While I know that you all want to judge me for my absence both in delivering these beloved opinion pieces and in overseeing the PWI site updates, you know damn well that I had a valid excuse!
The Jews have Hanukkah. The Muslims have Ramadan. The Christians have Lent. And now I all my fellow Maxwellians have the season of Championica!
I will happily assert myself as the Master of Ceremonies for this annual celebration of the rise of our very own beacon of hope, the man who is absolutely better than all of us: Maxwell Jacob Friedman; hallowed be thy name!
While I was leading the parade in the inaugural celebration of wrestling’s peak, the world of wrestling proceeded to unfold with numerous events, so I guess I am here to play catch-up and give you my countdown of the 10 greatest moments of the past two weeks!
TEN. ASUKA SURVIVES…AGAIN
Well, I can definitely say that I had some egg on my face a number of my predictions, and I can accept that I am not as good a prognosticator as I once thought. I felt that Asuka’s dominance of WWE’s struggling women’s division had come to an end and that we had reached a point of coronation for Rhea Ripley, but BOY was I wrong!
Murrey and company gave us a bit of a twist with this one as they took the ONLY women’s story from NXT – a very entertaining one at that – and brought it to the main roster as a rare double turn saw Sonya Deville take Rhea’s side whilst Lacey Evans came to the aid of the champion!
Asuka reigned supreme yet again and I am left thinking that there is no clear remaining threat to her (and the same can definitely be said of the WWE Tag Team Champions, the Viking Raiders, who retained over the Misfits at Not-Mania 2!)
NINE. SWERVE’S HOUSE IS BUILT
Kicking off the wildly successful two weeks of professional wrestling was a show-stealing performance by Swerve Strickland as he took down the former AEW Champion, AJ Styles!
If it weren’t for the War Games match and the Messiah of wrestling ascending to his golden throne both happening on the same night as this, I would have easily made this encounter and debut for Swerve the “Match of the Night”! Talk about total nonstop action! These guys tore the house down and built a new foundation for what will eventually and undeniably be called “Swerve’s House” once MJF retires.
Now, we will begin to see Swerve reach for the stars as AJ seeks some kind of redemption. This alone makes me excited to see what happens on April 15th when AEW returns!
EIGHT. STING ARRIVES!
Darby took the path of dumbassery and told the Brothers of Destruction to stay out of the TV Title match, Cody managed to retain in a bit of a nail-biter. I knew once I saw Taker and Kane hanging back that this was not going to go the way that I initially predicted, but the match itself – good as it was – wasn’t the story here.
Instead, the Brothers of Destruction wound up turning on their brief cosplay leader and left him for the returning Brock Lesnar to feast on! It was at this point that I started to say my “Hail Maxxes” on behalf of mercy for Darby when STING descended from the rafters to save the day for his methed-out twin!
We have not seen much of Sting in this era (as he briefly appeared under contract with Murrey about a year ago), nor have we seen much of him in the big leagues of the industry, but I have a feeling that he is about to make quite the impact starting on Monday, but more on that tomorrow!
SEVEN. LEXIS KING’S TRIUMPH
My predictions kept making me (and my often-absent counterpart) look like a fool as Lexis King gave us an amazing showing and retained his NXT Title over the intimidating Bronson Reed. The story here wasn’t the match, though, but rather the choice to keep King locked away on NXT.
Does Murrey fear that sending King to the main roster will hurt King or NXT? He is obviously beyond ready for the brightest possible lights that professional wrestling can bring, but he instead is left to carry the developmental brand on his shoulders.
That is…unless Murrey has found a more appropriate candidate to depose the King…
SIX. A NEW VENTURA-ANDERSON CLASSIC
In “unrelated news”, I was in completely awe watching this incredible showdown between Brock Anderson and his father’s greatest foe: Jesse Ventura. Not only did the former 15-time WWF Champion prove that he still has the ability to conquer the mat, but he put over one of the fastest rising talents in the process! I mean, how incredible is it that Jesse has had a classic with Arn and his son Brock in two completely different eras and decades?!!
I do think that Brock is the future of NXT as well as WWE, and Jesse Ventura continues to be Murrey’s “kingmaker” of sorts, after all of these years. I can’t say enough about this match. It reminded me of when I first fell in love with this business almost 3 decades ago. Just wow!!
FIVE. THE EST ADDS A “B”
Well, Bianca ALSO proved me wrong, and she did it in incredible fashion! Unlike Rhea in WWE, Bianca took Sasha’s belt by force and made her status as THE standard-bearer in the Knockout’s Division simply undeniable!
I went into this thing thinking that Sasha was rolling into New Horizons with too many cards stacked in her favor, and that that spelled certain doom for Bianca quickly completing her journey to being number one, but the gods of wrestling were determined to make me look foolish, and I am not unhappy about it.
Bianca’s hands are a safe place for the division to be, and I think we are going to notice very soon how much more secure it is in her possession as opposed to Sasha’s. I’m just saying. Wait and see.
FOUR. UPS & (SOME) DOWNS FOR JOHNNY!
Now, while I was predicting all along that Johnny was going to win the Intercontinental Title at Then Now Forever 2, I was starting to fear that he was getting too much leverage over Ryback heading into their long-awaited clash at the spectacle. We saw some truly classic moments leading up to it all, too. The greatest moment within the last two weeks, in my opinion, was Johnny Lawrence’s proposal, especially as he did so to “Ryback’s Mom”. He NEVER mentioned her name once, I was sooooo looking forward to seeing them get married using that same approach…but it wasn’t meant to be.
The greatest wedding proposal in the history of wrestling (and beyond) proved to be a trick conceived by Ryback and his mother to play with Johnny’s emotions. I was so heartbroken for Mr. Lawrence, as I could see the love leave his eyes in that moment of betrayal when he realized that the love of his life and his future as Ryback’s abusive stepfather vanished in an instant! Damn you, Ryback’s Mom!!
But alas! Johnny’s rise to becoming a champion in WWE was not to be denied as he secured both the gold and his future as the leading cast member in the hit “Cobra Kai” series! God I love this industry!!
THREE. SOLO HELPS THE ROCK
Remember when I was starting to feel a little less confident in Big E winning the big one at the big event? Well, while I was still CAUTIOUSLY predicting that E would win, my fears for E’s moment were validated with the arrival of Rock’s cousin and fellow Bloodline member, Solo Siqoa interfering on behalf of the champion!
Big E really did have an incredible rise to relevance, though, and not enough can be said about how WWE made us seriously believe that he would be the one to dethrone the Great One! I do think his time is coming, just not for a few more months.
Solo, though, was someone who was silently in high demand so this is quite the GET for WWE and The Rock. In fact, I suspect that this twist may actually make Starrcade 2024 a little more awkward. Hmmm.
TWO. BLOODLINE WINS THE WAR
The AEW part of the Bloodline also enjoyed some major success as Roman and the gang benefited from the effective War Games forfeit by High Minded when Riddle abandoned the match to save Midget Hogan. In classic rules, prematurely leaving the cage is an automatic loss for one’s team, but AEW apparently has its own rules, and I was not bothered by it, because the drama that ensued made this slight deviation worthwhile.
We got to have the best of all worlds here. While the Bloodline has the victory on paper, further bolstering their image of being the most intimidating game in town, High Minded gets the moral victory of saving their “mascot”, the king of hiding under rings, Mister “Millionaire” Midget Hogan!
Like I said earlier, if it weren’t for the main event, THIS would have been the “Match of the Night”!
ONE. MJF DID IT!
Yet, here we are, THE MATCH I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!
Bryan Danielson’s brief reign was fun and all, but the quintessential transitional champion was no match for the GREATEST ENTERTAINER AND WRESTLER OF ALL TIME, MAXWELL JACOB FRIEDMAN!!!
Yes, the match was epic, and I thought that long before we got the result of which none of us are worthy, but I simply can’t get past the moment he scored the victory that I shamefully doubted. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, OH BETTER ONE!!
I know that my neighbors heard my reaction and that my celebration was felt by numerous passers-by in several states as I spread the good word of HIS ascension.
There were a few police stops along the way. I even engaged one officer for two hours as I explained what happened to him. I think I may have even scored a convert, despite my initial disgust when he asked “who the fuck in MJF?” Yes, I risked some prison time when I castigated him and his compatriots for their ignorance, but when they let me go with a “warning” (as if I needed the warning, you fools), I continued onward in my pilgrimage to New Jersey.
I was a bit taken aback by the lack of jubilation in the streets of our hero’s hometown, but I put a stop to that with a bullhorn and some kitchen equipment. I was again joined by the authorities, and they offered to let me stay at “MJF Hotel” which looked suspiciously like a mental institution. But no matter, a nice priest of Maxwellian faith gave me a shot of Doc Brown’s elixir and I woke up in Detroit. WHAT A TIME!!!
Look, I may have a warrant or two for all of my troubles, and I know that I am still being summoned to sit before the Mmouse Enterprises board, but I will not apologize for speaking MJF’s truth! I will not be persecuted!!
This is the greatest moment of my life, and I can’t wait to tell my savior in person how much I appreciate everything that he has done for me. I think I may even go the distance and change my life in service to our new faith.
Until the time comes to share some more, this has been the 30th and GREATEST installment of “Wrestling with Lenny” and I look forward to our next sermon!!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 