Mission 017 – All Companies Fire At Will!!
Hours away from the next ULW special event (which we will address later), and here I am with what is guaranteed to at least be my second to last review of the season. Word on the street is that my BWM Inc. counterpart plans on doing a season review after Dynamite this week, and I absolutely plan to do the same.
For now, though, I wanted to talk about the highlights of the past couple of weeks in the World of Wrestling, and boy was it a doozy!
The first thing that I want to comment on was the build to what was likely Athena Star’s last match. The feud between her and Toni Storm was fantastic as it helped reinvent Toni and strap a rocket to her back. It also – if this was the end for her – made for an incredible send-off for the legendary Athena. One of the bloodiest affairs I have ever seen in my life (I honestly had to look away for a minute when they incorporated the glass at Genesis). In the end, it was a masterfully-done feud, and now I can’t wait to see what’s next for Toni!
Staying with the Knockouts for a second, Sasha Banks picked up an impressive win over Bianca Belair for the chance to challenge Liv at Genesis, and while Liv ultimately retained the gold, she was left beaten down by the debuting Julia Hart. I don’t know what the future holds for Sasha – who kicked off the era with a celebrated victory over her greatest rival, Alexa Bliss at last year’s Starrcade -, but I do know that this Knockout’s Division is heating up with more incredible talent. Can they keep this momentum going into AEW’s fourth season?
Before Cody experienced an earlier-than-expected elimination in the Massacre 6 Match at Genesis, he also suffered a loss to Sammy Guevara on Dynamite on the 14th. The match was definitely entertaining, but I was left wondering what both losses mean for Cody. Look, we all KNOW he is never going to be off of the exemptions list, but I would think that he has to be bound for a redemption story soon. And what a way for Sammy to end the season for himself!
He started off the era by being among ULW’s first draft picks, only to be part of a high-stakes trade later on which sent him back to AEW. Are we finally starting to see what AEW has planned for the man? Yes, Sammy was eliminated early in Massacre 6, but his victory over Cody here tells me that his path may be brighter than his comrades in the short term.
On the April 18th installment of Chaos, we saw Swerve Strickland come out to address the interference a few weeks prior by Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin called out the former TV champ for supposedly being a fraud, and as Swerve was getting ready to get some vengeance, Shelton’s Hurt Business buddy – the former WWE Intercontinental Champion, Bobby Lashley – joined the fray on Shelton’s behalf! A great moment for the infrequent broadcast that reminds me of why I miss Friday night wrestling being more prevalent! Do I think that Swerve eventually comes out on top here? Well, it depends on the draft, honestly. But, if everything stays intact, I see Lashley and Benjamin dominating the ranks for a while, and Swerve finally getting some traction again by the end of next season.
The best part of Chaos, though, was the vignette featuring the disgruntled trio of Jay White and the Gunn Club. You could hear the genuine resentment in White’s voice and see it in Austin and Colton Gunn’s faces. These men feel slighted by the mismanagement by what some in ULW have internally started calling “Always Erratic Wrestling”. As White pointed out, he was one of ULW’s earliest picks in the draft last year, and then AEW begged for him back…only to not use him until now. This push has paid off so far, though, with a stunning Tag Title victory (which I called, by the way) for the Gunns at Genesis over the Street Sharks. I know the fate of the Gunns at this late stage, as they are unlikely to lose the titles with only a show or two left for the season. But, Mr. White, I have no idea. There are only 20 superstar exemption slots to fill, and those spots are largely spoken for. Hmmm.
The last thing I will say about Chaos, though, was that we finally got to see Brock Anderson in action in AEW. If I am not mistaken, I am pretty sure that this was his first match since his classic with Jesse Ventura last year. I hope Brock doesn’t become a wasted talent, in the grand scheme of things. He’s got a lot of potential!
Back to the Massacre Six Match at Genesis. The shocking debut of Dragon Lee as he attacked Will Ospreay made the match a “Massacre 5 Match”, and I am left excited for what comes next in THAT story. Then, we get on to the match itself, and I will admit that I am one of a long line of commentators extending back to Mmouse Enterprises who has always loved the chaos of these matches. Each competitor showed up in amazing fashion, but the end of the match was one of my favorite twists to date. After Paul Heyman turned on Brock Lesnar and aided in his elimination, he joined forces with the resurgent Brandon Lee. Lee eliminated himself and MJF at the end with a jaw-dropping Spin to the End through the announce table, and while MJF is presently the bigger name, Lee is the faster-rising star, no doubt!
It’s crazy to believe that Lee debuted almost 30 years ago in John Brown’s WWWF, and he is not only not fading away, but rather he is experiencing a rare career rejuvenation which may even catapult past his traditionally more popular brother Sean Olson! If you want my unfiltered thoughts here, I think the betting odds for Lee to win the gold at the season’s close just shot up from 0% to 50%!
On to the AEW Championship match: Adam Page was never destined to win the World Title…this time. Instead, he was destined to make a solid case for why he will be THE guy at some point in the very near future. I know some in the audience feel like violently vomiting at the mere thought of Logan Paul winning the gold and then retaining over a hard worker like Page, but the fact is that Logan is a highly charismatic character who is perfect to put over the next top babyface; be it Page, Cody, or Omega. Yes, I said it. One of those three guys are meant to be the one to dethrone Logan…unless the company pulls a swerve on us and crowns Brandon Lee, which is nowhere near as unlikely as it was a month ago. The build for this match – from the vignettes and contract signing, up through the bout itself – was perfect, and it only helps solidify Paul’s status as AEW’s current standard-bearer until someone else can prove themselves worthy of the distinction.
Lastly, with AEW, we look at the Danhausen/Executioner saga. The mystery has kept us on the edge of our seats throughout the period between Elite Warfare and now, and it culminated with a reveal that Aleister Black is aligned with Danhausen against Sami Zayn, Megan Mouse, and now Executioner. This is presently my favorite part of AEW programming (as is everything involving the Mouse family, honestly), and the cliffhanger of the trap sprung for Executioner as he released Sami from Danhausen’s grip leaves me with great anticipation for what Sami will do now that he is free!
Now, we move on to WWE from the week of Wrestle Empire, up through the present day. After getting us hyped with an exciting press conference, Night One of Wrestle Empire came firing off cylinders! The extravaganza kicked off with the payoff for one of WWE’s best stories up to date: Kofi versus Big E! Kofi may have been the best choice to win here, but I am worried that Big E will have no clear path to come back from this downfall. It is going to be fun, though, to see Kofi’s momentum emerging from this program, though. Can’t wait!
The Tag Team Title match was next, and I think that the company was kind of trapped here, as they almost had to put the belts on the new tag team, the New Catch Republic, over the champions, DIY, and the former champions, the War Raiders. Don’t get me wrong, it was a really fun match, and I was happy with the result, but it is a bind that promotions often put themselves in (see the Gunn Club and even the Rascalz to an extent). You can’t promote a new exciting tag team like this without risking deflating their momentum if they fail when the big moment arrives. Anyways, the team is a great fit for the division (even as they seemingly turned heel on Friday), and will help it continue to thrive!
A key fan favorite developing story in WWE is this saga featuring Chad Gable, Doc Brown, and their Lucha Time-Traveling exploits. At Wrestle Empire, Gable retained with the help of Brown, and the craziness only continued on the April 28th Raw and the May 2nd Smackdown. These two are honestly unstoppable (both in the mat skills and in the comic relief), and I absolutely don’t see them slowing down anytime soon!
John Cena going full heel and taking down AJ Styles to become the new World Champion in the closing moments of Night One stole the show for me. Afterwards, on Smackdown, Cena – after being introduced in dark fashion with the help of some druids – promised to continue doing “God’s work” (he sees himself as the “Franchise God”) while celebrating what he dubbed as AJ’s funeral. He went on in the main event to “bury” Kofi (which I still don’t see as the end for Kofi after his big win over Big E) and then said he would “bury someone even bigger”. Triple H hinted at a mystery opponent for Cena at Backlash, but we will have to wait until then to see what they have in mind.
On to Night Two, and this blockbuster evening was a game-changer, a bona fide game-changer.
Finn Balor kicked off the show by retaining his U.S. Title over Flex Fuller in a great opening bout (don’t worry, Flex, your day is coming, pal!), and then Asuka continued her historic reign by defeating three other women! I think she is going to retire with the gold at this rate. Seriously!
However, the biggest moment came with Night Two’s main event, as the Rock – with the help of Jeff Murrey – retained his World Title and solidified control over the company! Now, here’s some breaking news for you all, because the ratings will officially come out tonight, but Wrestle Empire Night Two made history as THE highest rated program of all time, with a rate reportedly exceeding 7.46 (which has never happened before)!
On the April 28th installment of Raw, the Rock called Murrey out to the ring and fired him for his efforts (a loud cacophony of laughter could be heard the world around), and then he declared that he will give Roman one rematch (for which Roman promises no “backups” or “surprises”) at Backlash. With the stakes being a little lower this time around, I feel like the time is soon coming for the Rock to drop the belt to Roman, but I could be completely wrong.
Fun fact: if the Rock retains and then defends the gold at Starrcade, he will be the first superstar in history to defend the same title reign at consecutive WOW special events! Backlash’s card has been revealed, but I or Thomas will offer our predictions for that show later this week!
Now, let’s look at tonight’s special episode of Aggression, entitled “Cinco De Massacre”!
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP: Alexa Bliss © v. AJ Lee
After AJ won the 2025 Death From Above Match back at Easter Evil, she has earned this opportunity for a shot at the Women’s gold tonight. She is coming with some momentum after her team defeated Alexa’s team last week on Aggression and now she directly battles the four-time Women’s Champion, Alexa Bliss, who has been frustrated with at least one member of her cult (Akosha) as of late. There’s no telling what to expect here, except that this match will be a great way to kick off the show!
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: The Rascalz © v. The Young Bucks
The champions shocked the world back at the inaugural edition of Awesome Aggression when they toppled the Dark Order for the gold, and now they defend against an equally talented former championship duo in Nick and Matt Jackson! The Young Bucks earned this shot winning a Tag Team Royale this past Friday, and now they are promising to end the first season of ULW the way they began: as champions!
Brodie Lee v. Damian Priest
As a former member of the Dark Order (which he joined after betraying the trust of Bray Wyatt), Priest has come into the crosshairs of Lee, who is hellbent on making an example out of the former WWE Champion, Priest. Lee blames Priest for his multiple failures at getting his hands on the Undisputed Championship, and tonight will be his opportunity to right that perceived wrong en route to another crack at the gold. For Priest, this is a chance to rise out of Lee’s shadow and reestablish himself as a main event player!
Matt Cardona v. Sunfire
For one night only, the iconic Sunfire comes out of retirement after playing a part in concealing Dragonfly’s identity from Matt Cardona. Cardona has insisted on this match after Dragonfly and Sunfire collectively embarrassed him over the past few weeks (well, Dragonfly has been embarrassing Cardona since costing him the Undisputed Title against CM Punk a couple months ago). With Dragonfly’s blessing (the person who ended Sunfire’s career), Sunfire is coming out of retirement as sort of a trial run for Cardona’s upcoming match against the returning Dragonfly at Memorial Mayhem. Cardona promises to show a preview of what Dragonfly can expect on May 26th, while Dragonfly remains silent on his thoughts about tonight’s encounter.
MAIN EVENT – FATAL FIVE WAY – UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP: Kevin Owens (Premier Champion) v. Chris Jericho v. Bron Breakker v. Ted Dibiase Jr. v. Slammu
In the wake of Ladies Man’s brutal season-ending injury at the hands of Kevin Owens, and the chaos which as since ensued each time the resulting vacancy of the title has attempted to be resolved, Executive Vice Commissioner Keibler has ordered this match to take place, declaring that ULW “must have a champion”, and tonight is a night that she promises that such will happen! All 5 of these participants are hungry, with a few never having been world champion before. I don’t know about you, but I am beyond excited for this one!
Happy Cinco De Mayo, everyone, and let’s get ready for a great time in professional wrestling as the first season of the Seventh Era starts to come to an end!
Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 