Aside from the babyface-leaning dynamic of McIntyre’s promo, the timing of it has also left Ray scratching his head. After all, as Ray pointed out, the suggestion of going to war in WWE is traditionally reserved for events such as Survivor Series, or previously, Bragging Rights.

“The only way it would have made sense to me in this point in time is if we were going into Survivor Series,” Ray said. “A declaration of war. ‘Don’t you dare speak about my brand and my roster the way you have. We’ll show you. We’re declaring war on you.’ Okay, we’re going to get a Raw versus SmackDown, traditional Survivor Series match. I get it.”

With Survivor Series in the rearview mirror and the road to WrestleMania 42 in front of it, Ray questioned if those of the same brand might band together in the upcoming Men’s Elimination Chamber match. The winner, of course, will earn an Undisputed WWE Championship match, potentially against McIntyre, at “The Show of Shows.” Still, with a war seemingly brewing, some competitors could consider briefly putting their differences aside.

“Are we going to have three guys from SmackDown versus three guys from Raw in the Elimination Chamber? And are the SmackDown guys going to fight as one against the Raw guys, even though it’s every man for himself in the Chamber? It’s trying to connect the dot here,” Ray said. 

So far, Randy Orton of “SmackDown” and LA Knight from “Raw” have qualified for the Elimination Chamber. Following tomorrow’s qualifier on the blue brand, either Sami Zayn, Jacob Fatu, or Cody Rhodes will join the field next.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

It’s Brody King’s wrestling world at the moment, as the AEW star continues to draw attention for the anti-ICE chants seemingly done in his honor on “AEW Dynamite” last week, chants that led to speculation regarding his absence from “Dynamite” this week. But in between all the controversy, King has a massive opportunity this weekend at “Grand Slam: Australia,” where he’ll challenge MJF for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. 

With the spotlight on him, and the momentum in King’s favor after his resounding defeat of MJF to secure the title shot, many are wondering if AEW could pull the trigger and make King the champion. That would be a change of plans, however, as during a Fightful Select Answers Q&A, Sean Ross Sapp revealed that AEW’s original direction did not call for King to unseat MJF this weekend. 

At the same time, Sapp noted that AEW hadn’t factored the amount of buzz King would receive in the last week, and believes that a King victory was now possible. Ultimately though, he expects that its more likely that MJF retains the championship, based on long-term plans AEW reportedly has for the title.

While King’s momentum is at a fever pitch, he has been far from the only AEW star chasing the AEW World Title over the last month, with “Hangman” Adam Page, Andrade El Idolo, Kenny Omega, and Swerve Strickland all also vying for the top prize. Page and Andrade will also be in Australia for “Grand Slam,” with the winner receiving a title shot against either King or MJF at AEW Revolution, while Omega and Strickland will face each other in singles action on “Dynamite” next Wednesday in Sacramento.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that plans for WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas were uncertain after WWE was disappointed with the current ticket sales for the two-night event. WrestleTix recently reported that WrestleMania 42 had distributed 36,000 tickets for each night thus far, which is currently not on track to match the 56,000-60,000 tickets sold on both Saturday and Sunday for WrestleMania 41, also held in Vegas. However, on Wednesday, WWE put a plan into action in hopes of increasing ticket sales in the near future.

According to “Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select,” WWE conducted a multi-department company meeting to discuss the ticket sales for WrestleMania 42, with each department reportedly being told to incorporate promotions and strategies to improve attendance and momentum as the event is just over two months away. That said, at this time WWE has no intentions of lowering ticket prices, with the cheapest seat available being $266.80 USD. Additionally, by February of last year, WWE had already sold 10,000 more tickets for each night of WrestleMania 41. 

Last week, Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that watch parties at venues within 50 miles of Allegiant Stadium is being prohibited by WWE. This resulted in many establishments to be angered with the decision, as the city of Las Vegas paid a site fee to host WrestleMania in hopes of increasing tourism during April. At this time, the only match confirmed for WrestleMania 42 is 2026 Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns versus CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Boy was this an adventure, huh? Regardless of how one feels about the reporting of this situation or not, it does little to change that King is about to wrestle the biggest match of his life this weekend with more eyeballs on him than ever before. Last week, following the anti-ICE chants on “Dynamite,” I would’ve said there was a strong argument with going for King pulling off the surprise upset over MJF, though I still would’ve leaned towards MJF retaining the title to drop it either to Andrade at Revolution or Kenny Omega at Dynasty. One week and this wild Thursday later, I’m proud to say I’m a changed man; Brody King absolutely should win the AEW World Championship this weekend.

Now yes, was this the most bizarre, unlikeliest of routes we took to get here? You better believe it. But I don’t see how it can be denied now. King was hot last week coming off that win and the anti-ICE chants. Now between all the attention that drew and all the attention King and AEW have received today, to call King hot may be a bit of an understatement. It’s a case of where controversy (even false controversy) can be good, and today’s events should only increase anticipation for King vs. MJF at “Grand Slam” this weekend, not to mention attention for the event as a whole. So strike while the iron is hot. I get there’s probably months of plans Tony Khan has set for this title, and maybe Andrade, Omega, MJF or whoever may have seemed more viable. But if I’m Khan, I’m scrapping it. You have a potential superstar ready to explode if you choose to go with him this weekend. Strap up Brody King. The moment has arrived.