Mission 019 – Season One of the Seventh Era in Review
When this all began on Saturday, June 15th of 2024 with last year’s WOW Draft, we knew that this brand new era was going to be fantastic. In fact, the World of Wrestling Organization even dubbed it the “Prime Era” after Starrcade (and, no, that wasn’t an homage to the now-former AEW World Champion; sorry Logan). However, I think that the first season of this brand new era has done more than deliver: it’s set a new standard.
The gold standard of eras up until last June had always arguably been the Third Era; dubbed “No One’s Era” by the WOW after neither the UWA nor the UWF came out as THE dominant force thereof. That era had also spawned the brief emergence and stint of dominance (for 9 straight weeks in the first half of 2004) by Jeff Murrey’s Last Wrestling Federation. It was the last of the interconnected three foundational eras starting with the birth of Murrey’s WWF, through the revolutionary rise and dominance of Mickey’s USWA, and through to the arrival of Benny Mouse wherein he sought to fill the vacuum created by the death of both companies only to be met with the sudden (and ill-fated) alliance of Murrey and Mickey to kick off what was thought of at the time as the industry’s last hurrah.
Why do I bring up the Third Era in relation to a post summarizing the first season of this new era? It’s because the atmosphere of the industry is very similar…yet different at the same time. Like the Third Era in its prime, there are three major companies vying for ratings supremacy, with each of them feeling like they are at the top of their game. One of the key differences, though, is that Murrey and Mickey are both gone from their former leadership posts while Benny has solidified himself as a main player – and perhaps THE main player considering his effective dominance of the Sixth Era – instead of being the proverbial new kid on the block.
After the first season of the Seventh Era’s conclusion with ULW’s “Memorial Mayhem”, the ratings race for dominance is far narrower than at this point in the previous era. By June of 2020, EWA/AEW was undefeated in the era against its only competitor in PWI. Remember that such remained the case until January 8th, 2024, when WWE Raw became the first show to topple a program hosted by BWM Inc. since the HCW’s dominance of the Fourth Era. This time around, the ratings scoreboard has AEW leading with 25 ratings wins to ULW’s 12 and WWE’s 9. Yes, AEW is once again on top, but this is FAR from a done deal. It is anybody’s ballgame and there is no reason to suspect that such will change any time soon.
So, how did we get to this point where we have an open field wherein anyone can come out on top? For starters, ULW came out swinging at the outset of the season with an impressive season premiere ratings win and a string of strong finishes. To date, ULW is the only company of the era which holds a victory over AEW. I will let my counterpart dive deeper into an analysis of ULW so as not to dilute the credibility of this article with bias, but I will summarize by saying that ULW most certainly delivered in overcoming many of the ills from which PWI had suffered.
Then, you have WWE and the craziest chaos in a struggle for power that I have EVER seen. First, the season starts out with a hilarious story about then-Chairman (more on this in a few) Jeff Murrey’s paternity of the second-most famous official after only Maxx McMahon, Pete; which itself was triggered shortly after Murrey threw a weedwhacker at Pete’s head in a fury whilst he was upset about his other son moving out of his house. This evolved later on into a chaotic scandal involving Guyla Rose which quasi-inexplicably led to Murrey losing control of the company to tag team legend, Triple H.
The Game would eventually find himself in an abrupt power loss to historically-long reigning WWE champion, The Rock (2 notes: if the Rock holds this title through Tuesday, January 27th, he will end Granddaddy Duxen’s record as the longest-reigning world champion in history, and the Rock is now the ONLY remaining champion whose reign spans two different eras). The insanity of WWE always delivers, but there were some questionable things that happened in WWE that we will discuss in a moment. Still, the absolute chaos of the company has at least aided in them remaining a very strong number three company thus far.
Finally, we look at AEW, which simply carried over its winning model from the previous era. The entirety of AEW/EWA’s losses in the Sixth Era happened in 2024, and a major reason why is that AEW has mastered the art of storytelling. The extended success of the product over the course of the last almost 6 years has led to a solidification of the confidence of those behind the curtains as they craft the next steps in each stage of what they are doing. Though they are far from the undisputed number one company right now (yes, they have a significant lead, but it isn’t a lead which can’t be overcome over the course of the first few months of next season), they are still proceeding forward as if we never concluded the Sixth Era.
And why wouldn’t BWM Inc. remain confident? Yes, they are in a real ratings war for the first time in 15 or maybe even 21 years, but they have yet to be clearly deposed from the top. That time may be coming, but it isn’t clear when. Until such time comes, the attention will remain on whether or not the king can stay on his throne.
One of the reasons why we can’t just proclaim this BWM Inc.’s “Sequel” is because WWE – in part – presents a serious challenge to that superiority. This is predominantly due to their mastery of the art of comedy in sports entertainment. By emphasizing the “entertainment component”, WWE has solidified themselves not just in the “Number Three” spot, but as a highly-competitive third-ranked company.
Out of WWE’s best moments of this past season, three comedy bits stand out above the rest: Murrey’s saga with Pete, the hilarious (though brief) arrival of Vince Russo, and the continued presence of Doc Brown. Two things I want to say about these: 1. I personally think the Russo stuff topped the Murrey/Pete saga, but the length of the Pete storyline was greater and had more consequential, 2. Doc Brown truly has become the most successful manager of all time!
I won’t repeat what you’ve already heard from my counterpart, but I will state that I am confident in what we are saying about Doc Brown as of late because there isn’t a single manager in history with the track record of Mr. Brown; not Car, not Heyman, not Sparking, not Paul Bearer nor Mrs. Bearer, they all pale in comparison to Brown in every single way. Just a remarkable fact to remember when assessing whether he should be considered a legitimate force in the business. Unbelievable.
WWE’s title scene – at least at the top – remained very strong throughout Season One of this new era. Led by the Rock with the WWE Championship and until Backlash, Asuka, the champions of WWE remained on top of the world of champions. I mean that, too, as no champions elsewhere matched the level of prestige brought to championship gold that we saw with WWE. Sure, Sami Zayn was the champion and the part-owner of AEW, but both of his statuses were acquired via dubious means. In ULW, Bray Wyatt’s reign was fresh compared to the Rock’s, and ended before it could ever be exploited or truly appreciated.
Even WWE’s Women’s Champion, Asuka, stood over her counterparts in AEW and ULW. Though the WWE Tag Team Champions and the United States Champions (I had to remind myself a number of times that Finn Balor is still the U.S. Champion) in the interim were forgettable, the World Heavyweight title reigns of AJ Styles and John Cena felt or feel incredibly important, and let’s never forget the incredible Intercontinental Title reign of Chad Gable.
The matches in WWE have only improved over the course of this season as well. The presentation used to be overly reliant on major twists and comical spots, but now the moments throughout the match are as equal savored as the bookends. At the beginning of this era, another analyst and I were discussing the possibilities of this era, and it was agreed upon by both of us at the time that WWE mastering the storytelling in and out of the ring to complement its comedy would mean a great deal of trouble for AEW and ULW, and these improvements as of late have only vindicated our opinions since.
At Backlash last month, the season finale of WWE, we saw one of the company’s best shows to date. Though the United States title match was postponed (until Starrcade) due to a mysterious backstage attack, the Street Profits helped provide a much-needed boost to the tag division, Cena toppled the legendary Undertaker to retain his World Heavyweight Title, Chad Gable retained his Intercontinental Championship after some hilarious shenanigans in the first ever piñata match! Also, the two biggest moments of the night came with Asuka’s iconic Women’s Title reign concluding at the hands of Naomi and the Rock retaining his WWE Title – despite the attempted interference by Murrey -, solidifying his control over the company in the process.
With AEW, the company has managed to maintain its lead in the ratings race by exploiting top talents such as MJF, Logan Paul, and even Brock Lesnar. They’ve also captivated us with the entertaining-as-hell story of Benny Mouse’s journey to and from the retirement home. I will circle back around to THE story that we have all been watching in AEW, but I also want to acknowledge the dominant tag title reign enjoyed by Slammer and Rip as they dismantled Cobra Kai to capture the gold. What a hell of a rub to be the guys (Austin and Colton) to dethrone those monsters!
Another undeniable set of highlights for AEW involved the hilarious adventures of High-Minded (as centered on the marriage of Lady Love and Midget Hogan) as well as the thoroughly-awesome Knockouts Division. While I would love to spend a lot of time on High-Minded (as well as the new component added in recent installments via the arrival of Young Crock), I will just summarize by saying that the company out-did themselves with the comedy here, leaving me and the rest of the audience in stitches as we added to our barf bags! The only true rival with the comedy came with Mr. Perfect’s obsession of getting his neck snapped and the brief comedy skits we enjoyed with R-Truth waltzing into AEW thinking he was still in WWE!
Back to the Knockouts, though, as we assess some of the greatest tales told in and out of the ring. From the fun introduction of the new Knockouts Hardcore Title to the rise of Liv Morgan and Toni Storm, we can’t ignore what the women of AEW delivered on this past season. The moment I saw Toni’s transformation into this new starlet version of herself, I knew that the clock was ticking fast towards her coronation. Who better to end the iconic career (and in bloody fashion) than Toni?! What a career insurgency (and yes, I meant to use that word)!
While Toni’s star rose quickly, before she toppled Liv Morgan for the gold at Exodus, we saw Liv’s own rise to prominence. Granted, she was poised to enjoy a major push anyway had she not been sent to AEW, she still had a lot of memorable moments along the way, including her own significant milestone victory over Athena Star, ending Star’s last title reign. Before it got to the point, though, Liv was wrapped up in a semi-love triangle story with Sami and Megan as she attempted to seduce Sami to get her way. Now, perhaps due to guilt by association, Liv finds herself as the first target of House of Black member Julia Hart; a woman whose sole mission is to help Aleister Black dismantle the Mouse Empire. Definitely stay tuned to whatever is cooking here!
Before I get to THE story of AEW, let’s take a few to appreciate the impressive undercard of AEW’s first season of this new era. We began with Lesnar and Roman seeking mutual destruction en route to a world title shot, only for Paul to abandon Roman and then Lesnar as well for his new project: the “Forgotten” Brandon Lee, who happens to be your NEW AEW Champion! Lee doesn’t get to that accolade, however, without the distraction of MJF with Logan Paul – who betrayed him to gain the AEW title for himself – or of the implosion of Adam Page as he descended into madness (as exuded by how he heartlessly dispensed with AJ Styles at Exodus). From start to finish, AEW’s broadcasts have kept us tuned in and interested throughout.
That pursuit of our attention, though, begins and ends with the excellent story of the year: the (sort of) resurrection of Benny Mouse! The ratings always tell a common story: the fans love the saga of the Mouse family, and they have ever since we wrestling fans were introduced to them in the late-1990s. The fact that BWM Inc. brought in Executioner to add a layer of pure unexpected awesomeness to this tale only made it that much sweeter. From Executioner visiting Mickey’s gravesite (which may or may not have still been stinking of Murrey’s piss from him…watering the site prior) to the involvement of Danhausen and the curse, this was some of the company’s best work, ever!
I don’t know what the Draft, Starrcade, or Season Two of the Seventh Era holds for AEW – or WWE, for that matter -, but I do know that this opening salvo tells us that this era, which is still in its infancy, could prove to be the best yet! Now, let’s offer some predictions for the draft to come!
I have been instructed by the powers that be here in Cash Mouse Entertainment to not mention any superstars of interest so as not to accidentally hand the competition any ideas, but I can attempt to offer a prediction of at least the strategies that we will see play out amongst them.
Before I got a chance to sit down and finish typing this analysis, I overheard some chatter that AEW has yet to actually craft a strategy, which would be a first, as BWM Inc. has always notoriously had one going in to each draft since the first WOW Draft in 2008. I will just blurt out what I am thinking here: there’s no chance in hell that this is fully true. Sure, they may not have their full target list finalized, but the fact of the matter is that they at least have an idea for the types of superstars that they will target.
I am not going to sit here and do what I did last year by attempting to shock you with a claim that AEW values any part of the roster less than the others (I know, I was wrong about how they would prioritize the women), but I am going to say that there is a reason that they have exposed so many high profile stars this time around. They are willing to part with certain talent because it is obvious bait for them to swoop in and prevent a save for the opposition elsewhere. Yes, this is ALWAYS the case in one way or another. It just feels more meticulous this time around. If that makes sense.
As for WWE, we have new leadership all around since we were last here, and I have been told that the Rock has instructed his team to be more organized in their tactics than in the previous two experiences with Murrey at the helm. Word through the grapevine is that WWE is eyeing a great deal of ULW talent. So, maybe the WWE strategy is to pick apart ULW’s roster, but all the competition need to be aware of the fact that ULW has backup plans for days.
The direct quote I have heard from the Lenny administration is that “we are not wedded to anyone who wasn’t exempted”. This means that while ULW doesn’t want to lose certain talent, it won’t be crippling if they do. There’s another interesting factoid that I overheard, by the way, and it’s that AEW is apparently desperate to secure a trade with ULW for one of the exempted talents, but they won’t say who it is until after the Draft. That will be something to keep your eyes on as the 2025 WOW Week begins.
Overall, I have to say that the First Season of this “Prime Era” has been incredibly successful. With 62% of the non-WOW events featuring a ratings battle, this new era is already off to a better start than the Sixth Era. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next!
Stay tuned as I present my predictions for Starrcade alongside a review of the 2025 Draft in the aftermath of the latter!
Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 