Though the official ratings numbers have yet to be tallied, I think it’s safe to say that last Monday was probably the biggest day this era has seen — and it’s a day I do not anticipate will be topped anytime soon, at least in the sense of all three companies presenting major shows with massive payoffs to long-term angles, shocking debuts, title changes, and violent action.
As noted, Sympathy for the Devil was AEW’s mid-season finale for Season 4 (which is still such an amazing feat for BWM Inc., surpassing even the UWF and lapping the EWA!), and with the break between now and Monday, Nov. 17, I’ve got some time to catch up on my writings while fulfilling my duties as Editor-in-Chief of the AEW website.
There’s a lot of fallout to discuss regarding Sympathy for the Devil, as well as plenty of pontificating about what comes next in the wake of the shocking return of Megan Mouse and her alliance with Uncle Howdy. Not to mention the fact that the show featured the debuts of the Flex Squad and the most infamous manager in the industry, Doc Brown, or that Will Ospreay finally captured the World Heavyweight Championship thanks to the reemergence of “The Forgotten” Brandon Lee, whom Sean Olson had promised he had slayed.
We’re going to talk about these things in the coming weeks, but that’s not what the Mop-Up is about. So, without further ado, let’s discuss the action from the competition:
WWE’s Halloween Havoc:
Of the three shows, WWE’s Halloween Havoc was perhaps the one with the least build — in the sense that the “big reveal” at Hallow-Travaganza had been in the works since the end of the 6th Era, while Sympathy for the Devil was the culmination of all AEW programming since July, advancing stories that also have been ongoing since the previous era. That said, WWE did an amazing job piecing together something that could reasonably provide an alternative to the other shows, even if the decision to get in on the head-to-head-to-head battle wasn’t made until the last minute.
First and foremost, I again want to credit WWE for holding the show in Salem, which is just the best place for a Halloween-themed show in the world. Sure, AEW tried to top it by going to Savannah (fun fact: 2024’s Sympathy for the Devil was hosted in Atlanta, so both modern incarnations emanated from the Peach State), and even though Savannah is widely recognized as one of the country’s most haunted cities, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Salem. (Had ULW really committed to the long-term storytelling, they’d have hosted the show in Salem to really hammer home Metal Head’s reveal, but either they didn’t think of it or WWE beat them to the punch.) And yes, I just spent the entirety of the first paragraph of this Mop-Up praising which town the show was in…
The show kicked off with Final Boss Media CEO and reigning WWE Champion The Rock announcing that he had sold his majority shares in the company so he could focus on surpassing Grand Daddy Duxen’s record title run. I’ve got mixed feelings about this one, as The Rock in this role has been one of the only constants in WWE, but on the other hand, if his reign is coming to an end next year, perhaps it makes sense to get him away from the leadership position. The Rock positioned himself as an underdog in his upcoming Survivor Series match with Seth Rollins — a tough sale if you’re of the mindset that there’s no way in hell this run ends before the end of January. The Rock also revealed that the company, under the new CEO’s direction, had re-signed Jeff Murrey and the McMahons. I’d be lying if I said I loved every bit of how we got to this point, but I do enjoy those people in these roles, so I’m not going to nitpick too much here.
We cut to Rollins’ reaction, as he’s with Mox and Roman. We get a funny bit about how, after Rollins pissed on the ULW title, he sold it on eBay. I feel bad for whoever gets that package… unless, I don’t know, maybe pee is their thing? We don’t kink-shame in this house.
Next up, we’re set to get Karrion Kross challenging for the NXT North American Championship, but he never shows and Ethan Page is announced as the last-minute replacement. Page dethrones HBP as champion, as apparently we’re done with HBP’s redemption arc. Too bad.
In the Haunted House Match—a match so absurd that only WWE could pull it off—Dexter Lumis beats Dirty Dom to become the new U.S. Champion. Dom’s the kind of guy who can take these losses without it hurting his overall character, and Lumis is legitimately a star on the rise. I have it on good authority that AEW was very interested in re-acquiring Lumis after losing him in the draft, as he’s clearly been putting in the work. The match features a great cameo from Jake Roberts and an outlandish appearance by Krusty the fuckin’ Clown. All of this left me hoping that Roberts returns as a mouthpiece for Lumis, but with the later Wyatt Sicks reveal, perhaps that’s not in the cards.
Chad Gable manages to retain against Erik Rowan, ending what could have been a Wyatt Sicks sweep and breaking the trend of the night thus far of all titles changing hands. My only complaint here is I would’ve had Gable win with a roll-up or something questionable; tapping out Rowan sort of hurts his aura (then again, with the reveal yet to come, he’s more of a bit player anyhow, so it might not matter much).
We get a fun scene with Vince, Murrey, Triple H, and Shane McMahon, as they rant and rave about Rollins’ betrayal. HHH says men like Rollins eventually self-destruct, and I’m wondering if that’s meant to be foreshadowing or if I’m reading too much into a throwaway line. Murrey announces their new group, CEO—Conquering Elite Overlords—and you’ve got to wonder if that means they’re coming for us here at BWM Inc.? Murrey announces a huge match for the next Saturday Night’s Main Event in December, as The Rock will meet Jesse Ventura! Now that is a main event! Stephanie shows up with Gunther and Ilja Dragunov (!) as muscle for the group, and here’s to hoping something good comes for both of those men.
Next up, we get a “Day of the Dead” match for the World Championship, as Damian Priest retains against Braun Strowman. I do agree with that idiot Johnny Quest that Strowman, if booked correctly, could be a main event player. However, after Priest retains, we’re informed “HE’S HERE!” as we get the arrival of Joe Gacy, who apparently is the leader of the faction. They announce they’re no longer the Wyatt Sicks, and instead are the Hollow—which makes a helluva lot more sense. Both AEW and ULW have had major ratings success with these supernatural-adjacent characters; let’s see if WWE sticks with Gacy long enough to replicate it…
In the main event, as if there was ever any question, Seth Rollins manages to put down Finn Bálor’s Demon persona in his debut. For what it’s worth, I’m always gonna pop for the Demon’s entrance—that theme is so damn catchy! The show concludes with the Revolutionaries standing tall.
ULW Hallow-Travaganza 2025:
Buckle up, kids, because Uncle Chris has a lot of feelings about this show.
Let’s start with what they did right: When ULW keeps their video packages on the shorter side, there’s just nothing in the business that rivals them. I’ve said it before and I’ll likely say it again, because it’s truly an area where the company excels over the competition. Another area in which they excelled tonight was the set — perhaps the best non-World of Wrestling show set we’ve seen in some time.
The cold open featured the first of several Metal Head/Menotaur segments; some of which hit, and some did not. We’re going to get into which was which, but basically this was just a cock tease to reveal that Metal Head is going to reveal something tonight… which… we already knew, so consider my cock teaseless!
Another positive? FRED’s entrance. Truly going to miss it, even though I think retiring the character (for now, at least) is the best option. I mark for Jim Ross shouting “IT’S FRED!” one final time, and I’m hyped as fuck as the match starts. FRED is set to face Bray Wyatt in this fire pit match, but instead he gets the Fiend. I’m left wondering: if the Fiend loses, does Bray really have to retire, or can he use his multiple personality disorder as an out? As it stands, these questions are for naught as Bray wins, and we get an anti-climactic shot of FRED “burning” in the fire pit. The shot failed to live up to other variations of this match, but whatever — FRED’s gone and that’s that…
After the match, it cuts to Wyatt in Mickey’s throne room as he promises us answers are coming… BRO! WE KNOOOOOWWWW! Anyway, we also got a “Last Year” segment, as a bunch of guys who no longer work here are featured at Mickey’s gravesite.
After an entire first half of the show that features wrestling’s more supernatural elements, we get FTR and Brock Anderson backstage saying they’re going to take us back to the basics. Enough with the goofy shit, more with the grappling that made us all fans in the first place… I like this faction; I think it’s a good thing for everyone involved. That said, the reveal felt like it could’ve been the biggest thing on any other show, but instead is lost in the noise of tonight’s spooky theme.
We also get a cut scene of Alexa Bliss and Abigail Mouse, as Abigail reveals her powers are stronger than Bliss’s. Alexa reveals it doesn’t matter, because she’s already told Metal Head everything he needs to know…
I never bought into Maryse as a legit threat to Sasha Banks’ championship reign, and I think I’d rather have seen Chelsea Green in this role. That said, I did enjoy Banks declaring she’s the Undisputed Champion, because now she’s literally the only singles champion in the company — well, with the exception of Bron Breakker’s new belt that we’ve yet to see defended.
Okay… so now, we’re getting the big reveal… and I’m just gonna say… the bones here are solid; the delivery was abysmal. First and foremost, this should’ve been in the ring, but that’s a minor gripe compared to what’s coming next… We get a meandering 22-minute backstage dialog full of clunky exposition with Metal Head, Menotaur, and “Girl Mickey” (which, by the by, was hilarious to hear commentary reference—I thought that was just a Hyatte Exclusive nickname!).
The reveal here is an ambitious explanation for why non-human entities exist in our world—something scientists have been unable to figure out, but yet Metal Head and Alexa Bliss have apparently solved. Apparently, these non-humans are descendants of magic from Azazel, an ancient sorcerer whose bloodline is directly connected to the Mouse family. I do like that there is an attempt at explaining why these creatures exist, and the bit about the twins carrying magic in the Mouse family was a big swing to reveal why Abigail has powers. Girl Mickey claims that if one twin dies, both die… and since she’s not dead, Boy Mickey must be alive. However, her magic is weakening, and that must mean something?
Menotaur is all of us when he sighs at Metal Head’s meandering exposition, and at one point even says, “This is so fucking stupid.” Again, I don’t think the reveal itself was stupid. Sure, it’s a big swing, but credit to ULW for trying something like this… what was stupid, however, was the delivery of all this information.
Oh, then we get Punk defeating AJ Styles. The match itself was heading toward all-time great status before Kama and the Visionary rejects got involved, as we get a flashback scene to reveal that Vince McMahon has essentially gifted Seth’s stable to Punk. I don’t know, man. Maybe we could’ve just let that stable die? How often does recasting the lead really work out the way people think it’s going to???
Backstage, “Lenny” yells at Abigail, saying first she let Seth get away, and now she’s failed to keep their secrets safe. He hightails it out of here, as we get William Regal and Scott Nash on a side-quest to find Jackie before it’s revealed that she’s “done something she can’t come back from.” (Does anyone else feel like we’re getting weeks’ worth of narrative hammered into these backstage segments, or is that just me???)
In a hellacious main event, Brock Lesnar defeats Slammu. I liked the Lights Out concept, and I don’t have any notes about the execution of all this…
As the show is set to end, a pumpkin spins revealing Mickey’s face. We get a flashback scene of last year’s Hallow-Travaganza, in which Splidder makes a pre-taped cameo to tell us if we thought the earlier reveal was something, we ain’t seen nothing yet. We’re not supposed to question how Splidder, in a scene taped back in at least June, was to know that Alexa Bliss told Metal Head everything. (A problem with a big swing like all this is it requires every bit of the narrative to flow in a way that makes sense, but I digress…) Splidder’s cameo cuts to a scene from last year in which Brodie Lee—whose sole mission in AEW has been all about ending the Mouse family and all who help them—helps abduct the real Lenny Mouse as they commit murder on live television. As Lenny’s tossed into the flames, which only look slightly better than what we got for the fire pit match, Mickey emerges in his body cackling like a maniac. The show ends with Splidder saying “God help us all.”
Again, I admire the effort… we’ve had some convoluted explanations for things in the past, but this one really takes it up a notch. Either way, Mickey’s back—even if he’s half Lenny at this point (that has yet to be made clear; was it Lenny or Mickey on the Draft stage last summer? Has Mickey’s influence grown slowly, or has he been controlling Lenny all along?). These are the questions that remain at this point and I’m left saying what I’ve said all along… Mickey being “alive” was never a question for me; I’ve been repeating it ad nauseam for years now. What I’ve said all along was that the explanation needed to hit…
I’ll leave it up to the audience and what comes next to determine if it did.
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 