Before I get into what the competition has been serving up in 2026, I need to rewind to a prediction I made a mere eight days ago.
I went out on a limb regarding the scope of WOW Week, specifically the 2026 Draft, and wouldn’t you know it: the limb held. As previously reported, AEW Director of Operations Shocker reached out to BWM Inc. talent to warn about a possible reduction in exemptions. Since then, I’m told representatives for BWM Inc. and Cash Mouse Entertainment — working through the usual maze of proxies and plausible deniability — have tentatively agreed to terms. I’ll get to those in a moment.
First, allow me to provide some context, because history matters. The 2024 and 2025 drafts each featured 20 superstar exemptions and 10 legend exemptions, plus a grab bag of limited staff exemptions for good measure. CME’s biggest hang-up heading into this year’s WOW Week? Staff. Specifically, the idea that any staff should be draft-eligible at all.
The counterproposal — one I’m told BWM Inc. quietly ran past W.I.N. officials and received a thumbs-up on — is simple: staff is off the board in 2026. Completely. If a staff member wants to be in the draft, they’ll have to formally declare, à la Vince Russo last year. Otherwise, everyone in management gets a free pass. All staff exempted, full stop.
Frankly, I’m on board. There’s no upside to shuffling management like Pokémon cards. The obvious rebuttal, of course, is that BWM Inc. has historically used this loophole the way a veteran heel uses the ropes—most notably with Chairman Sami Zayn and Danhausen, who conveniently avoided limited exemptions thanks to their “management roles.” Yes, it looks shady. No, it wasn’t done for nothing. Like it or not, they’re actually involved in decision-making.
Unlike 2024 and 2025, the current proposal slashes total exemptions by ten. Legends go from ten spots down to five. The active roster drops from twenty exemptions to fifteen. That’s a reduction from the now-normalized thirty exemptions to just twenty.
On paper, that might not sound like that big of a deal. However, with the number of wrestlers who’ve elevated themselves over the past year and the influx of new talent since the last draft, a reduction of 10 is going to have management from all three companies making tougher choices on who is worth saving. If this holds, we’re staring down the barrel of the most consequential draft ever.
So yes, it appears we’re moving toward finalized terms, and that alone is remarkable given that these conversations usually don’t even start until March or April!
WWE:
We kicked off 2026 with the return of the Legends Champion, The Animal Batista. If you’d forgotten the Legends Championship existed, you’re hardly alone — WWE hasn’t exactly gone out of its way to remind anyone. Still, with The Rock entering the home stretch of a run that could make him the longest-reigning world champion of all time, this was a sensible way to reconnect the present with the past.
It was nearly two years ago, almost to the day, that The Rock began this historic reign by winning a triple threat over Drew McIntyre and Batista, pinning the Scottish Warrior in the process. Batista is technically correct when he says Rock has never beaten him, and that’s what makes this moment feel both earned and oddly organic. I have no real expectation that Batista will be the one to end Rock’s reign — if that happens, I reserve the right to riot (it’s been a long time, I know!) — but as a way to buy time while Rock sticks the landing and breaks the record, this works surprisingly well. It also conveniently moves the Legends Championship toward the exit, which is never a bad thing. WWE has plenty of titles already; losing one won’t hurt anyone.
It’s also clear that WWE has at least been listening to its critics. The company has leaned more deliberately into comedy segments, and so far the balance has been right. The tone of the shows remains largely serious, but acts like Pete and Murrey, Bret and Goldberg, and the inspired addition of Jean-Claude Van Damme have added some much-needed levity without turning everything into a parody. If this balance holds, it may finally be the winning formula Jeff Murrey and company have been circling for years.
There’s been meaningful progress toward the Royal Rumble as well. Seth Rollins and Gunther are now aligned in a program for the World Heavyweight Championship, while Damian Priest and John Cena have both declared for the Rumble match. Chad Gable, meanwhile, has quietly lost both the Intercontinental and United States Championships just days after many — including myself — pegged him for a breakout year. That feels intentional rather than accidental. Call it a subversion of expectations, but don’t be shocked if Gable emerges as a legitimate dark-horse Rumble winner. Sometimes the setback is the story.
That said, not everything has been especially clean. One early stumble in 2026 has been the NXT Championship situation. After comparing notes with a few colleagues, none of us can clearly remember when Ethan Page won the title. Was it a casualty of late-2025 chaos, or did something meaningful slip through the cracks? Page is a perfectly credible standard-bearer for NXT, but the absence of a clear moment — especially with no memory of Trick Williams losing the belt — is an issue worth critiquing.
Finally, there’s the Jeff Gene Files — a satirical riff on the still-unreleased Epstein Files — which has been genuinely amusing. If the accusations are even half-true, Jeff Murrey may have fathered thousands of children, giving young Pete an endless supply of potential sibling referees. The suggestion that some of these kids could be tied to the Mouse family is exactly the kind of absurd long-term gag wrestling does best, and even if it never becomes more than a throwaway bit, it’s worth the ride.
All told, WWE is off to a strong start in 2026. Audience numbers have grown steadily across shows on the 2nd, 5th, and 6th, which isn’t something you hand-wave away. They’re not quite in second place yet, but they’re close enough that ULW can probably hear the knocking.
ULW:
Speaking of ULW, the company came out of the gate swinging in the second installment of New Year’s Bash, delivering a show that felt confident rather than experimental.
We opened with further evidence that Mickey’s soul may, in fact, be calling the shots inside Lenny’s body. The tonal shift in Lenny’s delivery — particularly when confronted by the perpetually unsettling “Girl Mickie” — was hard to miss. When this character first appeared, I was openly skeptical, but over the past few months, ULW has done the work to define her as a compelling character. The exchange where she told Mickey/Lenny that she “saw him,” only to be met with the distinctly Mickey-flavored response of “I SEE YOU TOO, BITCH,” was sharp, funny, and an effective way to kick off the year.
AJ Styles continued his run of consistently strong performances with a win over Bronson Reed. While the outcome wasn’t a surprise, it served its purpose in moving Styles’ program with CM Punk closer to its conclusion. The post-match beatdown set the stage for Punk’s layered challenge: if Styles loses to Magog, Punk takes his tournament spot; if Punk then beats Styles in what’s being framed as their final encounter, AJ forfeits his exempt status heading into next summer’s draft. It’s a clean way to raise the stakes, and it’s encouraging to see WOW Week considerations already being folded into current stories.
The show also delivered the long-awaited conclusion to the Duxen–Ladies Man feud. I’ve been on record as a supporter of this program, largely on the strength of Duxen’s award-winning heel turn promo late last year. Duxen’s winning was the correct call. The real test now, as always, is what comes next. If ULW has a meaningful follow-up lined up, Duxen could be entering the most consequential stretch of his 200-year career. If not, this risks becoming a missed opportunity.
Saguna’s proposal to his former captive-turned-girlfriend, Nyla Rose, was another highlight. This has been, without question, the most substantial program of Nyla’s career to date and works well as a spiritual successor to the Manly Men saga. Wrestling weddings are a familiar trope, but when the groundwork is this solid, they still land.
We also saw the long-teased turn with Chyna finally betraying Sasha Banks, whose interpretation of “The Boss” had grown increasingly demeaning week after week. The turn came after Living Dead Girl defeated Banks for the Extreme Women’s Championship, capping off a rough stretch for double champions across the industry. (RIP, CHAD GABLE!) Chyna now looks poised to challenge for the Premier Women’s Championship, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Banks is already regretting how she handled her top employee.
A series of backstage promos reinforced the idea that several talents aren’t content to let 2026 pass them by. Jungle Boy Jack Perry hinted that he and his dinosaur ally may eventually target solo tag champion Bron Breakker. Ricky Starks and Dragon Lee teased a partnership before pivoting into a direct challenge. Chris Jericho, meanwhile, echoed sentiments I laid out in my 2025 Mop-Up, insisting that the company’s investment in legitimizing him as a main eventer would not go to waste as he sets his sights back on the world title.
The night closed with a chaotic scene as the League Lumberjack match between Jacob Fatu and Brock Lesnar was overtaken by a violent brawl surrounding the Providence Championship. Arn Anderson is likely still coming to terms with Brock Anderson losing the title to Breakker, who arguably should have held it all along. Fatu ultimately pulled off an upset over Lesnar in a finish that protects both men and leaves the door open for a rematch.
Taken as a whole, this was one of ULW’s strongest shows since the summer, and the ratings reflected it. ULW fell short of AEW by just 63 viewers, making it the closest ratings battle between the two to date, and one of the tightest margins across the industry since early 2025.
Early returns suggest 2026 is shaping up to be fiercely competitive. Whether that pace holds is the real question…
Until next time, America!
World Of Wrestling: Murrey Universe 