Dogs on leashes, legends in suits, covenants of blood, crimson valkyries, and a blockbuster PPV reveal. Zenith 003 had it all — Dutch & Scott break it down.
Debut
Maxine Gillespie & Peaknuckle shock NYC
“I’m a Dog! You’re a Dog!” introduces Maxine and her “reincarnated chihuahua grandson” Peaknuckle. Comedy turns sinister as Maxine hints at weaponized manipulation.
Dutch
Crowd started chanting memes and left whispering prayers. That’s a swing.
Scott
Peaknuckle plays goofball, but the leash reads like a horror prop. Visual storytelling 101.
Dutch
Maxine’s heel gear is “mean librarian meets exorcist.” It works too well.
Scott
If she’s lying to him? That’s heat you can’t teach — and a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Dutch
Note the distance: he never comes within a leash length. Conditioned behavior.
Scott
Peaknuckle sold the “rabbit” like a gunshot. We just met a monster and his maker.
Press Box
Thunderwolf & Misty Starks appear
Thunderwolf in Tom Ford, Misty radiant — parents of Hannah & Chance Kelser arrive as the arena chants. The past walks back in exactly when the future debuts.
Dutch
He didn’t bump; he breathed. The building still moved with him.
Scott
Misty’s return matters. She’s the emotional read — and she looked uneasy later.
Dutch
Jason can scoff at nostalgia, but the chant hit like entrance pyro.
Scott
Thunderwolf bulked up — the “high-flyer” is now a kingpin silhouette.
Dutch
Optics: execs flanking him. Feels like business, not cameo.
Scott
And the kids? They didn’t need the hand wave. That’s the story.
Arrival
The Covenant crowns a fallen King Oso
Chance & Hannah mark Oso with χ ξ ϛ and “crown” him. Ceremony over sport; a manifesto written in face paint and mock pageantry.
Dutch
That goblet spot will live in gif culture. It’s villain canon now.
Scott
They didn’t win — they converted. That’s more dangerous long-term.
Dutch
Hannah’s touch was tender then cruel. Audience whiplash by design.
Scott
Crowd didn’t boo; they stared. That silence is power you exploit later.
Dutch
Cutaway to Misty: hands on head. Thunderwolf: stone. Family as Greek chorus.
Scott
First chapter says “ritual.” Expect escalation to “sacrifice.”
Backstage
Pigpen courts Maxine — Best of Five wager
Pigpen flirts like a guillotine. Maxine offers a Best-of-Five with escalating stips: win her date, lose your freedom. Peaknuckle pees; the tone stays deadly.
Dutch
Pigpen smiled. I didn’t know he had that facial setting.
Scott
She called herself Eurydice and demanded Orpheus bleed. That’s villain Shakespeare.
Dutch
Best-of-Five “escalating stips” screams barbed wire by fall four.
Scott
Pigpen vowed “Planet Motherf***er rules.” Translation: misery with a referee.
Dutch
Peaknuckle’s fear read real. Maxine smiled anyway. That’s the point.
Scott
This triangle is twisted romance + deathmatch math. Fans will rubberneck.
Family Feud
Madison Seton dismantles Laura with words
Laura’s self-inventory gets torched by Madison’s Empire TED Talk, sports trolling included. Breedlove says nothing and wins anyway.
Dutch
Madison weaponized “If.” Then called Laura a loser for using it.
Scott
Tyrese choke taunt at Knicks fans? That’s nuclear in this zip code.
Dutch
Breedlove valet’d the belt in a vault and let sister talk. Efficient cruelty.
Scott
Visual: Laura alone post-music. Madison’s thesis in one frame.
Dutch
This isn’t just a rematch arc. It’s a recruitment war for Laura’s soul.
Scott
If Laura gets allies, Empire’s gambit backfires. If not, winter comes early.
Revelation
Austin Anderson returns — unveils Emiko Fujimoto
The Absolute admits the addiction, then crowns the cure: Emiko Fujimoto, Crimson Valkyrie. The presentation screamed “main event” before bell one.
Dutch
Austin didn’t chase one more match; he built a dynasty piece.
Scott
Entrance: orchestral + smoke + crimson pauldrons. You felt the budget.
Dutch
“Everything I wished I could’ve been” — that’s vulnerability as rocket fuel.
Scott
Emiko’s cadence was calm, blade-sharp. Stars don’t shout; they cut.
Dutch
She promised to be the storm. Booking just needs to open the skies.
Scott
Tag her with a killer first dance partner and stand back.
Tryout
Holden Nobody survives Cormac — meets Nate Robideau
Holden guts through Cormac and gets the talk from Robideau: nerves are the point, choose to matter. A small scene that felt big.
Dutch
Octavia Butler quote to start, knuckle sandwiches to finish. I’m in.
Scott
Cormac gave him just enough hell to make the handshake earned.
Dutch
Nate’s presence equals gravitas. He doesn’t endorse lightly.
Scott
“Be a shadow or matter.” That’s a mission statement for a midcard rise.
Dutch
Hands shaking on purpose — humanizes him without undercutting grit.
Scott
Give him one signature win on TV and watch the crowd claim him.
Confrontation
Corey Lazarus, Josh Kaine, and Ricky explode backstage
Veteran ego, second-gen pride, and a son drawing boundaries. Ricky O’Reilly slaps back — literally — and books a spar with Kaine.
Dutch
Corey’s charisma is napalm; Josh doesn’t blink. Great chemistry clash.
Scott
Ricky cut the “save the boy” trope off at the knees. Adult, autonomous.
Dutch
The slap was a thesis statement. Not rebellion — emancipation.
Scott
Kaine respected the agency and set a date. That’s how you seed allies.
Dutch
Corey inviting him to Club Xanny mid-trash talk? Peak L-A-Z.
Scott
Triangle can flex to tag, singles, even a mentorship theft angle. Options.
Main Event
Johnny Napalm wins Empire State Title; Real Deal announces Daybreak
Napalm edges Tuck, then Real Deal drops a monster: Vito, Napalm, Izzy Sia, Tuck, Dino Pequeño, and Black Sheep Baez in one match for BOTH Empire State & Premier titles at Daybreak (Oct 5).
Dutch
Napalm’s renaissance stays hot. But now he’s the hunted x2.
Scott
Tuck gets flowers on-air — smart respect booking after a loss.
Dutch
Real Deal had bounce tonight. Big-match promoter energy is back.
Scott
Two belts, six bodies, one winner: expect alliances and betrayals mid-stream.
Dutch
NYC favorites Vito and BSB in the same car crash? That roof may go.
Scott
If Izzy Sia steals it, we rewrite power charts overnight. Don’t blink.
