic Royale, which was the best incarnation of this match to date. The match had fun guest appearances from the likes of Bad News Brown, the English Boxer, HBP, and Garz, and had memorable moments like the staredown between Slammu and RIP. And, in the end, they solidified Cardona as more than just the former HLW/AxW champion and made him into a legitimate challenger for Dragonfly (even if Orton is still going to be a deciding factor in how that all plays out.) Good shit, no notes.
The Main Event: I was totally ready to rant if Orton didn’t get involved in the title match between the Giant Gonzales and Dragonfly after what Dragonfly did to him, but I don’t have to rant about that because the bookers did the right thing and satiated my hunger for Orton’s revenge. All that said, nobody really thought the Giant Gonzales was going to end the near record-setting reign for Dragonfly, but there were a few moments in the match where I really wanted to see it happens.
The Shifting Landscape of the Women’s Division: So, Jade Cargill has won the right to challenge for the Women’s Championship with her victory in the Death From Above Match, and Alexa Bliss has won her third Women’s Championship. I am not sure what prompted the PWI to attempt to elevate Maryse at this late in the game, but I am glad we’re done with that little detour and have the top star in the division back at the helm. Bliss and Jade could be money, especially with Becky Lynch busy with her feud with AJ Lee.
World of Wrestling Cameo: Sometimes, real life twists and turns force bookers to pivot, and that happened last Monday as Mickey Mouse appeared before Bugs Bunny and the World of Wrestling Board of Directors. WOW has not really played too much of a role in this era, but you best believe we all popped big to see Mickey whining about WWE breaking the rules and signing Danhausen. I am sure Mickey was tempted to complain about this online, but the smart move was saving it for Global Conflict 3 for the ratings boost. Seeing the companies react to each other in real time is one of my favorite parts of this era, and I’m thankful that all three organizations are at the top of their games, delivering compelling television each and every week.
From Neck-Breakee to Neck Breaker: In what is undoubtedly the best work of Mr. Kennedy’s career, we saw Kennedy go under the wing of his rival-turned-mentor as he snapped the necks of Johnny Quest and friends (I bet they’re regretting that cameo now!) I’ve been critical of the angle between Perfect/Hans/Kennedy before, because a lot of it has played out off screen, but if this is where it was heading, it was all worth it. I’m interested in seeing what this means for Kennedy’s former Mr. & Mr. partner, Mr. Perfect, moving forward.
And, as an honorable mention from last week, I wanted to acknowledge the Young Bucks for changing the name of their finisher from the Meltzer Driver to the Hyatte Driver, solidifying my place as the wrestling pundit the talent looks up to!
That’s it for me for now, hope everyone enjoys their holiday and be sure to tune into New Horizons tomorrow night for what promises to be an unforgettable show!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 