Apologies, my loyal readers, for the somewhat-late update, but that special report on the hidden history of my family took A LOT out of me. So much so that I had to cancel last week’s Maxwellian seminar.
This week’s installment of the Volumes and “The Week Starting Today” will be combined due to that special report, and while WWE was inactive last week and has yet to reveal whether they will be active this week, I have decided to include them in our coverage.
So, let’s proceed with the moments of interest and the things to watch in the week ahead in our latest TOP TEN!
TEN. DAMIAN PRIEST’S DILEMMA
Heading into the end of the Sixth Era, the former WWE Champion is sort of floundering a bit. Starting with losing the title to Drew McIntyre last August, Damian’s life has only gotten worse since.
Recently, we saw his fellow Final Judgment members Rhea and Dom Dom kick him out before Dom turned on Rhea once she let her guard down.
Despite this, Damian did appear to be on a sort of upswing heading into Then Now Forever 2 as he and Drew challenged Gunther for the European title. They even laid the groundwork for a continuation of Damian’s progress after that event, but AEW swooped in and nabbed Gunther and his European title away.
The title destiny in the garbage dump notwithstanding, this singular event – the loss of Gunther to AEW – has paved a very dim path for Damian. Add onto that the death of his faction and you have an uncertain future for the Archer of Infamy.
Yes, Damian defeated Dominik at Backlash, but that doesn’t necessarily erase his numerous issues heading into the 7th Era. If WWE wants my opinion, they should cut their losses on Damian and leave him on the Draft Menu next month instead of taking valuable time in the year ahead to rebuild him. Maybe a new environment would do him well?
NINE. NEW DAY’S TAG DIVISION
Big E and Kofi rule the roost in WWE’s tag division, and with Erik of the Viking Raiders on the shelf for a little while, I don’t see that reality coming to an end any time soon.
I see WWE building for a rivalry between the New Day and the Doc Brown Six, but I am left here wondering how long that rivalry will realistically last with the Draft nearing. Especially since I know a few things about that upcoming spectacle: WWE is looking for a complete shakeup of their roster, AEW has assembled a solid target list, and UWA and MDWL have each decided to wait and see how the Conflict unfolds, but are each leaning towards a more chaotic approach.
Given certain new stipulations as well as the stakes of the new era’s birth, I can’t help but feel that the New Day’s title reign may be poised to rival the Raider’s.
Then again, it is WWE, and we could see Hook and Fuller take the gold before the draft. So, you may just have to ignore me here.
EIGHT. LEXIS V. ANDERSON
The NXT Champ recently announced that he will be entering into the 2024 Draft and relinquishing the gold upon doing so. Brock Anderson spoke up and said that he will not let this happen without a fight, and I very intrigued by how this plays out, because either way, Lexis is pledging to leave as a top draft prospect.
Yes, WWE could draft Lexis back, but this is a hell of a gamble. Then again, one has to wonder if King’s draft value will drop if his last match in WWE is a high-profile loss. It’s possible, but not a guarantee, especially when you look at King’s body of work stealing the show ever since the year began.
And what about Brock? How will his stock fare if he loses to the outgoing Lexis? Each promotion only has 20 exemptions this year, and the draft increases the number of picks after 20 rounds, and then again for the final 10 rounds after the 40th round. I happen to know that there is some interest in Brock, but if he ends the era with a loss, then that could be the difference maker between being a first-20 round pick and a last-10 round pick.
Either way, this will be a match to watch intently…whenever it happens.
SEVEN. FUTURE OF JWO?
Backlash was not a great night for the Johnny World Order. It was a FANTASTIC night for the promoters looking to steal Mr. Lawrence from WWE, but Johnnys Knoxville and Gargano were left without a strong and prominent leader as he dropped his title to the resurgent Bobby Lashley, and left Lawrence in a pile of bones and flesh.
You can see grin spread across the menacing face of Mr. Murrey as he watched the title change from his press box, and we will get more to his reaction momentarily. However, I am hesitant to say that Murrey should be happy. After all, Lawrence has consistently been one of his top draws for almost a year now. So, is it really wise to let this incredible talent slip through your fingers?
Unlike Brock Anderson, Johnny Lawrence’s loss guarantees that he will get picked as either the first or second round pick by AEW or UWA/MDWL, and with him all of his ratings drawing capital. We should never doubt Murrey’s capabilities to make ANYBODY a star (seriously, this guy made Flex Fuller a star and discovered SOOOOO many other stars, including Dragonfly), but the short-term consequences of losing Lawrence will be immense. Just saying.
SIX. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MURREY’S CELEBRATION?
Mr. Murrey announced that he was giving the WWE the week off last week as he set to sail the seven seas in celebration of Lawrence’s loss. Will this vacation continue on through this week, will WWE “coast to the end of the era” as Hyatte suggested, or will WWE end this era on fire?
There are questions abound about what to expect in the coming days, but one thing is clear: Murrey is a genius who shouldn’t be underestimated. Because even when he has an “off-day” he still produces some quality content.
My money is on WWE taking one more week off this week and then giving us two consecutive weeks of fire programming to close the era prior to announcing their draft exemptions. I also suspect that part of this two week top tier programming will reveal what Hyatte and I have been seeing all along: Elizabeth is the “other woman”, and that may somehow lead to Murrey being displaced as the promoter…at least for a time.
Stay tuned, as I always say!
FIVE. SAMOAN CONNECTION V. RIDDLE & HOGAN
Usually I mix the Top Ten up with 5 AEW and 5 WWE stories, but since WWE was absent, I thought it was appropriate to give AEW the top five slots. Kicking off AEW’s positioning here is the incredible story still unfolding between High-Minded and the Bloodline.
After we saw the Usos suspended indefinitely for trying to kill Midget Hogan, we saw High-Minded exact some revenge as they shouted “Heads Up!” to an unsuspecting war, wrestling, and Crock Show veteran, Mr. Moody in a crowded store! Moody hilariously wreaked havoc on the shocked and nearby Usos, but this fun and games had some consequences as Yokozuna absolutely destroyed Riddle on Dark this past Friday.
Now we are getting two matches featuring the Bloodline on Dynamite, with the first one featuring the former EWA and PWI Tag Champions, the Samoan Connection taking on Matt Riddle and Hulk Hogan.
I can definitely see Riddle and Hogan getting the victory here, but it may not be a victory to celebrate, as it will likely either be by a vicious disqualification as Yokozuna and Umaga tear Riddle and Hogan apart, or it may be a blow-out victory for the former champions.
I say this because this could be a very important week for the Bloodline as Roman seeks to unseat MJF at Retribution in just 13 days. For that reason, the faction can not afford to look weak, even if it is for just one match.
This week will likely belong to the Bloodline with the go-home show giving High-Minded the “last laugh” before some era-ending payoff wherein we see a splitting of outcomes, but more on that in a second.
FOUR. FALLS ANYWHERE MAYHEM
Dark has done its job as of late to build for the following episode of Dynamite, and while we saw no Nia for the first time on Dark since it returned, we did see some serious progression for the Darby/Lesnar 2 story.
Darby gave us a good promo wherein he asserted that he is going to defeat Lesnar as Lesnar prepares to take on Sting at Retribution. Here’s the problem, though: Lesnar has already effectively moved on to a much-higher profile feud in waiting with Roman.
Unless Roman costs Lesnar and Lesnar responds in kind tonight, Lesnar is likely going to absolutely destroy Darby in their Falls Count Anywhere match. Sting will stop it before Lesnar permanently ends Darby’s life, but that will only set up for Lesnar to then obliterate Sting in just under two weeks.
Don’t get me wrong, this Falls Anywhere match will be fantastic, and may have a few twists, but already see Lesnar’s thousand yard stare has he anticipates getting his hands on the man who stole his advocate, the Tribal Chief.
The Lesnar/Roman program will be a top priority in the 7th Era, and since that doesn’t need a championship, it will almost assuredly guarantee that MJF remains where he belongs: on top of m…of the industry.
THREE. ONE LAST TIME: STAR V. ROUSEY
The Draft this year promises to be the biggest of all time, and Rousey’s declaration for such has only guaranteed that there will be yet another name in consideration for the first 5 rounds. A very crowded field, indeed.
Before she departs, though, Athena Star has accepted Rousey’s challenge to end the era for them the way they started it: on opposite sides of the ring.
The last time these two met, there were some limbs fractured and Rousey stood tall as the winner at No Boundaries 4 (that feels like an eternity ago, doesn’t it?). With Rousey heading out the door and Athena challenging for the gold at the PPV, there is only one result that I can see coming: Athena will win.
It will be the perfect resolution to a rivalry which preceded and helped kick off this, the Sixth Era of Professional Wrestling, and a great final win for Athena as she heads into her farewell loss at Retribution.
Yes, you heard that right. I firmly believe that Star will lose to the Knockouts Champion, and she will then be given a beautiful send-off for her well-deserved retirement.
…or…we see her lose, but because of Living Dead Girl, as we prepare for one more encounter between them at Starrcade to end Star’s career once and for all.
Either way, I am solidly looking forward to all of this!
TWO. INNER CIRCLE PLUNGE
My oh my, how the mighty have fallen. It is with no sense of pride that I sit here analyzing the plight of Jericho’s Inner Circle, but their luck has been pretty shitty ever since they were embarrassed at Genesis.
First, they lost. Then, Jericho went to WWE. Then, Sammy lost a high-profile match for the TV Title (as I predicted), and now we see Jake Hagar being left in the dust by Scott Steiner en route to the much bigger Bloodline/Maxwellians storyline.
Unfortunately for the Inner Circle, their struggles didn’t end there, as Jericho is himself struggling in WWE, as he failed to capture the title at Backlash, and that brings me to the point where I have to pivot to the real story here: the Inner Circle have become mere background noise to the actual people and stories of interest.
Their primary hosts have been the Bloodline in both AEW and WWE, as Rock handed Jericho yet another loss, and Roman now looks to decimate (unless Lesnar intervenes) Steiner…the man who wrecked Hagar’s dreams on YouTube.
I ‘member when the Inner Circle was actually front and center as the then-new faction of interest. They were threatening to conquer everything just a short year ago, but that was before High-Minded struck gold and became their angels of death a few months ago.
I have often heard that a month in politics is an eternity, but the same can most certainly be said about professional wrestling. The times, they are a changin’!
ONE. TOTAL ANARCHY!
Speaking of shocking changes, for the first time outside of Mmouse Enterprises or a WOW-hosted event, we will see a Total Anarchy Match in another promotion!
With this Benny-saga culminating at Retribution, Splinter challenged Co-Chair Sami Zayn who was celebrated his gross marriage to my niece. Splinter has come to undo the damage done and the havoc wreaked by Benny and Sami as of late, with a stipulation added for the outcome of this coming extravaganza: if Splinter wins, Sami and Benny must reinstall the Board of Directors and follow their recommendations for Benny’s removal from power. Obviously, Sami and Benny get to keep power and everything they have done since becoming the dual dictators of AEW if Sami wins, and I am sort of split as to which outcome is most likely as of right now (I will wait until we see the go-home show next week).
For now, I want to focus on the fascinating twist of AEW introducing a singles variant of the traditionally-fatal four way Total Anarchy Match. Created in late-2003 for the main event of Motivation 2, the match famously included seven iconic stipulations:
- It’s a Fatal Four Way
- It’s an Iron Man Match
- The first blood drawn gives the assailant 2 falls
- Injuring a bloodied opponent (bruised and bloody rules) grants the assailant five falls or just injuring them (bone break rules) achieves the same falls, depending on which approach the promoters announce prior to the bout
- There is barbwire wrapped around the ropes
- Falls count anywhere
- It’s in a Cell
In the fifth era and in the current era, switching one of the stipulations has led to the creation of a new version of the match. During the fifth, we saw Catherine’s create the “Catherine Total Anarchy Special” with the replacement of the Cell Rule with the Gauntlet Rule and the Iron Man Rule with the Best of Three Falls Rule.
During the current rule, we saw the introduction of the “Total Anarchy Match, Version 2” with the cell replaced with a ladder stipulation, wherein capturing the briefcase hanging above the ring led to the captor receiving ten falls.
EVERY version of the match has been chaotic and popular, but with this upcoming version being a singles match, the onus is on AEW to choose a new rule to replace the Fatal Four Way rule. You may not have to, because technically a singles match is in and of itself a rule. Either way, this will create a new “Elite Total Anarchy Match” or “Total Anarchy Match, Elite Version”, and will have the highest stakes of any variation we have seen to date.
Definitely a can’t miss!
WHAT’S TO COME IN PWI AND HCW
OPENING BOUTS: ALL ABOUT THE WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
MAYHEM – Charlotte Flair defends against Liv Morgan
Now, in a unique one-off approach, I will delve into the cards for tonight’s final head-to-head battles between Mayhem and Asylum. Mayhem has overtaken Asylum on two consecutive occasions, and there is a slight chance it could happen again tonight.
Kicking off Mayhem will be a match for the Women’s International Championship. Hyatte criticizes the idea of introducing a new title at the end of the era, but the reality is that the International and Premier titles are the final incarnations of the Premier Athlete Tournament Roulettes, which are not new. Attitude failed to retain his Premier Championship last week, thanks to Teo, and now Charlotte looks to avoid the same fate this week as she takes on Liv Morgan, last year’s tournament winner.
Morgan feels that she was unjustly denied her chance to be the champion, as she was eliminated by Michelle McCool in shocking fashion after Ruby Riott exacted some revenge and cost her the chance to advance. Funny enough, the woman who Liv would have battled in the next round was the champion herself, Charlotte Flair.
Seeing the era coming to an end and knowing that she is not presently positioned to be featured in the last two events slated, Liv has asserted herself in a last act of desperation. Charlotte happily accepted the challenge a few days ago after she retained over Nikki Bella on Asylum.
So, now we go from Charlotte defeating the woman who took her down at the start of the era of one tournament’s finale to seeing her defend against a woman who she probably should have battled in the second round of a tournament which made her a champion for the first time.
No matter who wins here, the winner will have their work cut out for them at Armageddon 4, as they defend against one of the 8 women opening Asylum!
ASYLUM – Premier 8 Match: Vega v. Mockingbird v. Baszler v. Rosa v. Storm v. Royce v. Holly v. Paige
Liv or Charlotte’s challenger will be decided in this unique match, which was inspired by the Massacre 6 match, but has its differences. Elimination doesn’t include over the top rope, but rather is via pinfall, submission, or blood drawn, and it is falls count anywhere.
Excluding the first ranked Jade Cargill and the seventh ranked Liv Morgan for obvious reasons, the other top ten ranked women are entering this showdown with the end of their PWI careers hanging in the balance. Lose, and your story for this era is over, Win, and you get the chance to end the era as a champion.
Zelina Vega is the second ranked woman, and her story has been very intriguing throughout the era. She is a former tag champion (alongside Ivelisse) and the last Women’s Ascendant Champion. Despite losing the finale of the Women’s Premier Athlete Tournament Roulette, Vega is still someone that no one should overlook. She has the skill and cunning to achieve her ultimate objective of getting a rematch for the title that she was denied by Charlotte.
Mockingbird is the powerhouse of this match. The third ranked former tag champion has consistently been in the top five ranks of the women’s division for months now, and while none of the experts anticipate that she will win, she is heading into this match equipped with her might and Dragonfly’s training (which preceded the era). That makes for a dangerous combination, especially since her back is against the wall!
The fourth ranked Shayna Baszler has had a bit of a rollercoaster over the past couple of years. Far from her peak as Angelina Love’s partner a couple of years ago in seizing control of the division, Shayna is determined to ensure that her name is etched permanently in wrestling history as she aspires to challenge for gold in two weeks!
Coming in at the fifth rank, Thunder Rosa is a dark horse for many reasons. For one, she remains as one of the most dangerous women on the roster. The fact that she has not been a champion yet is a crime in and of itself, but the word has it that Mickey wanted to punish her a little for deceiving him a couple of years ago as she went to HLW instead of PWI, as was originally promised to him. Still, this woman is not about to let her setbacks in this era keep her from giving this her all. Keep an eye on her!
At rank number six, the former Women’s Ascendant Champion Toni Storm bounced back from failing to take the Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania, and is looking to end the era in style. Word has it that Toni hasn’t been the same since her encounter with Alexa Bliss, but I suppose that we will have to see what those rumors are all about tonight!
Skipping Liv’s seventh rank, we see the surprise entrant in this match: one half of the former Tag Team Champions, the IIconics, Peyton Royce, sitting at rank number eight. Highly regarded as the most talented member of her former team, Royce is probably the most overlooked here outside of Mockingbird. Do you think that will stop this talented Australian? We’ll see!
The ninth ranked icon Molly Holly is next, and this decorated veteran looks to recover from her encounter with Alexa a couple weeks ago. She is a former Women’s Champion as well as tag team champion, and her comical training by Stevie R is in the distant past. Will Molly be able to break through one more time, or will this be the last we see of her?
Finally, we have the tenth ranked Paige, who found herself catapulted into the top ten ranks with her stunning victory over an injured Becky Lynch last week. As the only participant with any semblance of momentum, there will be a lot of pressure on her to deliver, but the former Women’s Immunity Champion will not have an easy road ahead of her, as she will have seven other hungry women vying for greatness with just as much desperation!
Coupled with the International Championship match on Mayhem, this will be a hellacious way to kick off an incredible night of action!
THE MID-CARD: CONFLICT RESOLUTION
MAYHEM – Hash defends Extreme Title against Duxen
In the Mid-Card of this PPV-caliber night, we see HCW payoff the months of friendship and the tale of betrayal as Jesse Hash defends his Extreme Championship against his former smoking buddy and longest reigning world champion of all time – asterisk or not -, the legendary Granddaddy Duxen.
Hash’s about-face in the past couple of years has been remarkable, and it is hard to believe that he has been in PWI and HCW for that long. Considering how he was in the midst of a comical Edge-style feud with CM Punk a year ago, and effectively absent the year before, the fact that Hash has such a prominent and high-stakes role now is just fantastic.
On the opposite side of the ring, though, is his former buddy, the great Granddaddy Duxen. Duxen has had a great return-era, and looks to finish it off on top, which would be welcome news to the Elite, as they hope to get their hands on Hash for the first time since AEW’s birth.
Duxen feeling betrayed by his friend is just part of the story, though, as both men sit on opposite sides of the Global Conflict, with the winning party helping their respective faction (just like with the previous match, though Charlotte’s affiliation is not yet clear) get closer to PWI’s lead.
The stakes are high, as are the emotions, but Hash isn’t for the first time, as he has been sobered by the seriousness of the moment and everything which depends on him. Keep an eye on this one!
ASYLUM – Phobe v. Cage and FRED v. Gonzales
With four matches to Mayhem’s three, PWI brings us a couple matches which should likely be on a PPV, even if that is the case to a lesser degree with Phobe and Cage.
After giving Cage and Phobe some time to recover from some recent minor injuries, Phobe looks to decimate Terminator’s project in the “Machine” known as Brian Cage. Cage cost Phobe his chance to win the Premier Tournament and become the first Premier Champion and Phobe has demanded this match to put the proverbial icing on the cake. Billed as the “War to Settle the Score”, this could end the era for both men, unless either ends up on a team of the Final Battle at Armageddon 4.
Considering that fact, it stands to reason that all involved parties will give it their all to end the era on the winning side, lest their stock plummet for the impending draft. Of course, that same level of desperation does not exist with the coming battle between two of the biggest names in the history of the industry as Giant Gonzales seeks some revenge against the true monster of all monsters: FRED!
While these beasts will be representing the Million Dollar Corporation, respectively, the true story here is that Gonzales is looking for only his second win this era. Granted, he came back to the game late, having done so just a few months ago, but he needs to take FRED down, especially if the MDC hopes to stay alive in this war!
This battle will not be for the weak of heart, and it will be a great way to set up both for the Main Events and the extravaganzas to come!
THE MAIN EVENTS: SETTING THE STAGE TO END THE WAR
MAYHEM – Nash and Brown decide HCW’s fate!
So, now we move on to the biggest main events of what could turn out to be the final installment of both Monday Night Mayhem as well as Asylum. The former’s fate will be determined in this minor civil war, which solely is represented in this battle between the two men running HCW: the two former world champions, Scott Nash and Ted Brown.
Not since the HCW Bloodshot Main Event wherein the HCW Title was on the line as Rhyno betrayed HCW in favor of the New World Order, to the benefit of Nash, has this pairing been more important. Whether or not Nash ordered or merely permitted Warrior to take out Brown is immaterial except that it set the stage for this showdown.
The stakes here go beyond pride, because this is about survival. If Brown wins, the HCW stays alive. If Nash wins, Brown joins Nash in finishing the union of HCW and the defectors of PWI to recreate the Undisputed Wrestling Alliance in a last gasp effort to save the future from Mickey’s industry-destroying dream.
The experts see Nash’s approach as the one with the most common sense, since it unites with Catherine, but Brown and his brother have long tired of blindly following the lead of a member of the Mouse family, as John did from the second through the third eras, which relegated HCW to little more than punching bags for Mickey. Ted has convinced himself and his loyalists that the superior approach is to defeat Mickey and Dibiase and ensure that HCW lives on, independently. Nash’s tactics – rumored or not – have poisoned the well with around half of the HCW roster as they refuse to abandon HCW without the blessing of Ted.
Regardless, tonight we finally will know all of the players and most of the stakes as we head into the final Global Conflict next week and Armageddon 4 in two weeks!
ASYLUM – Dibiase Jr. defends Undisputed Title against Dragonfly
Over in PWI, the Undisputed Championship is on the line as Dragonfly seeks his rematch for the title that he held for 589 days. Dibiase Junior is looking for a second consecutive successful title defense after experiencing such a dismal record in AEW and EWA. Dragonfly has obviously only lost once in the past couple of years, and my counterpart believes that it would appear that he is poised to recapture the top prize as we prepare for The Eve next week, but I am not so sure.
It looks to me that Dibiase is performing at the highest level of his career, and while Dragonfly looks like a better representative of the companies heading into the end of it all, we need to not overlook the champion just yet.
Then again, the normal rules of everything have been completely upset by the war and the impending end of this era, so every consideration about the appropriate time for a champion to lose has been thrown out the window. Dragonfly appears to be leaning towards retirement after this era, but that isn’t 100% clear, and Ted would like nothing more but to end the greatest superstar run ever with a second consecutive victory over THE icon.
With Dragonfly, his thoughts have no doubt been haunted by Mystico and Krusader trying to convince him to seek the help of his family. He is dead set on doing all of this alone, as he has for most of his career. Can the GOAT reclaim the top prize and head towards ending the era on top, or has his time finally passed?
The answers to all of our questions here will be answered tonight in yet another history-making night of action thanks to the greatest form of entertainment ever conceived!
I will see you all by the end of the weekend as we ready for the final stretch of the era. Fasten those seatbelts, folks, because the end is near!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 