Mission in Waiting – As we begin August 2024
Ok, ok, I am back at work here as we prepare for yet another great week of professional wrestling!
WWE and AEW kicked off the month of August with a handful of stellar shows, but let’s not forget the awesomeness that was July. The Seventh Era is off to a great start, and there is so much more to come.
Let’s look at some of the standout stories of the industry outside of ULW, starting with a new axe that the leader of Murrey Entertainment has to grind…with ULW.
Murrey’s ULW Vendetta
AEW and WWE skipped action unannounced the week of July 22nd, and they – as a result – triggered the wrestling equivalent of the doomsday clock. This clock is designed to remind the wrestling world that ULW will shut down within 15 weeks of being the only act in town. This is a very unfortunate rule with a ridiculous consequence, but that’s why Armageddon V has the subtitle of “Mickey’s Last Laugh”, since his intention was for the death of ULW to be the end of the business.
Anyways, the initiation of this clock as well as the press conference which accompanied it (I guess, in addition to my interview with Ted Dibiase last week) rubbed Murrey the wrong way, and he used his platform via his shows this past week to attack the Triad, ULW as a whole, and even to pick a fight with the deceased Chairman of Mmouse Enterprises.
Murrey claims that there is some puppeteer of Mickey’s – named “Dan”, who apparently has a borderline porn site called “OnlyDans” -, and the wrestling world beyond William Regal was left scratching their heads in utter confusion. Is Murrey going the way of Benny? Just, WTF?
Chad flounders while Asuka continues to dominate
Chad Gable has not had a very good opening schtick in this new era, and his loss to Big E on Monday only further sealed his slide into complete jobber status…well, at least it did to me. On the other hand, Asuka has been on the run of a lifetime. The winner of the best women’s talent of the Sixth Era and presently the longest reigning champion in the industry has been on a hot streak and even eliminated the new WWE Champion – AJ Styles – in an intergender battle royal a few weeks ago.
I am not sure what Chad is going to be able to do to turn his career around, but I know that Asuka is becoming more and more unstoppable with each passing week. It’s almost as if these two are exact polar opposites in every way possible!
Karrion seizes NXT
For the first time since his run as Ascendant Champion – including his awesome feud with the legendary Slammu -, Karrion Kross is looking like a monster in his own right these days. I have no doubt that this man will soon become the next NXT Champion, but his leap from obscurity in the Million Dollar Corporation in a span of 6 months has been incredible.
In fact, you can say that that change happened over the course of one single night since Karrion stole the show immediately upon arriving in his new home. After putting Lexis King briefly on the shelf and even messing with Abyss, Karrion has a new enemy: Jeff Jarrett.
Will Jeff pull off the victory over Kross on NXT’s next episode? Doubtful, but this is WWE, after all, the company that gave us an insane William Zabka permanently confused about whether he or “Johnny Lawrence” is real, as well as the place led by a man with multiple mansions, conspiracy theories about puppeteers, and a fetish for throwing weed eaters at aging officials. So, I guess anything can happen, right?
What’s with the Dominatrix?
Speaking of fetishes, what’s with Sonya Deville’s new assistant? From tormenting Lacey Evans and stalking Mandy Rose to now having this person walking around as a reminder of just how demented she can be, it’s safe to say that Sonya has completely lost all of her inhibitions. Did that vibrator shake something loose in that head of hers? It’s not clear.
What is clear, though, is that out of everyone on the roster, Sonya stands as the one with the best chance to pose a serious threat to Asuka. Let’s see where this goes.
Where the hell is Dave Matthews?
We saw RVD tag unsuccessfully with Flex Fuller as Doc Brown stood by their side this past Friday, but the big question I have is “what about Dave?” We saw Dave Matthews – you know, the guy isn’t the famous musician, but the overly-excited chair-possessing former interviewer – come out alongside RVD…and we haven’t heard anything since. Is WWE giving up on this story already, or is there more to come? I hope it is the latter!
Rock and Jey
I am intrigued by this arrival of Jey Uso in WWE and his decision to not join his brothers Jimmy and Solo in their alliance with Rock in the WWE incarnation of the Bloodline. What’s the reasoning behind leaving Roman behind and either joining Rock or feuding with him? Did Roman send Jey to put Rock in his place, or was this simply a decision to pursue gold in his new – possibly temporary – home? I have no idea what the future holds here, but the longest reigning current world champion is not going to be easy to depose.
My money is on Rock retaining and holding this title for a year, at least, but we will see. I think that this might be connected to this big plan that my sources keep telling me is in the works between the companies. Hmm.
The Lights and Liv
Sami Zayn has had an interesting past couple of years in the business, hasn’t he? From his loose involvement with then-AXW’s Aiden English to his arrival in AEW later in 2023 and subsequent pairing with Benny, and then to wedding Megan and stealing the AEW Title, the co-chair of BWM Inc. has only seen his stock rise since he arrived in 2022.
Now, with Splinter banned from existing on television and Benny in a home, Sami is free to reign supreme over this company bestowed upon him by his trickery. However, he now either has an angry poltergeist or some meddlesome stalker playing with the electric everywhere that he goes. I have no clue as to who this will turn out to be, but something tells me that if it isn’t someone debuting then it is someone who we have absolutely seen on screen with Sami in the recent past.
There’s also this whole situation with Liv Morgan and her getting up close and personal with her new boss every time they see each other. Megan is bound to get fed up with this very soon, and I think all of this will absolutely play a part in costing Zayn his match against Lawrence tomorrow night!
Acclaimed Tag Champions
FTR is destined to take the tag gold off of The Acclaimed. Yes, you heard that here first. Ok, no, you also likely predicted this by now as well, but the fact is that Bowens and Caster are playing with fire going after the former two-time PWI Tag Team Champions and costing them their match against A-Town Down.
Waller and Theory aren’t ready yet to challenge for the gold, but with the Usos traded to WWE for the time being, FTR absolutely have a clear path to the prize, and I have no doubt that they will reach it. It’s a matter of when!
Xolo and Johnny
Before I forget to mention this, I am definitely enjoying the unfolding story between Xolo and Zabka (“Johnny Lawrence”, that is…I guess). They were obviously a golden pairing on “Cobra Kai”, and that chemistry has been carried over to a brand new entertainment industry. What makes me crack up the most, though, is how Xolo is just gradually giving up and making everyone recognize him by his real-life identity as everyone in the company insists that he goes by his persona from the aforementioned hit series.
Looking forward to where this goes next!
Danielson v. Rhodes
The upcoming showdown between these two incredibly talented athletes has the potential to be a show stealer. While the build for it as of late has been a tad light, I still think it will be great to watch. With Cody having dropped the TV Title to Swerve back at “Retribution”, he has a clear path to the world title, and he may be the one getting primed to take that gold off of Sami.
His rise will only be aided by the fact that Danielson is still reeling from becoming a loner following the disintegration of his friendship with Styles, Omega, and Page. Could Bryan upset Cody and slow his momentum? Absolutely! Will he? Doubtful.
The TV Title Scene
Speaking of the TV Title being dropped, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the impending battle between Swerve and his challenger, Gunther. This will likely be the match of the night tomorrow, and I can see Swerve BARELY retaining, but the real story here is how deep of a bench AEW has for the title.
There truly is a great roster ripe to step up and be the number two guy in AEW en route to realizing their own dreams atop the roster, and one newcomer who keeps coming to mind for me here is one Jay White. Jay briefly being picked up by ULW in the draft made the powers that be in AEW wince, but they got him back with the trade that sent CM Punk to ULW.
With Jay working in AEW, I see him finally making a name for himself there, and I think part of that involves seizing this title to close out the year.
…HOWEVER, let’s not forget that Dominik Mysterio has a title opportunity of his choosing. I can most definitely see him utilizing that to challenge a weakened TV Champion instead of risking an embarrassing loss against the AEW Champion, and/or risking a life-threatening encounter with Brock Lesnar!
Timeless Moments
On Friday, we saw “Timeless” Toni Storm continue her crazy 1920’s act as she confronted Sasha Banks and Chyna during an interview between Young and Banks. I see this as a very brief feud between Banks and Storm as Banks moves forward from her victory over ALEXA BLISS (not Becky Lynch…sheesh). Toni may actually get the best of Banks in their initial encounter, but I do think it is kind of cool how two women with a recent history against Alexa are likely squaring off in AEW soon.
After that is done, though, the winner in that feud is most definitely heading to Athena Star and the Knockout’s Title! Let’s wait and see how that one plays out!
Love Birds
Lady Love has infected the business again, and a growing list of suitors has begun to reveal themselves across the industry. I’m not sure if we will ever escape her grasp, but for now she has her mitts dug into the buttocks of the small man with a funny theme song.
We also learned this past Friday that Matt Riddle has some mystery love interest of his own. Would it be a stretch to predict that his efforts to break up “Midgey” and Love was some veiled effort to move himself in between those hairy tits? Just asking questions here.
Street Sharks on the Rampage
MJF and Logan Paul may have ended their lovers quarrel, but they met their near-certain doom this past Monday when they battled Rip and Slammer, and were surprised by Armageddon!
I know that my recently-resurfaced boss, Lenny, is more serious than he was the last time that we saw him, but I have to assume that he was not a very happy camper after learning of this madness. I mean, are MJF and Paul still alive???
One thing that is clear, though, is that this will have ramifications in a beneficial way for Sami Zayn as he prepares to take on Mr. Lawrence. Will it be enough to offset the dangers he faces with the lights wizard and Liv? I don’t think so, but it will be something to keep in mind.
Well, that does it for me today! Please stay tuned for a late-night update on some live shows which took place over the past couple of days!
Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 