Another really fun season that introduces the 21st century movie canon, as well as the sometimes needlessly dour Picard. I did do something a bit different this season as my Picard episodes are edited versions of what aired. Basically, there was a lot of fat to trim, and I managed to cut the episode count by two. (Wait until you see what I do with the second season of Picard). We get the entirety of the official first season of Picard's story in, and there are some more TNG, DS9, and TOS episodes sprinkled in to give context to Lower Decks and Prodigy. 

If there's a theme to this section of seasons (13-15), it's that The Romulans are way more annoying than The Klingons, and despite being less intimidating than The Dominion or The Borg, they still manage to be persistent trouble for The Federation, no matter when they are.

​In this season, one of them disrupts the timeline in such a fashion that TOS is rebooted with a new cast, and it sets up the main conflict of the first season of Picard. 

1. That Hope Is You, Pt 1
(Burnham, Booker, Sahil)

We haven't had a Discovery episode since Season Four! That's when Burnham and friends were flung into the future, which is where we pick up here, as Burnham is off trying to survive in this new era, making new friends, since her entire crew is now hundreds of years behind her.


2.  wej Duj/First First Contact 
(Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, Shaxs, T'ana, Billups, Gomez)

The LD Cerritos crew is in the background of this story where Vulcan Lower Deckers and Klingon Lower Deckers each disagree with their respective bridge crews about how to deal with the Pakleds, who are headed to Earth in order to destroy it. Later, Mariner turns the Cerritos crew against her mother hoping to prevent her promotion, and Rutherford, while trying to preserve his memories of Tendi learns dark secrets about his cybernetic implants.


3. Far From Home
(Saru, Stammets, Tilly, Georgiou, Reno, Detmer, Owosukun, Rhys, Nhan, Culber, Burnham)

Oh, hey, Discovery is in the far flung future, too! And they're on a quest to find Michael. You know, if they can survive after their ship has crash landed on a planet so far in their future that their knowledge is pretty much useless.


4. People Of Earth
(Burnham, Saru, Stammets, Tilly, Georgiou, Booker, Adira, Reno, Detmer, Owosukun, Rhys, Nhan, Culber, Sahil)

Burnham tries to discover precisely what happened to Starfleet in the days between when she and Discovery disappeared and the time they arrived. And we meet a new Trill! We haven't seen any of these outside of Deep Space Nine's Dax.


5. Starship Down
(Bashir, Dax, Sisko, Quark, Kira, Worf, O'Brien)

And speaking of DS9 and Dax, let's flip back to an adventure about Starfleet making trade agreements with a planet in The Dominion. I know that doesn't sound exciting, which may be why we skipped it during the previous seasons, but it will be important to the next episode. And not because that also inolves trade negotiations.
​


6. Reflections/Hear All, Trust Nothing
(Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, Shaxs, T'ana, Billups, Gomez, Quark, Kira, Aberdeen)

A recruitment drive goes awry turning Boimler into Starfleet's most prized attraction and revealing Rutherford's past and why he has his cybernetics. Then it's a very special adventure on Deep Space Nine as the crew has to undo Quark negotiations.
​

7. Die Trying (D) 
(Burnham, Saru, Stammets, Tilly, Georgiou, Booker, Adira. Reno, Detmer, Owosukun, Rhys, Nhan, Culber, Vance)

The Discovery crew becomes part of the new, futuristic Starfleet after a successful mission that involves the seeds from their spore drive. Whew. They're lucky they didn't show up in The Enterprise or one of those other useless ships from the past.

8. The Trouble With Edward (Short Treks)/Crisis 2: Paradoxus (LD)
(Pike)
(Boimler, Mariner, Rutherford, Ransom, Tendi, Sulu)

More trouble with tribbles. Then, it's a Holodeck episode where Mariner tweaks a Boimler program after the crew gets sad news about the Boimler clone.

Serial 1: Romulan Reboot (M)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Pike, Sarek, Amanda)

It's a Not Quite Reboot when a Romulan travels through time to avoid a major tragedy to his his people creating a whole new ... timeline ? dimension ? where we see an entirely new cast as the classic TOS characters (and yet another Spock). It's like The Original Series with a Beastie Boys soundtrack.

11. Children Of Mars (Short Treks)/Remembrance (Pic)
(Picard, Data, Jurati, Raffi, Narek, Laris)

Romulan refugees from the movie's incident are prevalent in this episode about what Picard is up to as a retired admiral. There's also a return to studying the Singh/replicant storyline that was so prevelant in TNG and Enterprise.

12. Maps, Beginnings, Legends & Endings (Pic)
(Picard, 7of9, Hugh, Soji, Jurati, Raffi, Narek, Laris, Rios)

The Borg are back. Like, your favorite Borg from TNG and Voyager. They join Picard on his quest to save the assasin clone of the Data descendent we met in the first episode.

13. Asylum/Let Sleeping Borg Lie (Prod)
(Dal, Gryn, Pog, Zero, Rok, Murf, Janeway, Chakotay, Noum, Diviner)

The crew of the Protostar, along with Hologram Janeway are now being pursued by The Dauntless, which includes real Janeway and real Chakotay. But this chase is more of a curiosity and concern issue rather than a wrathful father's vendetta, so everyone should be fine.

14. Reclamation (Pic)
(Picard, Soji, Jurati, Raffi, Narek, Elnor, Maddox)

Heists abound!

15. Symbiosis (TNG)
(Picard, Riker, Laforge, Worf, Troi, Data, Crusher, Tasha Yar, Wesley)

A truly terrible episode about warring planets. But it's not as bad as "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", and it gets a nice callback in the next episode.

16. Trusted Sources/The Stars At Night (LD)
(Boimler, Mariner, Rutherford, Ransom, Tendi, Aberdeen)

In the last episode, Picard helped the Omarians overcome an addiction, and now the Cerritos shows up to see how how it's going. Well. So well that a journalist uses past secrets about Freeman to get her shipped off to Starbase 80 while the Cerritos has to deal with The Breen. Then Aberdeen is back. It turns out her financial backer is someone very familiar.


17. Conduits (Pic)
(Picard, Riker, Troi, Hugh, Soji, Jurati, Raffi, Narek, Elnor, Maddox, Rios)

Picard and Soji seek refuge from with some familiar faces from TNG. Meanwhile, Elnor and Hugh have an exciting teamup on a Borg ship that's been turned into a museum.​


18. Obsession (TOS)/All The World's A Stage (Prod)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Checkov, Chapel, Leslie, Garrovick)
(Dal, Gryn, Pog, Zero, Rok, Murf, Janeway, Noum)

Captain Kirk is the living embodiment of the Old Man Yells At Cloud meme from The Simpsons but his actions in this episode affect a planet that The Protostar visits when they receive a distress call.


Serial 2: Et in Arcadia Ego (Pic)
(Picard, Data, 7of9, Soji, Jurati, Raffi, Narek, Elnor, Maddox, Rios)

A trip to Soji's home planet is interrupted by a Romulan attack. Picard isn't just old, now he's sick. So sick that he ends up conferencing with everyone's favorite android crew member...which may have something to do with the fact that Soji's home planet is run by one of the Singhs.

When we left the crew of Discovery, they were slingshotted nearly 1,000 years into the future, leaving behind Captain Pike, Spock, and some other members of the pre-Kirk Enterprise crew. So now that we're (sort of) done with the main timeline of TOS/TNG/DS9/VOY era, we're going to double back and find out what that Enterprise is up to, while also learning what happened after TNG & VOY as we introduce Lower Decks and Prodigy, two animated series, one for children, one not for children, into continuity.

"Lower Decks" is filled with references to the classic shows, while also being an amusing character study of the non-bridge crew of a starship. "Prodigy" is a follow up to Voyager featuring some rebellious kids who steal a spaceship that has a holographic interface which happens to be Janeway.

​1. Strange New Worlds
(Pike, Spock, Singh, Ortegas, 1, M’Benga, Hemmer, Chapel, Uhura, T’Pring, April)

Shortly after The Discovery fiasco waaaaaaaaaaay back in our Season Four...that's right Nine Seasons Ago in our continuity, Cmdr. Pike took a sabattical. Well, it didn't last long for him, even if it's been ages for us, and he's being called back to Starfleet to track down his missing first officer with a new crew, on his new ship, Enterprise.


2. Lost & Found (Prod)
(Dal, Gryn, Pog, Zero, Rok, Murf, Dreadnought, Diviner, Janeway)

This all-age, animated Star Trek series brings us to a new section of the galaxy where one of hundreds of enslaved aliens accidentally assembles a crew and stumbles upon a Starfleet ship called the Protostar which comes equipped with a training program: Janeway in hologram form. They set out to escape the planet and ... uhhh ...  there's probably more of a plan eventually.


3. Children Of The Comet (SNW)
(Uhura, Pike, Spock, Singh, Ortegas, 1, M’Benga, Hemmer, Chapel)

You can tell me all you want about how progressive the Star Trek universe is, and how we live in a post-racial society because we elected a Black President in 2008, but let it be known that it took SIXTY YEARS before Star Trek did an episode centered on Uhuru. Yea, yea, yea, Burnham is the lead in Discovery and she's a woman of color, but the Uhuru character has been around since the 1960s and she didn't get her moment in the spotlight until 2022. It's a really good episode about becoming part of a team, and I hope it means we'll get another Uhura-centric episode before 2081.


4. Starstruck (Prod)/Threshold (Voyager TAS)/Second Contact (LD)
(Dal, Gryn, Pog, Zero, Rok, Murf, Janeway, Dreadnought, Diviner)
(Chakotay, Tuvok, Kim, Janeway, Paris, Doctor, Seska, Neelix)
(Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, T'ana, Barnes)

A trilogy of animated episodes. We open with Hologram Janeway and the new crew of The Protostar trying to figure out what their mission should be now that they've escaped Tars Lamora. Then we go back to Voyager times (but animated this time) to see the abbreviated version of the time Real Janeway and Paris ended up evolving into ... something different. And, finally, we meet the crew of the Cerritos, whose mission is to visit planets that have had some limited contact with The Federation. Instead of the bridge crew, we spend more time seeing things through the eyes of the less-experienced crew.


5. Ghosts Of Illyria (SNW)
(1, Singh, Pike, Spock, Ortegas, M’Benga, Hemmer, Chapel, Uhura)

Invasion of the moth people! The crew of The Enterprise is sent to investigate a planet where an entire colony has disappeared. A virus spreads amongst the crew that gets them addicted to light, and we get some great background on the crew.


6. Much Ado About Bornier /Veritas (LD)
(Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Mariner, Freeman, Ransom, T'ana, Ramsey)

Sure, some transport accidents give you a cool clone with fake sideburns, but in Lower Decks they make it so that Bornier is slightly out of phase, so he's sent to The Farm for ... a better life? Then the bridge crew is captured and the lower decks members are put on trial to discover how good the bridge crew is at their job?


7.  Return Of The Archons (TOS)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura)

We go all the way back to OG Kirk/Spock times as the most familiar crew of The Enterprise ends up on a planet where a cult is all prim and proper during the day but at night it's All Purge All The Time. How is this connected to a previous Starfleet mission?


8. Crisis Point (LD)/Kobayashi (Prod)
(Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford,  Freeman, Ransom, Migleemo)
(Dal, Gryn, Pog, Zero, Rok, Murf, Janeway, Dreadnought, Diviner)

A holodeck adventure reveals a surprising truth to Boimler that we, the audience already knew. Plus, we're introduced to a villain that could only really work on this animated show. Then, Dal tries to beat the Kobayashi Maru to prove he is worthy of being the captain of The Protostar, while Hologram Janeway works with the rest of the crew. 

​
9. Arena (TOS)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhuru, Scott, Sulu, Lesley)

There's a reason we skipped over this episode when we were deep in The Original Series. It is TERRIBLE. The acting, the fighting, the alien costumes. Just one of the worst episodes of the series. But comically The Worst as  opposed to The Most Boring. And while I don't remember the Metatrons returning, we do encounter The Gorn again in Strange New Worlds, so I figured we should check out their terrible origin.

10. Momento Mori (SNW)
(Pike, Singh, Spock, 1, Ortegas, M’Benga, Hemmer, Chapel, Uhura)

Oh hey, look, it's The Gorn again! This time, instead of a slow moving fake looking alien, they're an unseen dangerous menace who wipe out entire colonies. Luckily, Singh has some experience with them and can help try and save The Enterprise from imminent doom.


11. The Samaritan Snare (TNG)
(Riker, Laforge, Troi, Picard, Wesley, Data, Pulaski, Worf)

In addition to cringey TOS episodes, we also skipped over some seemingly mundane TNG episodes that ended up being relevant to the current crop of shows. In this one, we meet the Pakleds, an unevolved race that seeks the immediate satisfaction of technology and weapons. But, alas, Picard is away getting surgery, so it's up to Riker, Data, Troi, Worf, and Pulaski to rescue Laforge when the Pakleds take him hostage.


12. No Small Parts/Kayshon, His Eyes Open (LD)
(Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, Riker, Troi, Migleemo)

This is an absolute blast of callbacks. We travel from "Return Of The Archons" to "The Samaritan Snare" to "The Most Toys" to "Darmok" to "Second Chances" in this delightful pair of episodes where Boimler accidentally outs Freeman as Mariner's mother and then tries to get a promotion to the Titan with its Captain Riker, and Number One Troi.

13. Squire Of Gothos (TOS)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhuru, Sulu, Scott, Leslie)

Spoiled children of the idle rich are always a disaster. And this alien is no different when he tries to turn Kirk into the target of The Most Dangerous Game. It's delightfully terrible with a Rennaisance Theme, which we will come back to in the next episode.


14. An Embarrasment Of Dooplers/Where Pleasant Fountains Lie (LD)
(Boimler, Freeman, Rutherford, Mariner, Tendi, Billups, Ransom, T'ana)

A race of aliens who multiply whenever they're embarrassed send an emissary to Cerritos which results in some Tribble-esque duplication. Then, Billups, who has had minimal screen time gets to be the focus of an episode when his mother, a member of a very Rennaisance style race, needs his help to save the planet where he is supposed to be the next ruler.


15. Spock Amok (SNW)
(Spock, T'Pring, Chapel, Pike, Singh, Uhura, M'Bega, 1, Ortegas, April, Kyle)

It's classic body swap shenanigans when Spock's fiance visits during a very important diplomatic meeting with a race of moody aliens who are trying to decide whether to align with Starfleet or The Klingons. Oh, and the two "fun-killers" on staff play Enterprise Bingo to get a better emotional connection with the crew.


16. Time Amok (Prod)/I, Excretus (LD)
(Dal, Gryn, Pog, Zero, Rok, Murf, Janeway, Dreadnought, Diviner)
(Boimler, Mariner, Freeman, Tendi, Rutherford, Ransom, T'ana, Shaks, Borg Queen)

The crew of the Protostar gets stranded across time in The Enterprise and have to work together without being able to communicate with each other. While on the Cerritos, the crew is tested on how well the bridge crew would function as lower decks crew, and lower decks crew would function on the bridge. 


17. Lift Us Where Suffering Can Not Reach (SNW)
(Pike, Spock, Chapel, 1, M'Benga, Uhura, Ortegas, Sam Kirk, Kyle)

Pike's old girlfriends don't seem as dangerous as Kirk's old girlfriends, and yet, when one shows up asking for help protecting the messiah of her paradise planet, everything quickly falls apart.


18. All Those Who Wander (SNW)
(Pike, Ortegas, Hemmers, Uhura, Spock, Chapel, 1, M'Benga, Sam Kirk, Kyle)

A regular old, every day, let's respond to a distress signal mission turns into an homage to Ridley Scott's Alien. It's another great example of how this series manages to seem fun and light, despite having sometimes greater consequences than the very dreary "Discovery" series that preceded it.

19. A Moral Star (Prod)
(Dal, Gryn, Pog, Zero, Rok, Murf, Janeway, Dreadnought, Diviner)

It's the conclusion to our Prodigy arc as the crew returns to the planet where they were enslaved in order to exchange the Protostar for the freedom of the remaining prisoners. That's when the doublecrossing begins.
​
20. A Quality Of Mercy (SNW)
(Pike, Pike, Spock, Kirk, Ortegas, 1, Uhura, Chapel, M'Benga, Sam Kirk, Kyle)

"Lower Decks" isn't the only series that gets to do callbacks this season, as our season finale of SNW is a retelling of "The Balance Of Terror" (the very first episode of our continuity!) but with Pike in the captain's chair. Oh, and Kirk is there, too, as the captain of another vessel. How will Pike's differing techniques change the outcome of this pivotal TOS moment? And is this somehow connected to the next season where the Romulans are about to become Super Important again?

All three of the wrestling federations from the last few seasons start to get their acts together this season. We get some compelling stories, some top rate matches, and we see stables start to rise again for the first time since The Attitude Era. Sure, there was Evolution in WWE, and Impact tried a few grizzled old timer stables, but this season sees WWE introduce The Shield, who will be THE headliners of the industry for the next decade as well as The Wyatt Family, and Impact will get their first real compelling stable story out of Aces & Eights. ROH still bumps along with solid matches and forgettable storylines, but we're going to see them less and less, as this season also sees the arrival of NXT. NXT is the joint where ROH vets work to become WWE rookies, and some of them make that transition effortlessly. This also begins the fall of the Divas era (mostly terrible sex-focused matches for women like pillow fights and pudding matches rather than wrestling matches) and the rise of the Four Horsewomen in NXT, who will help usher in "The Womens' Revolution" in WWE where the women get actual storylines, character development, and the division is comprised of athletes on par with the men, as opposed to models that Vince McMahon wishes he could sleep with (or, allegedly, in some cases, has to pay hush money to after he sleeps with them). 

While there's no real focus at the beginning of this season, other than highlighting entertaining matches and storylines, we end the season with the climax of Daniel Bryan's Yes Movement, and then the most shocking moment in Wrestlemania History.

​1301. Over The Limit, 2012

We get a bit of a peek at the impending Hell No/Yes Movement here, as well as CM Punk at the height of his first real run at the top of the WWE. Oh, and Brock Lesnar returns from a near decade long absence and absolutely annihilates John Cena.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Booker T, Jim Ross, Josh Matthews, Matt Striker, Tony Chimel, Justin Roberts, Lilian Garcia, and Howard Finkel

1. CM Punk (WWE Champ) vs Chris Jericho
2. Sheamus (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Daniel Bryan in a 2/3 Falls Match
​3. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar in an Extreme Rules Match
4. Sheamus (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Chris Jericho vs Randy Orton vs Alberto Del Rio

5. CM Punk (WWE Champ) vs Daniel Bryan

1302. Roode Awakening, 2012

Bobby Roode had an incredible and long run as TNA champ. His best matches weren't against the TNA Dino Squad but against the younger up and comers, and here he gets his up and commance against Austin Aries, who we saw dominate ROH a few seasons ago. There's also minor AJ Styles controversy that leads him to friendship and a tag team with former rival Kurt Angle.

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Jeremy Borash

1. Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles
2. Bobby Roode (Impact Champ) vs AJ Styles
3. Bad Influence (Impact Tag Team Champs) vs Kurt Angle & AJ Styles
4. Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles in a Last Man Standing Match
5. Bobby Roode (Impact Champ) vs Austin Aries
6. Austin Aries (Impact Champ) vs Bobby Roode

1303. Young Wolves Rising, 2012

Adam Cole makes his first appearance since the CZW episode a few seasons ago, Lance Storm retires, and we see Nigel McGuinness join the commentary team. 

Announcers: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Vada Scott, and Bobby Cruise

1. Jay Lethal (ROH TV Champ) vs Tomasso Ciampa
2. Adam Cole & Eddie Edwards vs Team Ambition
3. Lance Storm vs Mike Bennett
4. Davey Richards (ROH Champ) vs Michael Elgin

1304. Kill Steen Kill, 2012

Jim Cornette HATES Kevin Owens (aka Kevin Steen). Kevin Owens hates not destroying everything in his path. And a babyfaced, pre-baby Adam Cole quickly climbs the first class of ROH members who are destined to be known more for their time in AEW than WWE.

Announcers: Jim Cornette, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuiness, Steve Corrino, Matt Hardy

1. Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly in a Hybrid Rules Match
2. Kevin Owens (as Kevin Steen) (ROH Champ) vs Davey Richards in a No DQ Match
3. Adam Cole (ROH TV Champ) vs Mike Mondo
4. Davey Richards vs Jay Lethal
5. Kevin Owens (as Kevin Steen) (ROH Champ) vs Michael Elgin
3. Kevin Owens (as Kevin Steen) (ROH Champ) vs Eddie Kingston in a No DQ Match

1305. Contractually Obligated, 2012

Brock Lesnar is back and annoying The Corporation, so the head of The Corporation, Triple H steps back into the ring to get him in line. Plus, Ziggler climbs up the card, and CM Punk and Daniel Bryan relive their ROH days before Bryan enters the tag team division, and Punk becomes a Heyman Guy and takes on John Cena again.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Booker T, JBL, Lilian Garcia, Tony Chimel,  Justin Roberts

1. WWE Heavyweight Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Christian, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, Santino Morella, Sin Cara, Tyson Kid, A-Train

2. CM Punk (WWE Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
3. Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler
4. Brock Lesnar vs Triple H in a No DQ Match
5. CM Punk (WWE Champ) vs John Cena

1306. NXT, 2012

WWE's developmental rebrands from FCW (and we catch a glimpse of the FCW at the very beginning of this episode)  to NXT, and they start with an amazing class of future WWE headliners. Some we're seeing for the first time here, others, like Seth Rollins, we saw during their ROH days. Plus, we get a late career William Regal match.

Announcers: Jim Ross, William Regal, Byron Sacton, Todd Grisham, Josh Matthews, Maryse, Howard Finkel

1. Dean Ambrose vs Wiliam Regal
2. Bray Wyatt vs Aiden English
3. Big E vs Chase Donovan
4. Drew McIntyre vs Seth Rollins
5. Brodus Clay vs Ryan Collins
6. The Usos vs Ascension
7. Richie Steamboat vs Chris Hero (as Kassius Ohno)
8. The Usos vs Ascencion
9. Big E vs Chad Baxter
10. Damien Sandow vs Garret Dylan
11. Tyson Kidd vs Curtis Axel (as Michael McGillicutty)
12. Seth Rollins vs Jinder Mahal for 1st ever NXT Championship

1309. Full Sail, 2012

The Rollins run collides with Big E, one of two unstoppable forces introduced during the early days of NXT (the other one being Roman Reigns). We also see Corey Graves brief stint as a wrestler before he becomes one of the core WWE announcers, and Cesaro jumps the fence to NXT from ROH. 

Announcers: Jim Ross, William Regal, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

1. Chris Hero (as Kassius Ohno) vs Richie Steamboat
2. Roman Reigns vs CJ Parker
3. Caesaro (NXT US Champ) vs Tyson Kidd
4. Paige vs Sasha Banks
5. Seth Rollins (NXT Champ) vs Jinder Mahal
6. Big E vs Camacho and Aiden English
7. Big Show (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs Bo Dallas
8. Seth Rollins (NXT Champ) vs Corey Graves
9. Wyatt Family vs Percy Watson & Yoshi Tatsu
10. Seth Rollins (NXT Champ) vs Big E

1308. Aces & Eights, 2012/2013

Last season's main storyline where Hogan and Bischoff made Impact all about WCW nostalgia isn't remembered as a golden age for the company. But this season, we see the rise of the Aces & Eights stable where they took months to slowly reveal a gang of wrestlers who set out to destroy the old guard. It was fun, it had some interesting twists, and in this episode we get to see them debut, we see a couple of them unmasked, and we even see some decent wrestling as it happens. We also get our first glimpse of Joseph Park a Not Wrestler who will have a fascinating storyline through the rest of the season.

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Jeremy Borash, Christy Hemme, "Joseph Park"

1. Jeff Hardy vs Bubba Ray Dudley (as Bully Ray) vs James Storm vs Mr Stone
2. Bad Influence (Impact Tag Team Champs) vs Kurt Angle & AJ Styles vs Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez

3. Aces & Eights vs Sting & Bubba Ray Dudley (as Bully Ray)
4. Austin Aries (Impact Champ) vs Jeff Hardy
5. Jeff Hardy (Impact Champ) vs Kurt Angle

1309. THE SHIELD, 2012

Daniel Bryan & Kane's unlikely tag team gets a shot at the title. CM Punk extends his time as one of the longest reigning WWE champs in history with the help of three little NXT stars who level up as THE SHIELD, and who will soon be three of the top names in wrestling. Oh, and The Rock comes back. Again. Again. The only real downside to this episode is the "AJ Lee is crazy" storyline but I promise, the WWE Womens' Revolution is right around the corner.

Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Matt Striker, Lilian Garcia, Justin Roberts

1. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs Team Hell No 
2. CM Punk (WWE Champ) vs John Cena vs Ryback
3. The Shield vs Ryback & Team Hell No in a TLC Match
4. Dolph Ziggler vs John Cena for the Money In The Bank Contract
5. CM Punk (WWE Champ) vs The Rock

​1310. Defy Or Deny, 2013

The Kevin Owens era continues to be a fun one. With Jim Cornette gone, and NXT taking some of ROH's top talent, we start to see more of a focus on the tag team division, and a few WWE and Impact castoffs popping into the singles main event scene.

Announcers: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Steve Corino, Bobby Cruise

1. Matt Hardy vs Adam Cole
2. Kevin Owens (as Kevin Steen) (ROH Champ) vs Sami Zayn (as El Generico) in a Ladder Match
​
3. The American Wolves vs The Forever Hooligans
4. The Briscoe Brothers (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs reDragon
5. Kevin Owens (as Kevin Steen) (ROH Champ) vs Jay Lethal

1311. The Jabroni Chamber, 2013

So far, The Rock's last hurrah in the WWE has him squaring off with CM Punk. Yea, he has a John Cena match after this, but it's not great so we're skipping it.  The SHIELD is also making their presence felt as more than just CM Punk's muscle.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Lilian Garcia, Justin Roberts

1. The Royal Rumble
Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, Drew McIntyre, Titus O'Neil, Goldust, David Otunga, Heath Slater, Sheamus, Albert (as Tensai), Brodus Clay, Rey Mysterio, Darren Young, Bo Dallas, The Godfather, Wade Barrett, John Cena, Damien Sandow, Daniel Bryan, Antonio Cesaro, The Great Khali, Kane, Zack Ryder, Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal, The Miz, Sin Cara, Ryback

2. #1 Contendor Elimination Chamber
Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Kane, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, Jake Haeger

3. The Shield vs John Cena, Shaemus & Ryback
4. The Rock (WWE Champ) vs CM Punk

​1312. Wrestling Weddings Are Always Cursed, 2013

I have often busted on Impact's storytelling. The Vince Russo Senior Citizen Brigade Ideas were pretty terrible and the Hulk Hogan/Eric Bischoff era wasn't much better. And yet, Hogan is still the General Manager of Impact at this point and, somehow, the storytelling gets really interesting. In this episode it's revealed that Hulk Hogan's daughter is in love with Bubba Ray Dudley. Now ... is it movie level storytelling? Nah. Is it on par with WWE's Attitude era at its peak? Kinda. 
​
Announcers: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Todd Keneley, Jeremy Borash, Christy Hemme

1. D-Von Dudley (as Brother Devon) vs Kurt Angle
2. Jeff Hardy (Impact Champ) vs Austin Aries in a Ladder Match
3. Samoa Joe (Impact TV Champ) vs D-Von Dudley (as Brother Devon)
4. Sting vs Knox
5. Sting vs Luke Gallows (as DOC)
5. Jeff Hardy (Impact Champ) vs Austin Aries vs Bobby Roode

1313. Saturday Morning Slam, 2012-13

Be prepared for an episode like no other. This cartoonish show was focused on bringing wrestling to kids in the 2010s. The focus of the show was humor, faster-paced matches, and some ridiculous spots. Oh, and dancing. There was a TON of dancing.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Booker T, Josh Matthews, Santino Morello, R Truth, Tony Chimel

1. Tyrus (as Brodus Clay) vs Curt Hawkins
2. William Regal vs Matt Cardona (as Zack Ryder)
3. Sin Cara vs Jinder Mahal
4. Daniel Bryan vs Tyson Kidd
5. 3MB vs The Usos
6. Kane vs Jinder Mahal
7. Daniel Bryan vs Heath Slater
8. Alicia Fox vs Natalya
9. Ryback vs 2 jobbers
10. Randy Orton vs Damien Sandow

1314. Stable Champions, 2013

The SHIELD gets all the gold. CM Punk leaves the title behind to chase some of the biggest names in the business. Brock Lesnar Brock Lesnars, and Damien Sandow reaches his apex in the business.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Lilian Garcia, Justin Roberts

1. The Undertaker vs CM Punk
2. Kofi Kingston (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Dean Ambrose
3. Team Hell No (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs The Shield
4. Brock Lesnar vs Triple H in a Steel Cage
5. CM Punk vs Chris Jericho
6. The Shield (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton
7. WWE Heavyweight Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes, Caesaro, Jake Haeger (as Jack Swagger), Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow, Fandango

1315. The Next Next Big Things, 2013

The SHIELD stomps all over their former playground but the big story is that the future womens' revolution gets started here as Bayley and Charlotte Flair each debut.

Announcers: Jim Ross, William Regal, Tom Phillips, Brad Maddox, Renee Young

1. British Ambition vs The Wyatt Family for the inaugural NXT Tag Team Championship
2. Bo Dallas vs Corey Graves vs Conor O'Brian
3. Seth Rollins vs Corey Graves in a Lumberjack Match
4. Chris Jericho vs Bray Wyatt
5. Paige vs Bayley
6. Big E (NXT Champ) vs Bo Dallas
7. Charlotte Flair vs Bayley
8. Emma vs Page for the Inaugural NXT Womens Champ
9. AJ Lee (WWE Divas Champ) vs Bayley
​10. Sami Zayn vs Caesaro

1316. Stacked Deck, 2013

It's the turning point of the Aces & Eights storyline, as they stop having to wear masks and start running things in TNA. Plus, Joseph Park is still out there having fun. And then the Aces & Eights storyline starts to go off the rails for a bit. We'll see if it rights itself next season.

Announcers: Mike Tenay, Tazz, Todd Keneley, Jeremy Borash, Christy Hemme

1. Joseph Park vs Joey Ryan
2. Aces & Eights vs Team TNA in a War Games Match
D-Von Dudley (as Brother Devon), Kennedy, Luke Gallows, Mike Knox & Garrett Bischoff vs Sting, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Erick Young & Magnus

3. Matt Hardy (Impact Champ) vs Bubba Ray Dudley (as Bully Ray) in a Steel Cage
4. Gail Kim vs Taryn Terrell
5. Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles
6. Bubba Ray Dudley (ROH Champ) vs AJ Styles in a No DQ Match

1317. Goat Herding, 2013

The Yes Movement is on the horizon as Vince McMahon and Triple H make it clear that they don't think Daniel Bryan has what it takes to be the WWE champ. So we get some twists and turns and some special guest referees interfering with the Bryan/Orton feud. Oh, and while they're keeping Daniel Bryan down, Triple H and Stephanie are also out to rid the WWE/NEXT of the Rhodes family, who must fight for their jobs in this episode by going head to head with The SHIELD. Plus a dream match as CM Punk takes on Brock Lesnar.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Vickie Guerrero, Lilian Garcia, Justin Roberts

1. Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk in a No DQ Match
2. John Cena (WWE Champ) vs Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton
3. Randy Orton (WWE Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
4. The SHIELD (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs The Rhodes Scholars
5. Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan in a Steel Cage for the WWE Championship

​1318. The Eater Of Worlds, 2013

The Wyatt Family's jump from NXT to WWE proper takes off with nearly as much momentum as The SHIELD's. We get to see Roman be mean to the Usos years before The Bloodline storyline takes shape, and the ROH alums continue to have some of the best matches in the WWE.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Renee Young, Lilian Garcia, Justin Roberts

1. The Rhodes Scholars (WWE Tag Team Champs) vs The SHIELD vs The Usos
2. CM Punk & Daniel Bryan vs The Wyatt Family
3. CM Punk vs The SHIELD
4. AJ Lee (WWE Divas Champ) vs Natalya
5. Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan
6. The Wyatt Family vs The Shield

1319. Nostalgiamania, 2014
The matches in this episode are youngish and freshish superstars but there are cameos from the 80s, 90s, and 00s. I threw the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle into this because it's fun but also because there is a drout of Royal Rumbles this and next season, as there was a creative dry spell around the event for a few years, but it will be back. We also get a setup to our finale which features two Major Events in WWE history.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, Lilian Garcia, Justin Roberts

1. Big E (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Jake Hager
2. WWE Heavyweight Elimination Chamber
Randy Orton (WWE Heavyweight Champ) vs John Cena vs Christian vs Daniel Bryan vs Shaemus vs Caesaro

3. Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
4. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt

1320. Windex & The Yes Movement, 2014

The wildest short term story of the era: Daniel Bryan and The Yes Movement, and the longest running storyline in sports entertainment history: The Undertaker's Streak are the only two elements of this excellent season finale.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Gene Okerlund, Howard Finkel, Lilian Garcia, Justin Roberts

1. Daniel Bryan vs Triple H
2. The Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar
3. Randy Orton (WWE Champ) vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan