The old saying goes, “The days are long, but the years are short,” and that pretty much sums up my feelings after Armageddon 4: Mickey’s Endgame, AEW Retribution, and the end of the 6th Era of professional wrestling. It’s a somber yet exciting time as the industry prepares to move forward without the Mouse men for the first time since the mid-1990s.
The biggest news from A4 is the deaths of Mickey and Vinny Mouse and the formation of Undisputed League Wrestling (ULW). Sami Zayn and Megan Mouse shocked the world over Memorial Day weekend when Megan arose from her wheelchair to betray Splinter, proving her marriage to Zayn was genuine all along. Sami then used Benny’s Beast Armageddon to screw Roman Reigns and MJF in the AEW World Heavyweight Championship match. The show ended with a new champion and a new power couple. This week, the Mouse-Zayns revealed that Benny has been institutionalized to receive “round the clock care” for his dementia. Meanwhile, the former Murrey Entertainment has rebranded as Seventh Era Productions, and there are rumors that they and Sami Zayn have secured a game-changing deal.
In short, it’s been a wild two weeks in the world of professional wrestling. But I’m a man of my word (mostly), and I promised one final Mop-Up for the 6th Era. So, here goes nothing!
PWI-HCW presents: Armageddon 4 – Mickey’s Endgame
SEGMENT ONE
We open the show with Mickey and Executioner for the final time. Ex says everyone’s been worried about Mickey, questioning his sanity and shit. (They’re just now questioning this?!) Ex blames Alexa for messing with Mickey’s head and says he never trusted her. But Mickey corrects him; she wasn’t messing with his head, she was a part of his plan to get the power of Sister Abigail for himself. Executioner, now fully convinced that Mickey has lost his fucking mind, goes for help. Mickey says no one can help and then laughs like a lunatic as we transition into the opening video. (A couple of notes; if Mickey wanted the dark magic all along, why’d he spend months running around acting horrified, accusing Bray Wyatt of messing with his home? Seems to me that if you deal in the dark arts, a little fuckery should be expected, no? Is this a plot hole, or was Mickey trying to keep the world off his back while he found a way to bang the ghost of Abby? Guess we’ll never know!)
After a stellar 20 minute long opening video package summing up the era and the road to A4, we get a decent bout between the Premier Champ Seth Rollins and Carmelo Hayes, who apparently isn’t a face after all and is more of a tweener? IDK, man. It doesn’t really matter at this point. Hayes defeats Rollins for the title, becoming the third champ in the lineage, and then LA Knight comes out and issues a challenge for Starrcade. Hayes accepts, and the two men are later added to ULW’s exempted superstars list. (All of this would have benefited from a month or so more of build, or even a place on Global Conflict 5, but it wasn’t bad or anything. Just not up to the level of heat most of the card has. I do find it interesting that the Premier Title isn’t a ‘mid-card title’ in ULW, yet it’s jerkin’ the curtain on the final show of PWI-HCW.)
SEGMENT TWO
In Ted Brown’s office, R-Truth appears and calls him “Murrey,” and volunteers to do his part in fighting Mickey in “Project Extermination.” Oh shit, one of the first signs of Benny’s dementia was confusing the Global Conflict series with Project Extermination… does Truth have dementia?!? Nah, he’s just nuts. As Truth exits, Catherine enters and she’s feeling pretty down. She says the developments with her daughter Jackie have her questioning if this was all worth it. Just accept it, Cathy, you were a shitty mom and there’s no use in trying to salvage this relationship! She’s also feeling bad about offering Vinny up as a sacrifice to the Hood Man, and worries Mickey is too powerful now that he and Sister Abigail have combined their souls. (Only in pro wrestling!) She reiterates that this was Mickey’s plan all along, and I’m again wondering why Mickey acted confused and horrified for MONTHS thinking Bray/Alexa was stalking him. Was this a ret-con, or just sloppy storytelling? (I’m being critical, but truthfully, Catherine nailed her part in this and made me forget about the potential plot hole and had me invested. That’s all that matters at the end of the day, in my opinion.)
We then get a post-mortem on the Premier Athlete Tournaments. Good fuckin’ riddance, says I!
In another somewhat heatless match that probably should have happened on Global Conflict 5 and not this PPV, Charlotte Flair retained the International Championship over Paige. Good for Charlotte, I’ve always been a fan of her since her days in BWM Inc. The women made the best of their situation and gave us a fine outing, but there’s just no way these opening matches were going to be in the same league as the rest of the show.
SEGMENT THREE
Backstage, the Young Bucks meet up with Adam & Space Adam (who I regrettably didn’t recognize) and Johnny Quest. The legends wish the Bucks luck and say Cool Quest would be there if he was allowed (he’s under contract with BWM Inc.) This moment is interrupted when the Neckbreakers burst on scene and, well, break the necks of the little guys.
We cut to Lana standing by with Alexa Bliss. Bliss says that without Sister Abigail’s power, she’s reflecting on her behavior over the past few years. She admits she still had some control, and wasn’t just a puppet. She then calls Jade Cargill a worthy opponent, and hypes her match with Sasha Banks at Starrcade.
In the tag title match, the Bucks win the gold back and earn the right to be exempt in the draft after breaking the necks of the Neckbreakers. Fun shit, and finally the show is picking up some steam match-wise.
SEGMENT FOUR
Ok, now things are REALLY picking up with a video package hyping AJ Lee and Becky Lynch. We cut to the back and Ted Sr. scold Ted Jr. for losing the Undisputed Championship. He says he regrets naming Ted Jr. after him, and sends him home for the night. (I find this interesting knowing what we know now about Ted Jr. being exempted. Was that Catherine’s call? Ted Brown’s maybe? I can’t see Dibiase Sr. wanting to “reward” him with a coveted spot… I guess I’ll have to stay tuned for a follow-up.)
In the best match of the night so far, AJ Lee shocks the world and defeated Becky Lynch CLEANLY. Both women were announced as exemptions, so it’s very possible that this feud will continue, but I predict they’ll move away from one another for a bit and start new stories before coming back for an epic rematch by the end of next season.)
SEGMENT FIVE
Backstage, Sean Spears is wandering around for some reason when he’s suddenly attacked by Matt Cardona and FTR. Cardona says he’s taking Spears out now to make sure that he’s not a factor in the world title match. I then wonder to myself if Spears will ever get back to the heights he was before LA Knight and Matt Cardona came into the fold and completely overshadowed him? Doubtful, but we’ll see.
After an epic video package highlighting the feud between Attitude and Teo, Attitude defeats Teo with the Fall From Grace to retire him. These men always deliver, so I’ve not got a lot to say about that other than the fact I didn’t care for the post-match segment with Teo trying to shake Attitude’s hand, only for Attitude to beat his ass AGAIN. Like, come on Teo! Attitude started all of this, has been a complete menace to you, beats you with your own move and then you’re just, “Oh, we cool now!” I guess it doesn’t matter too much that Teo ended his career looking like a chump, because he’s now retired. The big question for me coming out of all of this is can Attitude survive as a singles star without having Teo to fall back on? Most of Attitude’s success has come through his association with Teo, and even the parts where they weren’t directly involved, Attitude was always second-string.
SEGMENT SIX
Next, we get the second best segment of the night with a video package hyping our upcoming match between Jesse Hash and the Crock for the Extreme Championship. As the video ends, we cut to the ring and it’s decorated for a special installment of 4:20.
Hash’s guest? None other than Woody II! Woody makes a joke about how he and the Crock had the same shoes – well, ya know, before the diabetes took one of Woody’s feet. Then, Metal Head comes out and attacks Woody II in a nice callback to their epic feud that spanned several eras, only for the Crock to make the save.
We then move into the championship match, and Hash defeats Crock much to the chagrin of the BWM Inc. leadership, who were hoping to draft Hash back to the company.
SEGMENT SEVEN
In the back, Dexter Lumis lets Aiden English out of his cage and English wonders aloud if Lumis is “The Alpha.” He walks past a table and doesn’t get put through it, so he thinks the curse has been broken.
Backstage, the three Duct Tape Men talk about English’s upcoming test with “The Alpha” before we cut to ringside. What followed was one of the most delightfully insane and stupid segments I’ve ever seen in pro-wrestling, and I mean that in a good way! Masked Gonzales is revealed as the Alpha, and English must survive four moves from him and return to his feet before a 10 count (in Spanish.) Oh, and Chelsea Green was briefly involved!
Honestly, though this wasn’t one of the highest rated segments on the show, I truly do want more of this zany comedy in the future. It was wild, unpredictable, and satisfying payoff for months and months of storytelling with the DTM and English. Inevitably, English earns the right to be called Quatro, and I imagine the next time we see the “PWI Legend” he’ll be covered in duct tape.
SEGMENT EIGHT
Backstage, Jade Cargill tells Lawrence Mason that she doesn’t care who was controlling Alexa Bliss, she’s gonna kick her ass and leave with the gold. Because she’s Top BITCH! Okay, bitch.
She proves to be true to her word as she defeats Alexa Bliss cleanly and captures her first championship of her career. I’m happy for Jade, but I selfishly wanted her to lose so she could come to the Knockouts Division where she belongs. Can you even imagine her and Athena Star and the masterclass they’d put on?! And with 2024 looking to be Athena’s final year, it’s possible I’ll never get that dream match. Great, now I’m sad.
SEGMENT NINE
We get a video package hyping up Cardona/Orton for the Undisputed Championship. I’ve heard from sources in the company that the plans for Cardona and Orton were changing rapidly in the final months, and the original plan was for Dragonfly and Orton to happen here. I still think that would have been the bigger main event, but honestly, Cardona proved himself to be a worthy challenger.
In fact, putting Cardona in the spot instead of Dragonfly arguably solidifies him as a main eventer moving forward. Sure, he’s a former world champion in his own right, but HLW wasn’t around long enough for Cardona to prove his staying power. His program with Orton did just that, and Cardona will unquestionably be a major player in the ULW. That said, I do find it curious that his wife Chelsea Green wasn’t exempted – you’d think she’d fill the slot currently taking by Liv Morgan? It’ll be curious if Seventh Era Productions or BWM Inc. target Green in the draft, or if ULW will have to use a “save” to keep the husband/wife pair together.
SEGMENT TEN
We then get our final video package of the night, hyping the Final Battle (AKA the Capital Carnage Match) which then transitions to Mickey and Lawrence Mason in Mickey’s Funhouse. (Did you know that the spirit of Sister Abigail requires you to have a Funhouse if you’re possessed by her? Prove me wrong!) Mickey tells Mason that he knew what he was getting himself into when he hired Bray Wyatt, and he growls that “EVERYTHING ENDS TONIGHT.” (Aside from my repeated questioning about Mickey’s reaction to being “haunted” the last few months, I also want answers on how Mason got himself out of the Funhouse!)
We cut to the parking lot, where Dragonfly is out first. He tells Krusader and Mystico that he’s sorry for how he’s treated them, and he’s got to do his part to stop Mickey.
What follows is one of the most fun wrestling matches I’ve ever seen – a wild multi-man take on the Crimson Car match, that felt like a wonderful homage and something fresh and new at the same time. There’s some fuckery afoot with Ted Sr., and just when Mickey thinks he’s won, the TRUE team captain of a now-unified effort between the MDC and the UWA to save the industry appears in the form of the Fiend!
The Fiend takes Mickey to the top of the stadium, and disappears and in his place is Hood Guy, who turns out to be Bray Wyatt after all. Whatever. Oh, and Bray’s had a complete outfit change. Then, Vinny and Mickie appear, and I’m hoping we’ll get more answers about Girl Mickie because she really didn’t offer much to this story, in my opinion. Then, Vinny tackles Mickey and the two fall to their deaths in the parking lot… YIKES! (As Megan said the other day, it’s fitting that Mickey’s quest to kill the industry resulted in the industry – that’s what I’m calling Vinny – killing him.) We then get a gratuitous close up of Mickey’s dead body as we cut to Catherine Mouse backstage in the press briefing room. (So, Vinny is to be sacrificed yet he takes himself out? What does this have to do with Catherine and Bray’s deal? Did Bray give Vinny the option to either be murdered or to kill himself along with Mickey?!? I HAVE QUESTIONS!!!)
Anyways, in the briefing room Catherine is joined by Dibiase and Brown, and they announce they’ve secured a deal to launch Undisputed League Wrestling.
Then, in the hospital, Lenny is about to check on Jackie when suddenly, she flies out of the hospital bed, and goes through the ceiling as it’s heavily implied that Sister Abigail’s spirit left Mickey during his fall and landed in Jackie’s body.
Cut to credits and the Era is a wrap!
Look, I love hokey like this. Plot holes aside. Mickey’s death was something that had to happen for the industry to carry on without him, or else we’d see a repeat of what we saw the last time Catherine tried to lead a company. But, what good to Sister Abigail do for Mickey? He ultimately failed in all of his goals, and in the end it cost him his life. Is Bray’s power greater than Sister Abigail’s powers? Like I said, I HAVE QUESTIONS!?!?
Anyways, that does it for me for the 6th Era. I’ll see you all in July!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 