Mission 027 – The Mission? Figuring out if this really is “The Prime Era”
On the eve of yet another fantastic week in waiting, and we are starting to see a picture coming together depicting a preview of how this era will be remembered.
As it stands right now in the overall ratings war tally for the second season of this Seventh Era, ULW holds a two-victory leads over WWE and three victory lead over AEW. If you focus specifically just on the head-to-head, ULW is 3-2 against AEW and 6-4 against WWE (when you count placing 2nd in a three-way race as a win over the 3rd rank, otherwise the tally would be 5-3 in ULW’s favor over WWE). As far as WWE vs. AEW, unfortunately, one of the reasons that WWE is still the third-ranked company is that they have yet to defeat AEW in this era, with AEW placing above WWE 5 total times so far this season, out of 5 attempts.
Even so, I don’t want WWE management nor the WWE faithful to fret, because there is plenty to praise about the promotion, and a lot of signs that they are cooking up a dominant run of their own. It’s a matter of when, not if, and you’ll see why as I break down the top ten stories of this past week in wrestling!
TEN: Doc’s Dexter Moment
Raw this past week started off with one of the funniest bits in a long time as Doc Brown – the increasingly insane Christopher Lloyd, that is – did his best Dexter cosplay with the voiceover and all as he stalked Mystico, accidentally drugged HBP, and contemplated his vengeance for what happened to Chad Gable.
This was the best part of the show, and that isn’t to say that the rest was all downhill from here, but it’s very hard to follow an act like this. Murrey unleashed Brown onto the world a couple years ago, and now we are all paying the price for it…hilariously.
Still, the end of the…vignette?…came with a hint that there is more to come, and I can only hope so! Give me more!!
NINE: Briscoe Brothers are coming for the gold
While Raw was breaking my ribs with laughter, the Briscoe Brothers again had me on the edge of my seat as they virtually interrupted the Attraction’s celebration from a successful title defense. I can’t help but feel the urge to cheer for “Dem Boyz” as they promise to wreak havoc like nothing we have ever seen before!
I’m serious, Mark and Jay have the makings of a generational tag team (and I know that I am likely to catch flak for this from FTR, just as I have for my criticisms about Arn Anderson), and I am not sure that this nostalgia run by Teo and Attitude is long for this world when they finally encounter these guys. They are a runaway train and I am licking my chops in anticipation!
EIGHT: Owen’s What???
Shifting over to Smackdown and we see that one of the key reasons why WWE bested ULW on this night was the absolutely hilarious contract signing between Bret Hart and Goldberg…for the Owen Hart Memorial Championship.
WTF??? I know that the ULW roster who happened to be watching Smackdown lost their minds and started sharing memes which immediately emerged via the undefeated internet about Owen being the fifth Callaway and whatnot. Owen wasn’t too pleased about it and stormed right out of catering threatening a lawsuit and everything.
Regardless, the fact that Bret wound up AGREEING to challenge for this title made it so much funnier and an instant hit with the crowd on site and across the nation! This one is going to be fun…on all sides!
SEVEN: The Rhea/Dom/Buddy Triangle
Throughout the week, just as was the case for the past several weeks, we’ve seen the unfolding love triangle between Rhea Ripley, her ring-boo, and her actual husband. After Murphy and Dom got into yet again, Rhea swore that she would ride off with the winner between them.
If you ask me, that should be an IMMEDIATE red flag for Buddy. I mean, come on, man! Your wife is literally putting your marriage on the line in a match between you and the guy who is obsessed with her! At some point this has to result in Buddy throwing his hands in the air and filing some important paperwork.
Unless, the juice really is worth the squeeze…
SIX: Trick Willy knocks everyone silly!
Following week after week of these damn vignettes, Trick’s teasers suddenly stopped and the NXT Champion, Karrion Kross, decided to move on. He even started to focus on his latest target in Ethan Page and was ready for a banger of a match…until Trick Williams arrived and tore the house down after forcing a No Contest!
Up until that moment, the match was pretty damn good, but Trick made an impact that no one will soon forget, and that doubles for the reigning NXT champion. Now, we are likely to see a triple threat match come out of this mayhem, and I am all for it. However, there is a slight dilemma: if the title match serves as Trick’s debut, he HAS to win it! If he debuts in a separate match, then he is fine to lose the title shot (on his first try), but you will do irreparable harm to his push if he jumps in just to get thrown right back down!
This is particularly the case when you see how he arrived! He sent a message that no one can ignore. Now, since Ethan Page has been on a roll lately, he can afford another loss or two before rebounding for his own push, and I would honestly recommend that Ethan be the one to take the L from Trick in Mr. Williams’s debut match. Just a thought.
Either way, this was a great way to introduce Trick Willy, and I am more excited for this division than I have ever been before!
FIVE: Zenamania!!
I can’t help it. I’m officially a Zen-A-Maniac!! Lord forgive me for calling this man “Zed” like some fool a few weeks ago, but I had no idea how he would take over the world in true Flex Fuller fashion!
I suppose it makes sense now why Zen took over the Squad, but that is a story that writes itself in terms of a possibly jealous Flex seeking to reclaim his place at the top of this muscle mountain. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. Zen has overcome the criticisms and has catapulted himself straight into the main event picture!
Quite honestly, I don’t know if this will take Mr. Hogan all the way to the top of the company, but there’s definitely a groundswell for it, and I sincerely believe it would win over the crowd with lightning speed!
FOUR: HBP gets another chance?
Desperate to climb out of catering one last time with a respected title run, the Heartbreak Punk, Shaun Michaels, has started listening more and more to the encouraging words of everyone’s favorite wrestling super hero and begun to believe that he can actually do this!
Yes, he did experience a minor confidence setback after the D’Angelo Family tore his ego to shreds, but once Stephanie McMahon announced a tournament for a title shot at the North American Title, HBP saw a glimmer of hope.
And you know what? So do I. So do I.
THREE: Cardona finally arrives
I was more than critical about AEW’s lack of use of the former ULW Undisputed Champion after he was drafted so prominently, but they more than made up for it by having him come out and steal the Dual Dominion Champion’s moment in the spotlight!
Sure, Cardona may have mocked the prestige of the new title, but he did ultimately threaten to take it from Cody to prove who is better. Cody tried to respond by asserting that he is the better wrestler and that Cardona is overrated, but I genuinely didn’t buy Cody’s argument. Cardona literally led ULW for a significant period of time (with the second longest ULW title reign so far, though Jericho is inching closer to toppling that record, as he already has the third longest reign), but before ULW or PWI, Cardona led a brand new company in HLW/AXW, and led it from being a practical sideshow to being a bonafide force in the business in the final two years of the Sixth Era (which was truthfully a major catalyst in tipping off the beginning of the end of that previous paradigm).
So, Cody – who is very talented with many incredible accolades – looked like small potatoes when he was trying to tear down a literal multi-time world champion who helped usher in this brand new era after leading the turning point of the previous one.
Cardona certainly recognized that absurdity of what Cody no-world-title-Rhodes was saying, but Cody has so far drifted into believing his own propaganda that he failed to realize how nonsensical he sounded.
Don’t let my critique here lead you to believe that Cody lost me here, because I honestly LOVE that he is so deluded. In fact, his determination that he is the hero, always, and that he is the true GOAT is an awesome twist on a tale that is typically reserved for the worst of our heels.
This is a clash of egos and incredible skill, and I am hyper excited for what comes next!
TWO: Rock accepts the Starrcade Challenge
Speaking of what comes next, the WWE Champion, The Rock, took notice of Brock Lesnar’s spiteful words on Aggression last week and accepted his challenge for Starrcade next June!
Not since the infamous dual build to Dragonfly and Metalhead’s planned match for From Dusk Til Dawn 2010/2011 as well as Splinter v. Slammu III at that same event have we seen a match booked for a WOW event this far removed from the show.
However, unlike those other matches (only one of which took place – Slammu v. Splinter III -, albeit 8 years late; and side note: Slammu and Splinter had a singles match in all three From Dusk Til Dawn Installments), this one is going to be guaranteed to transpire, and it is going to take place at the fifth installment of Starrcade in New York City!
I’ve been told that the online inquiries for pre-orders of tickets to that extravaganza have skyrocketed since this match was confirmed, and I am not surprised!
The rivalry was already high-stakes, but now it is taking on a whole new level of significance as the Brahma Bull leads the WWE as its champion and owner while the Beast Incarnate represents ULW in the latest possible candidate for clash of the century!!
To say that this just made this season must-see is an incredible understatement!!
ONE: A Ride with Shocker and Splinter
Lastly, in this analysis, I must bring up the biggest story outside of ULW: the ongoing Splinter/Shocker saga (which connects back to the Mouse Family).
While AEW may trail ULW by one victory in this brand new season, one of many reasons that they aren’t being blown away is their ability to captivate you throughout the show with edge-of-your-seat content like this. The visual of Splinter and Shocker riding down an unknown highway to a mystery location had me riveted, and it obviously drew great numbers for AEW.
This kicked off the night and justifiably brought it to a close with the reveal that Shocker wanted Splinter and Sami to talk. Splinter was understandably hesitant as he approached the cloaked Sami Zayn, and now we are left with the cliffhanger question of: what does Sami have to offer Splinter, the legend whose career he ended in controversial fashion last year at the end of the Sixth Era???
Obviously, Sami will share with Splinter what he now knows about Benny, as Shocker has likely been briefed about this and wants Sami to help liberate Splinter from Benny and Danhausen’s spell. Will it work? I doubt that it will at first, but what I do expect is that the information that Sami gives Splinter will fester in the old legend’s mind until he finally finds himself forced to choose between serving at Benny’s pleasure or finishing what he started in the last season of the 6th Era by taking Benny down once and for all!
It’s the best story being told outside of ULW, and perhaps overall right now. This is only going to get better! Stay tuned!
The Shifting Tide?
So, when you look at everything here and factor in what I said at the outset, I hope you realize what is happening here. It’s not that ULW is seizing control of the narrative or replacing AEW at the top. It’s that this era is shaping up to be an era where there is no clear dominant force. This is the most competitive era since the Third Era when UWA and UWF (and then LWF too) battled it out week after week only to find themselves in a sort of stalemate when it was all said and done.
I don’t think this will be a stalemate that fizzles out like the previous eras. Rather, it looks very much like the “Prime Era”, as it was dubbed at the beginning. Each company – all of them being descendants of the WWF, USWA, and ECW, respectively – stands poised to give the others the fight of a lifetime, and the race for the top spot will likely swing back and forth throughout. AEW’s claim to being the unquestioned number one brand is fading, but it’s not because they are doing anything wrong.
It’s because the rest of the industry is finally meeting them by matching their intensity. This isn’t no one’s era (like the Third Era), nor is this an era that belongs to any one company. Rather, this is EVERYONE’s era, because everyone is performing at their prime, and the industry is more exciting than ever before as a result!
Here’s to another exciting week of wrestling!
Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 