Mission 008 – The War Has Begun!
Hello, my fellow fans of the business we all know and love. I’m sad to say that the next couple of weeks will see a series of slightly shorter missions, but we will still cover the biggest unfolding stories right now.
Today, as we sit on the eve of another week of the ratings war between ULW, AEW, and WWE, it is clear to all that ULW’s victory over AEW last week showed one thing to be true: this really is a brand new era, and the playing field of that era is far more evenly matched than any era we have seen in at least 20 years.
I know that we have been saying these things for weeks now, but the numbers have been showing it to be true. As of right now, the fast national numbers for WWE’s latest installment of Smackdown show that WWE is resurgent and we could see AEW again having their work cut out for them once we get the ratings for Chaos.
With BWM Inc. no longer the undisputed leader of the business as it was in the Sixth Era, this could be Murrey’s time to reclaim what was his until 27 years ago when the USWA burst on to the scene. Honestly, with stories brewing over there such as what we are seeing with Flex Fuller, Doc Brown, and Diamond Dallas Page, as well as Murrey’s own drama involving the latest revelation about his family, the top of the industry could be more within reach than it has been since the LWF…again, 20 years ago.
Speaking of DDP, who would’ve thought that this veteran of the business would find himself in a high-profile program after all of these years? But, yet, here we are. Even Pete the Ref, the most confusing draft pick this year when it was made by WWE, has stolen the show each time he is on the screen. This is just more proof of what I said about the draft two months ago: all three companies left with their heads held high, and with good reason.
Let’s not forget the increasing strength of WWE’s undercard and midcard, either. Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley are brewing what could be a match of the year candidate when it happens. Equally competitive for that slot is the impending World Heavyweight Championship bout between AJ Styles and Finn Balor (this one is a bout I am seriously looking forward to).
The Tag Title scene is also seriously heating up as Awesome Truth has been handed a golden opportunity against Solo and Jimmy Uso (spoiler alert: I don’t think they are taking the gold off of the new champions, unless Jey plays a part in the match), alongside another team; will it be the Viking Raiders? I know the third team won’t be Gable and Otis, especially not after Gable treated Otis’s face like sexy butt-cheek, which itself triggered Otis to respond by standing up for himself!
We still don’t have a clear picture about who will ever be able to dethrone Asuka for the Women’s Title that she has held for almost a year, but what we do see is something coming together in this emerging Bloodline civil war as Jey Uso challenges the Rock for the WWE Title in Berlin.
I may not be fully sold on Jey overtaking his cousin for the top prize, but I do think that it will foreshadow the inevitable end of the Great One’s reign, and when that reign does happen: a star will be made! With a formula like this (and I barely scratched the surface of what we are seeing over in Murrey Entertainment), it is only a matter of time before we see AEW and ULW chasing WWE!
On the other hand, AEW’s first loss of the era has not exactly knocked them completely out of the top spot. Bear in mind that ULW has been the indisputable number two company since week two of the era, and a victory over AEW was a matter of “when”, not “if”. Even so, BWM Inc. is not about to just hand over the keys to the industry without coming out swinging and with creative ideas blazing. This really is a war for supremacy, and we are barely into the beginning phase!
Like WWE, AEW has a solid undercard and midcard to contend with. For starters, let’s look at the wild success of the Knockout’s Hardcore Title. Despite the fact that some critics have maligned this approach to championships over the years when it was done by Mmouse Enterprises, Chaos Championships are always ratings gold, because of the significant unpredictability that we see with them. Nia Jax has been seriously rewarded for stealing the show during the handful of “Dark” episodes we saw back in the spring, and her success has not only helped lift the new title, but she has had long coattails which have been bringing a large chunk of the Knockouts locker room with her!
No standout among AEW’s women has been more noticeable, though, than Toni Storm. Toni’s “Timeless” persona has been the talk of women’s wrestling since the introduction of this character about a month ago, and it is clear to me that the sky is the limit. Hell, she may even enjoy a shock victory over Sasha Banks along the way…and then, we may even see her dethrone Athena by year’s end!
Speaking of the Knockout’s Champion, I was very pleased to finally see her emerge after my rant last week, but her first appearance in god knows how long was on…DARK? Yes, I loved the use of PWI alum, Mockingbird, in this encounter as she gave one of the few candidates for wrestling GOATs a run for her money, but I was disappointed that Star’s return to our screens wasn’t featured in head-to-head ratings competition. Has BWM Inc. lost faith in the drawing power of their Knockout’s Champion?
Nah…that is definitely not it, but the placement of this match on an internet-exclusive show certainly tells me that they didn’t believe it could help them win this past Monday. Still, the world is waiting to see what is next for Athena Star. Will she meet Sasha once again? Will she retire once she drops the belt? Who will dethrone her? A lot of questions to be answered. The best part about these inquiries, though, is knowing that BWM Inc. is actually going to answer them in a timely manner! Finally, some damn stability.
One thing that isn’t very stable, though, has been Adam Page. Page hasn’t been the same since he and Omega dropped the tag team gold, and part of his downfall has involved his journey to the bottom of many a liquor bottle. Poor Kenny Omega has been tethered to the fate of Page throughout this unfortunate journey, but that is not going to last forever. Omega is finally going to get fed up with Page’s shit…probably after Page gets violent with him as Omega proves to be relentless in trying to mend the fence. When that happens, the payoff will be glorious and we may be surprised with the outcome.
Mentioning a prospective surprise outcome makes me think of a recent surprise as well as one that AEW wants me to believe is possible. To what am I referring with this riddle language? Bryan Danielson’s impending match with the debuting Will Ospreay. I know I ruffled ol’ Danny Boy’s dragon-scales when I said that he had beaten Cody for the right to lose to William, but that’s how the business works. BWM Inc.’s MASSIVE investment in the outgoing IWGP Champion will seem like a huge waste if they bring him in with all of this hype just to lose to the shortest reigning world champion that BWM Inc. has had in 20 years.
THEN AGAIN, it would be a considerably shocking moment if Bryan Danielson pulls it off. I don’t know what that would mean for Ospreay going forward, but it would absolutely catapult Danielson’s stock into the stratosphere. At that point, you would almost have to either put the world title on Bryan or go the WWE route and create an entirely new world title for him to legitimize. Regardless, Danielson would be a made man, thus making Will Ospreay the most expensive jobber of all time.
Something that did shock me this past week in AEW, though, was the latest development in Danhausen’s curse for Sami Zayn as the closing shot of Dynamite saw the co-chair and champion of the company gargling worms at the behest of newcomer, the Boogeyman. This was hilarious, and makes me look forward to what is coming next in this story, but I am starting to wonder about Bossman’s loyalty in all of this.
He kept assuring Sami that everything was alright throughout the night, but is Sami’s constant insistence on calling him “Rob Amick” getting under Bossman’s skin to the point of leading him to turn his head away from the dangers facing his superior? Maybe Bossman was too busy snapping Mr. Perfect’s neck to see what was happening in the parking lot here, or perhaps even Megan herself is letting this happen!
After all, Megan is pretty damn pissed right now that Liv Morgan has been all over her husband. This one could itself lead to Megan’s first match since 2020, but I am fairly confident that it will – as I mentioned before – contribute to Sami Zayn losing his coveted prize once and for all, and the beneficiary could be none other than Brock Fucking Lesnar!
I liked that Megan referenced the title of my segment last week on Sami’s “many irons in the fire”, and there is no more consequential or dangerous iron heating up than the Beast Incarnate salivating and growling in the Main Event of Aftershock. Sami is in serious danger, and there isn’t much that could stop what’s coming (except, maybe, for Armageddon and the Street Sharks, but I suspect they will be too busy dealing with MJF, Logan Paul, and the gang).
Then what? Well, I suppose the last major piece of the puzzle will involve Roman Reigns re-emerging to challenge Lesnar for a rematch. We can’t forget about him, after all! It’s just a matter of what Heyman can cook up for his Tribal Chief in the near future!
Before I finish here, I don’t want you to think that I am overlooking the likes of Gunther and Kaiser, FTR, the Acclaimed, or of WWE’s RVD and whatever it is that Murrey has planned for him and Dave Matthews. All of these guys are most definitely on my radar…they just didn’t make the cut for the latest analysis. Perhaps next time?
We shall see! That does it for me this weekend, as I said before, there will be some shortened entries in the week ahead due to my packed schedule, but the war persists regardless! See you Monday for Premier Aggression!!
Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 