IZW Triumphant! MSWA Must Leave OKC Area!
In the state of Oklahoma, there are perhaps no words that invoke tradition more than "Mid-South". Bill Watts began Mid-South Wrestling and, after it had become the UWF and was absorbed by Jim Crockett, New Mid-South was born out of the ashes of the PZWA. By 2001, the Mid-South Wrestling Alliance was carrying on the tradition of wrestling in the centre of the Sooner State and while other federations have come and shared the city, MSWA will always the mainstay. Now, it appears that mainstay's time has come and gone, as IZW won the war on Sunday, July 8, forcing MSWA to leave the Oklahoma City area and leaving Mid-South fans without much hope for the future.
Since declaring war on MSWA a few months ago, it seems like most everything has gone in the direction of IZW and specifically of Impact, Inc. Like the gang of bullies they are, Impact, Inc. has run all over MSWA doing whatever they wanted to and no one seemed able to step up and stop them. 2 of their members, Aaron Neil and Brad Michaels, controll the MSWA Oklahoma and Mid-South Titles. They stole the IZW Impact Division Belt from John O'Malley and have yet to return it. Even the MSWA Mid-South Cruiserweight Title is controlled by an IZW talent in the form of Matt Garza. And while it's true that MSWA has been able to gain a few sparse victories, such as the 10-man Elimination Tag Team Match on the April 21 IZW show, most of the success has gone to IZW, thanks to their thug tactics. Perhaps it was that frustration that led MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion (and MSWA owner) Bad Boy to challenge Impact, Inc. to a 5-on-5 Elimination Match where the losing team had to leave town. To give credit to Bad Boy, he chose the one thing that MSWA had been successful at and decided to run with it again.
IZW certainly seemed unhappy with this announcement and, as the fans were waiting for the show to begin on July 8, it seemed that they were working on backing out of the deal, as MSWA ring announcer Jesse Storm came out and told the crowd that several members of the Impact, Inc. team had not renewed their license and therefore would be inelligible to compete in the elimination match, forcing it to be postponed. However, things turned around shortly after the show began as Bad Boy, followed by his tag team championship partner Outlaw, came out to the ring and announced that there WOULD be an elimination match that afternoon. He was sure that IZW was scared. Outlaw took the microphone and said that IZW was like a snake and if you chopped off the head, the body would die, perhaps an allusion that Impact, Inc. is led by IZW owner John Zorthos and his elimination would lead to the rest of IZW vacating the premises.
When it came time for the match, it was to be a 4-on-4 event. Michaels, Neil, Zorthos and Bernie Donderwitz against Bad Boy, Outlaw, O'Malley & Ryan Davidson. Impact, Inc. started in the ring and the MSWA contingent launched their attack from outside, quickly taking the ring over as the rules were being explained by Jesse Storm. During the match, O'Malley took it upon himself to deliver spankings to every member of Impact, Inc., something that their mothers should have done many years ago. That provided the fans some moments of amusement, but in the backs of the participants' minds, it was all business as they knew how much was really at stake.
The crowd was extrememly pleased when O'Malley pinned Neil, perhaps forgetting that it was an elimination event. It did give MSWA a brief lead, but shortly after, Bernie D took out O'Malley and it was 3 on 3. A long time passed in the match before another elimination occurred, this time with Ryan Davidson forcing Bernie Donderwitz back to the showers. But again, the advantage for MSWA didn't last long and Ryan soon found his shoulders on the mat for a 3-count courtesy of Brad Michaels.
With the situation at 2 on 2, the referee got knocked out. Looking to use IZW's tactics against them, Bad Boy acquired a chair while Outlaw held John Zorthos. But this completely backfired against the Mid-South Tag Team Champions as Zorthos avoided the chair shot, which knocked Outlaw out. Michaels then delivered a piledriver to Bad Boy while Zorthos revived referee Jeff Kiger. 3 seconds later, an unconscious Outlaw was all that remained for MSWA and, after a great show of how "difficult" it was going to be to pin him, John Zorthos applied a lateral press, hooked the leg and the referee's hand fell 3 times. Mid-South Champion Brad Michaels & IZW owner John Zorthos stood triumphant in the MSWA ring as the crowd sat in stunned silence. The reprieve hadn't come. The rally from behind hadn't been delivered. MSWA was dead.
Zorthos took the microphone and told everyone to be at the Golden Goose Flea Market on July 22 to "welcome a new era in Oklahoma City wrestling". Slowly the realisation came to the crowd. 1 girl put her head in her lap and sobbed uncontrollably, much to the delight of the Impact, Inc. members. Many other crowd members shouted profanities and jeered as Bernie Donderwitz & Aaron Neil joined their victorious brethren at ringside before leaving as a unit, triumphant.
Outlaw had to be helped from the ring by several members of MSWA security and appeared unable to put any weight on his right leg. He was seen after the show exchanging heated words with Bad Boy over the chairshot and subsequent loss.
MSWA will promote one more show at the Golden Goose Flea Market and there will be several important matches on that show, but after that, the territory belongs to IZW. IZW has advertised that it will begin weekly shows on July 28 and now that it has a venue, it seems that the time of MSWA may be over. Technically, MSWA could move somewhere else in Oklahoma and promote, but it seems more likely that they will go the way of SRPW , just one more federation forced to shut down due to betrayal from the inside.
For Oklahoma City, it appears that the impact has been felt. The fans simply wait to see what will happen next.
