Mission 012: AEW continues to Rule

Mission 012 –AEW’s Unquestioned Rule Remains

With WWE taking the week off as Murrey goes to console a certain unhinged presidential candidate, AEW remained as the lone competition for ULW.

This didn’t have any ratings impact on AEW whatsoever, except that it helped make the company’s dominance for the week a little easier. It is still far too early to declare the Seventh Era as belonging to AEW, but in the early goings they remain the number one brand in the business. Let’s delve into why that was the case last week!

The first thing AEW opens with on Dynamite is the sight of Sami Zayn’s apparent decline in sanity continuing whilst he watches Benny’s tape scheduling the 3-ring battle royale. Sami tells Robman that he is looking for clues that Benny is getting help and Rob wonders where Megan is (we learn about THAT later on).

Just as Megan is mentioned, the evil temptress – Liv Morgan – joins the fun and makes out with Sami to thank him for the Knockout opportunity. Sami looks like Marty McFly when his mother kisses him in 1955 and we are all left thinking that Sami’s in deep shit.

Which…he is.

This cold open was fantastic and set the tone in establishing that this was going to be yet another amazing episode from the company. Sami’s descent into madness – blaming Benny’s return on Danhausen and saying that the crazy wrestler is the one helping Benny – combined with Liv serving as the attempted home-wrecker is all setting the stage for the war to come between Sami and Benny; with a little marital problem on the side. Good shit.

In the opening bout, Will Ospreay and Roderick Strong tear the house down in what was perhaps the match of the night. Strong came out of this bout looking more serious than he ever has as a singles competitor and Will got to get another great win under his belt!

Hulk Hogan is in pain and Midget Hogan attempts to rally the troops in preparation for the Sympathy wedding with Lady Love. Meanwhile, Riddle becomes the focal point of teasing from the group when his superhero outfit…wait, no, that’s giant underwear…is exposed from his bag. This hints that a large woman is the mystery significant other for our typically-laid back friend as he gets irritated with the jokes and leaves to vent his frustrations. A lot of fun, as usual, and now I am intrigued. I’m tempted to think that the mystery lady is Nia Jax, but something tells me that it is someone else entirely.

What happens next is perhaps the most rapey segment in the history of the business, at least since Silverdust used to try and molest everyone in the ring. I have heard that the recovering Jon Moxley was fuming when watching this as his wife was subjected to unwanted advances throughout the attempted interview. Kudos to Renee Young for powering it through, though.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I like what AEW is trying to do here. Before you misunderstand me, I am not condoning sexual harassment, but this wasn’t about sex. This was about power. A-Town Down-Under is asserting themselves as the leaders of the locker room by force, and they want EVERYONE in the back to know it. Unfortunately, in real life, this kind of thing that they were hinting at actually happens in real life when you get someone in power who shouldn’t be anywhere near it.

As uncomfortable as this segment was to watch, the story-telling was top-notch. Enough said.

An impactful tag team match which displayed the skills of both the Street Sharks and the Samoan Connection came next, and I loved every second of it. The Street Sharks got an incredible win, and we also got some veiled story-telling about the disintegrating Bloodline. Good shit.

A fun vignette for Hook’s Friday encounter with Kaiser comes up, and I am impressed with the quality thereof. They instantly make me a believer in his seriousness regarding getting vengeance for his father, and I leave this looking forward to Chaos!

To end Dynamite, we are treated to an explosive main event between Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson which ends in a no contest due to the interference by an inebriated Adam Page. I threw my remote at the TV out of rage and shut my computer off, but it was great overall.

On to Chaos, and we see Megan Mouse come out to not-so happy reactions from the crowd. Still, she trucks along and responds to the fact that her husband didn’t fight back when Liv kissed him. While promising revenge for Liv’s actions, Megan seeks to effectively punish her wayward husband by making him finish this rivalry with Danhausen once and for all at Sympathy for the Devil! Loved seeing this side of Megan, and hearing the crown kind of swing back behind her was strangely cathartic.

The first of two excellent vignettes for the night airs, with this one previewing the upcoming historic wedding between Midget Hogan and Lady Love. Made me feel special by telling me that I was invited! As chaotic as wrestling weddings tend to be, I am very much looking forward to this one!!

We have a fantastic match between Hook and Kaiser, but the match is cut way too short by a worried Gunther, who interferes on his servant’s behalf. Seeing the vulnerable side of the Television Champion is great, and I loved the touch of bring Taz back into the fold to balance the playing field!

Following that was the best damn vignette I have seen since Lexis King was being introduced to WWE. Over the decades, many of us wrestling analysts have had a soft spot in our hearts for former world champion and legendary tag wrestler, Brandon Lee. Always overshadowed by his brother Sean Olson since their initial breakup in 2003, Lee has had a stellar career, but it has been far from iconic. Olson received all of the love, especially after his incredible rejuvenating stints in LWF (2004) and EWA (2008-2009), but something changed a couple of years ago.

You see, Olson suffered a career-altering injury at the hands of the Big Show in an Epic Royale appearance. He SERIOUSLY shattered his leg and damn near saw his time in the ring come to an end. Tragically, he has never fully recovered from that moment. At the same time, Lee experienced a bit of a resurgence after winning the Premier Tournament and using that win to catapult himself into an industry-altering world title run which triggered the rebirth of HCW and then the war which ended HCW, PWI, and the lives of two Mouse brothers.

Hell, you can possibly link the end of the Sixth Era as a whole back to Lee’s career resurgence, and now we are seeing a new rebirth. In this awesome vignette, we saw Brandon cast himself as the “Forgotten” one, and I can’t convey in enough words how excited this made me. There’s a lot to look forward to here!

Finally, in the final match for AEW last week, we saw an impressive showing from Paige as she gave the Knockout’s Champion – Athena Star – a good run for her money. Ultimately, I never doubted what the outcome would be, but I did love that Paige promised after the match that they will meet again…with a different outcome.

A great week for AEW which displayed the dominance of the brand. In order for ULW to bounce back this week, we are going to need a slate of truly special shows; especially since WWE is looking at coming back tonight.

Kicking things off for the week for ULW will be a showdown between Bam Bam Bigelow and Homicide. Bigelow returned to television last week looking scarier than ever, and the former world champion is determined to make the smaller Homicide pay for putting him on the shelf. The winner of this bout will earn a shot at Seth Rollins and the Extreme Title, so this will be a showdown with more stakes than simple payback!

Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade came up in the Indies together, and tonight they square off to settle the score as to who is better between them. Cora really put Jade Cargill to the test last week, but Cargill left her mark on the challenger…just before seeing the return of Charlotte Flair to challenge her. So, is Cora up to this against a hungry and fresh Roxy? We’ll find out tonight!

Little Man & Big Man are riding high and are excited for the world to see their new love interest. They are so ecstatic that they extended a challenge to the Legion of Doom for tonight’s Aggression. With Dutt watching on with a similar glimmer in his eyes and Crock witnessing this with confusion, is there anything or anyone who can bring this trio back to Earth?

In tonight’s Main Event, Bron Breakker’s violent streak against wrestling legends has run afoul of the so-called “Icon” Sting. Sting and Bron will go toe to toe in this impending war. Can Bron expect to continue rag-dolling these role models of the business, or does the momentum stop here?

For Animosity, the Premier League presents an opening bout pitting Chris Jericho against the newcomer, Ethan Page. Sharing in their collective bitterness over losing to Ted Dibiase Jr. a couple of weeks ago, the two of them are going to hash out their differences tomorrow night and see who deserves to continue marching forward.

Then, AJ Lee looks to continue her reign, but she has to survive a challenge for the International Title from two young ladies whom we have yet to see on TV this era: Carmella and Chelsea Green.

Becky Lynch and Allie battle it out to kick off Friday, with the Bunny having her first match since the Nikki Cross-induced makeover a few weeks ago. Allie has her skeptics, and always has. This is her opportunity to prove that she can handle this new spotlight!

Finally, finishing off the week for ULW is a match for the Premier Championship as LA Knight defends against Powerhouse Hobbs to complete a week for opportunities across both Leagues.

This week promises to be fun, once again, and I can’t wait to embark on it with you all!!

Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!