Mission 028: The Mission? A New Forecast
Hello everyone! I do apologize for being so late to talk about the recent goings-on in the business we all know and love, but there were some serious issues with my cable provider as I had to argue with them repeatedly to make sure I got to actually watch Aftershock in a timely manner. A week later and HERE WE ARE!
Hey, I am still more reliable than that other guy (and with far more content, too)!
Ok, let’s get to it!
TEN. LIFE AND LEGACY CANCELED?
Last week we saw a jarring sight: the still-new reality series starring Jeff Murrey being “canceled”! While the scene of Murrey being told this was hilarious, it was very heartbreaking if this is true. Yes, I was absolutely in the dark about “Baby Billy” (as was about half of the audience), but I never wanted that angle to be axed, and I most definitely didn’t want this series to get the ax!
Perhaps this outcome was a foregone conclusion after Pete started to take a dark turn into full wife-beater mode on his victim-wife Nikki Bella (who has seemingly become a focal point of the Women’s Division outside of her mysterious designation as a referee…apparently the stripes are sexually transmitted), but I was still looking forward to seeing the family shenanigans.
It seems like it was only yesterday at Starrcade when Murrey announced this new show, and it is already getting taken away from us. I want to throw things…but I am surrounded by things that I don’t want broken. Damn.
NINE. TRICK WILLY DID IT!
From one thing which outraged me and the fans to another which had me overjoyed, I have to applaud the awesome debut of Trick Williams as he captured the NXT gold from Karrion Kross. Now, when the E returns back from their hiatus in October we will see if they go the whole “rematch” route, or if they just stick with Trick and Page feud. Personally, I prefer the latter, because – as you may recall me noting before – the time has come for Karrion to get called up and dominate the main stage!
Trick has a shot at being one of the best young champions of the era, if this is done right. In my opinion, Page is the perfect foil for him in the early goings of his run. No, Trick doesn’t need a full trip around the Sun with the strap, but he does need a solid run of a few months to set the stage for his own ascension as a believable contender. As for Ethan, he can be the guy who EVENTUALLY dethrones Trick…if Hayes doesn’t get their first!
EIGHT. DETECTIVE MIDGEY
One of the reasons that AEW had such a solid go-home performance the week before last was this funny segment backstage with ol’ Midgey playing detective with his out-loud monologue. The shit was killing me as he was giving me Dragnet vibes with his narration. His investigative powers were aimed at finding the suspect responsible for attacking his stepson, and this thing is far from over.
Yes, Riddle exonerated himself the week prior after he reviewed the security footage of where he was during the attack, but I still don’t think that his hands are completely clean. Maybe I am sniffing up the wrong alley, but I just can’t easily forget how bitter Riddle was acting about everything…despite that attitude possibly being due to him getting the news that he wasn’t ULW-bound.
If it wasn’t Riddle, though, I am having a hard time connecting the dots as to whom it could have been calling the shots. Rest assured, though, that the Millionaire Cop for hire is on the case and we’ll get some information soon enough!
SEVEN. GOLDBERG TRAINS
Jumping back over to WWE and we find the masters of comedy back at it with a series of stupid-funny segments featuring Goldberg preparing for his “Owen Hart Memorial Championship” match with Bret Hart at the company’s return show in October.
My personal favorite of these funny as hell moments was when Goldberg discovered images of Bret Hart with his young, black wife, and he concluded that Hart was in the “Epstein Files”. I absolutely lost my shit! Granted, the training montage and his visit to the cemetery had me rolling as well, but I was crying at the accusations Goldberg lobbed at the man who insists on calling him by his first name!
Meanwhile, the championship in question has caused a great deal of stress for Owen in ULW, especially as Anthony has made it his mission to save Stacy Keibler by taking out the zombies in our midst! Look what you’ve done, BILL GOLDBERG!!
SIX. THE OLSON AND LEE SAGA ENDS
This build was one of my favorite things that we’ve seen this era so far, and when Olson torched the childhood home of he and Brandon Lee, I was completely riveted and ready for a war, and boy did we get a war to end this once and for all!
Prior to Aftershock 2025, the last time that these two had fought each other one on one was when Olson defeated Lee at Sundown in an Aerial Assault Match a little over 7 years after he defeated Lee in the inaugural installment of that bout at Abominable Actions 2003. With Olson taking home the win in this brutal Last Man Standing match, Olson has ended the feud of his life with a dominant lead over his half-brother.
In the end, while I may feel inclined to feel sorry for Lee, I have to remember that Lee has had the most success out of the two of them over the past decade of their careers. Lee held three world championships in that time, while Olson hasn’t been a world champion since he was a three time world champion in LWF (he never won a world title in EWA, though he came close several times, and he never held a world title under Mmouse Enterprises).
All in all, both men are three time world champions, and this match felt more like a passing of the torch from Lee to Olson (for Olson’s revival) than it dead a burial for Lee. I look forward to what comes next!
FIVE. JOHNNY IS HOME!
So, I’m not going to be able to go too much into WHY Johnny Lawrence is back in WWE just yet, but I will note my pure shock when I saw him align with Doc Brown to take down the Intercontinental Champion, Mystico.
It’s crazy to see that Lawrence’s return to WWE comes this way, especially knowing that Brown and Lawrence were at odds at one point in the 6th Era. As the former Intercontinental Champion himself, Lawrence is a good candidate for dethroning Mystico, and while history would tell you that it is unlikely to happen in October, you never, NEVER doubt WWE’s penchant for major twists with the gold!
More is to come as Doc Brown’s war on the Luchadores continues…with a twist!
FOUR. LOGAN AND MJF RETURN
Speaking of twists, the Dynamite go-home show had icing on top of the cake prior to the whole Splinter segment when Logan Paul returned from injury to confront LA Knight (who himself had just survived a war with Swerve Strickland) to show us where Paul is aiming next. It was interesting to see the former World Champion going for the midcard belt, especially since his most recent match was when he lost that same World Title.
However, that trend continued with Aftershock as MJF returned to side WITH the current World Champion, Bobby Lashley! I knew heading in that Lashley was unlikely to lose the gold to Randy Orton, but what I didn’t expect was to see it being due to MJF playing second fiddle to anyone whatsoever! So, obviously, we are going to get a damn good set of programs of Paul/Knight and MJF/Orton, but it remains surreal to me that the two former world champions respond to losing that opportunity with these side quests.
That isn’t to say that these will be bad, nor will these rivalries prevent either from returning to the world title scene. Hell, if anything, these programs will keep both men occupied until the path is paved for them to shoot for the top again, and when that happens…watch out!
THREE. “YOU’RE WASTING YOUR BREATH”
If it weren’t for the next two major moments, I would easily put the awesomeness of the final image of the go-home Dynamite on top of the list. The latest culmination of events for the Splinter/Benny saga brought Splinter squarely into the crosshairs of forces beyond his imagination. He ignored the sincere warnings of Sami Zayn and revealed more horrifying details about the birth and early life of Megan and her evil twin Abigail.
In those details, Splinter unveiled that Abigail was always “magical”, and that Molly feared her abilities and effectively sent her away. However, Benny reportedly kept contact with his estranged daughter until he couldn’t anymore with the intervention of Mickey after he discovered his once-hidden niece.
All of this was grueling enough, but then Splinter was set to unveil more…only to be interrupted via a series of sinister and paranormal-like images and glitches. Ultimately, Splinter was laid to waste to end the show along with any hope of bringing this to a close.
And so the most compelling story in the business marches onward!
TWO. THE ROCK LOSES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS!
I am not sure why it was undersold by commentary last Monday, but the WWE Champion and Owner, the Rock, had his shoulders pinned to the mat, and lost in a singles bout for the first time since he became World Champion in January 2024! The culprit? Jesse “the Body” Ventura!
Yes, this happened alongside Cena losing to Gunther as well (which was the first time that Cena has lost in WWE, if memory serves me correctly), but the Rock’s first loss in two years was no small story! In fact, it could signal that the end is near for his reign of terror!
From what I know, this has Lesnar licking his chops in anticipation for what’s to come next year at the Fifth installment of Starrcade! What a moment!
ONE. JADE ARRIVES…AGAIN!!
Lastly, the talk of the industry all summer (hell, pretty much since she debuted in PWI about 3 years ago), Jade Cargill has shifted the narrative once more as she makes waves in her new home: AEW!
So, perhaps this means that all is right in the Universe and that we have finally reached a point of putting the controversy behind us, but I can’t lie when I say that Jade showing up in AEW a month and a half after she arrived in WWE, and just over two months after her last televised ULW match, rocked the industry.
Truthfully, outside of the incredible match between Becky and Storm, as well as the pure awesomeness of the moment that Jade arrived in AEW to confront a frightened Toni Storm, I am left a little concerned about the WWE Women’s Division. I am just sitting her hoping that this doesn’t mean that Rock is throwing the women off to the side. Can they survive? Yes. Naomi is a great champion so far, but her list of top-notch challengers is dwindling (when you also factor in Rhea being distracted by the whole Buddy/Dom debacle). I am curious to see where they go from here. WWE has always had the ability to rise above any perceived weakness, and I suspect this will be no different. Just have to give it time.
As for AEW’s stacked Knockouts Roster, Toni is either about to embark on an all-time run toppling a who’s who of women’s wrestling in recent years, or she is about to drop that strap to “that bitch”. Let’s wait and see!
ON TAP FOR ULW THIS COMING WEEK:
ULW is getting ready to cap off the Summer with a blockbuster supershow on September 8th, but first we will experience the premiere installment of “ULW Unhinged” with a set of incredible matches to expect!
To kick things off, we see a special Opportunity Match wherein four men in the Extreme and Premier Leagues go toe to toe with each other and two non-League stars to retain/attain League status and earn a shot at the Undisputed Championship! The contenders are as follows: Dragon Lee, Sammy Guevara, Kevin Owens, Ricky Starks, CM Punk, and Lexis King! The losers will be out of the Leagues (creating some vacancies to later be filled in future specialized bouts), and the winner will make a name for themselves!
Then, in the Main Event, former AEW Tag Team Champions, the Street Sharks, will battle it out to see who is truly number one! Who will come out on top? Slammer or Rip?!
After the shows tonight, I will try to get a review and preview for next week’s “Scorched” up before the weekend, but time will tell!
Until our next Quest, this has been Johnny with yet another mission!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 