Mission 015 – Full Steam Ahead!!
Another fantastic week of professional wrestling and the race for the top spot is far from settled! Yes, AEW presently sits atop the industry – continuing BWM Inc.’s momentum from dominating the Sixth Era -, but WWE is beginning to build up its own momentum, even as ULW clings to the second rank spot.
Still, the race moves forward (I am told that official updates to the status of the race will be forthcoming tonight) and we have to look at what happened in this past week of action!
For starters, both AEW and WWE have given us some major details about an interpromotional partnership, the likes of which have never been seen before. Sure, we had interpromotional partnerships in the past, but those were usually crafted by a smaller company serving as the de facto developmental brand of the superior brand (think USWA and WWWF/HCW, UWA and HCW, UWF and NWA, and so on). What makes this partnership unprecedented is the fact that both promotions involved are equal in prestige as well as direct competitors (unlike the partnership between Murrey Entertainment and Mmouse Enterprises which founded the UWA at the outset of the Third Era, wherein the partnership created a unified first-of-its-kind company with two brands under the same umbrella).
While Triple H was announcing the details of the partnership – building on what Splinter revealed the week before on Dynamite -, WWE’s R-Truth hilariously stumbling onto AEW television absolutely stole the show. But, back to what Hunter said, the announcement of an Interpromotional Championship piqued the interest of enough fans to help boost WWE’s Raw to second place over Aggression for only the second time. I will also add that I personally loved the homage that Triple H paid to eras past, and his ongoing rivalry with ULW is truly entertaining, even if the boys and girls in Cash Mouse Entertainment’s administration don’t find it so amusing.
Quite the way to kick off the shows, fellas!
AJ Styles and Erik gave us a hellacious bout to start Raw, and while the outcome was never seriously in doubt, it undoubtedly showcased the raw talent of Erik in ways that tag action seldom can. This was more of a “win” for Erik than it was for Styles, but it served its purpose in helping Styles prepare for his Wrestle Empire showdown with Cena.
On the other hand, Cena’s victory over Ivar may have helped showcase Ivar a bit, but this match was all about building Cena up as a legitimate contender to depose Styles; which I increasingly think will happen come Easter weekend. John has really come into his own for the first time in over two decades, and it couldn’t be coming at a better time with the industry as hot as it is right now!
Following Cena’s victory over Ivar, we head to a hotel room where hilarity ensues! While the whole thing with ICE deporting migrants in the dead of night is nothing to laugh at, the scene of the Intercontinental Champion, Chad Gable, who has been donning a luchadore outfit for a few weeks now in preparation for his match defending the title against Rey Mysterio, being kidnapped by ICE as a suspected undocumented immigrant while Doc Brown concludes that he is the new Intercontinental Champion by default as a result of finding the title left behind had me in stitches!
Stuff like this is why many of us analysts were discussing back in the summer the real threat posed by WWE in this era as long as they stay on their A-game. If they keep on the gas like this for long, then this era could truly become the “Triple H Era”!
Now, we move on to the company who presently leads the race: BWM Inc. We already covered the opening segment and its hilarious introduction to the partnership, but now we look at came next.
What was next, though, was equally funny as the Love birds argued their way into an awkward “baby shower” in celebration of Lady Love’s 21 year old son. Midget Hogan seemed to be the only reasonable one here as everyone was enamored by the idea of welcoming the “child” into the group. The big reveal of the son comes tonight, and I am prepping myself for all kinds of crazy ass shenanigans! By the way, I have a sneaking suspicion that Kevin Nash is a co-parent or something. Hmm.
The first match of the night is quite the banger, too, as the “Forgotten” Brandon Lee catapults himself into the world title picture by defeating the rising star Kenny Omega to qualify for the Massacre Six Match. This caught me by surprise, and in the best way possible. I was afraid for a while that Lee would truly be “forgotten” after his career resurgence in the late-6th Era, wherein he served his pivotal role in resurrecting the HCW Title (which would later be unified with the PWI Title to bring the Undisputed Title back from the dead). I am curious as to how far Lee goes, but I am under no illusion that he ends this season with a world title. It will still be fun, regardless.
As for Omega, Kenny will be absolutely fine! Let’s face it, most of Lee’s career is behind him, while Omega remains a key component of the industry’s future. Mark my words, the man will be a world champion at least twice by the end of this era!
The vignette with Adam Page on a gloomy-looking ranch was pretty great, and it helped highlight how serious Hangman takes this moment. He conveyed that, like Lee, he feels kind of forgotten. He pointed out his time in the Ascendant Class and referenced being overlooked for Adam Cole and MJF, but I will say two things here:
- Adam hasn’t had a match in quite some time, as vignettes and promos via satellite – save for one skirmish outside the ring with Logan Paul – has been the only means by which he has been seen. Even so, the company has still done a decent job of keeping him in the spotlight.
- I happen to know that Adam was very much being groomed to be a world champion in PWI, and was likely going to win the Premier Athlete Tournament Roulette (the one where he lost to Karrion Kross in the finale), but AEW begged PWI to let him go as part of a trade offer that PWI couldn’t resist at the time. So, since he was very likely going to be a world champion by the end of that following season in PWI, but got sent to AEW instead, whose fault is it that he was “overlooked”?
Anyways, I am stoked for Page’s challenge for the AEW Title, even if I am very hesitant to say that the company will depose Logan Paul on his first major title defense. Time will tell, though.
The main event’s Ladder War (always a great way to get a ratings boost, if I may) to determine who will get a shot at the tag gold was exciting (again, as expected), and the debut victory for the Gunn Club was appropriate, in my opinion. Kudos to the efforts of Cobra Kai, the Acclaimed, and A-Town Down Under, though. This is far from the end for any of these teams, but the rest of this season is undeniably going to be geared towards gearing each of them up for the coming draft.
Regarding whether or not the Gunn Club wins it all when they get their shot? I say the answer should be “yes”, but it’s not like this will be a total waste of time if they don’t win it all. After all, if they at least give the champs a good run for their money they could appear to be “the next big thing”, but it will all be in the eyes of the beholders.
Finally, in a nice cap for the show, we see footage of Executioner tearing into Danhausen for not bringing him to Benny Mouse. Danhausen speaks in riddles and frustrates Mickey’s old Enforcer to the point where he departs.
In the midst of his riddles, though, Danhausen hints that something has transformed Benny to the point of not being recognized. Perhaps he has passed on and joined his brothers in the great beyond, perhaps ManBearPig got a hold of him and tore him to shreds, perhaps he is now Jennifer after having a transition, or perhaps he is just a shell of the Mouse he once was, left to wallow and plot in the dark as his enemies seek him out.
Either way, we are bound to discover the truth soon, and I can’t wait!
Onwards to ULW, here is what is on tap for tonight’s broadcast of ULW Aggression:
In the opening contest, there’s a fatal four way contest to determine who will qualify next for the coming Death From Above Match next Monday. In that match, Jade Cargill, Akosha, the Bunny, and Nikki Cross all square off for the opportunity. Of course, you probably notice right away that Jade is outnumbered by Alexa’s cult members. Seeing this card – and in wanting some revenge for what happened last week at Lucky Break -, Jade Cargill also issued a challenge to Living Dead Girl for this Friday’s Intensity, so Jade has quite the journey to get to Easter Evil and back to Alexa Bliss once again!
Next, The Crock has demanded a match with Bron Breakker – a man who no doubt is still feeling the sting of effectively crowning the Ladies Man last week – for the assault on Crock’s bride-to-be a couple weeks ago. Bron has happily accepted, and now we have this showdown to look forward to!
Finally, in the Main Event, the Ladies Man defends the Undisputed Championship in a Triple Threat Match! His opponents? Randy Orton and the man who feels like an imposter: Connor McGregor! Remember, that this is only a triple threat because Connor annoyed his way into a battle with Orton, only to shock the world by putting up enough of a fight that he ended up having a draw with the Viper!
Will have yet another week with a stunning result, or will some semblance of normalcy make a comeback?! Tune in, tonight!!
Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 