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Title Makes Groom a Huge Target

Posted: Aug 20th 2009 By: CMBurnham

It seems like everywhere that TOPW Oklahoma Champion Brandon Groom turns, someone is trying to get at him. Groom recently opened his own wrestling federation and defeated The Handsome Spoiler for the heavyweight belt. But that simply put a target on Grooms back that he's had to face. And that target widened when Groom came to the rescue of his friend and sometime-partner Blake Albright.

Albright had seen the error of his ways at the initial TOPW event. In the early part of the show he was one of the entrants in a Battle Royal to determine who got a shot at the TOPW Title. He was accompanied to the ring by his manager Mike Iles. Also entered in the Battle Royal (and also managed by Iles) was MWA Champion Michael Barry. Albright and Barry were declared the co-winners of the Battle Royal and hence, co-#1 contenders. During the main event, Iles, Albright, and Barry were in the corner of The Handsome Spoiler. With the referee distracted, Albright was going to hit Groom with a chair, Groom ducked and the chair connected to the skull of Barry. Fuming, Mike Iles slapped Albright and sent him to the locker room. Albright then came out, pushed Spoiler off the top turnbuckle and assisted Groom in winning the title. When Iles & Barry sauntered their way into the arena for the event this past Friday, Iles made it known to everyone that, as far as he was concerned, Barry was the #1 contender, not Albright. In his eyes, Barry carried Albright during the Battle Royal. He then introduced the newest member of his growing faction, Excellence Personified, in the form of Jack Legacy. Legacy and Albright faced off with Iles and Barry at ringside and the temptation to make their presence known was too great for them. Eventually, referee John the Encourager ejected both Iles & Barry from the ringside area. But as Iles protested this decision, it distracted the referee. This allowed Groom to come to the ring and superkick Legacy. Albright then hit the "Posterizer" and gain the win. Groom took the microphone and apologised for interfering in Blake's match, but he remembered Albright helping him win the TOPW Title two months before. He then guaranteed that Barry would not take the title from him and invited Albright to join him at ringside for that match.

When it came time for the main event, Barry had Iles and Legacy in tow with him, while Albright backed up Groom. The contest was long and evenly matched, but as the time went on, the tempers began to flair amongst the ringside people and finally, it boiled over. Legacy & Albright tore into each other while Groom and Barry continued to battle in the ring. Then, TOPW Tag Team Champions The Texas Outlaws hit the ring to interfere. This brought special guest Scotty Burnett and his friend out. Bobby Burns was knocked out by Burnett and between Groom, Burnett & Albright, the ring was soon cleared of the evildoers. But Barry grabbed the microphone and reentered the ring. He said that the MMA competitors had disrespected the show by interfering and that he deserved a rematch. Groom asked the fans if they wanted to see a rematch and it was resounding postive response. John the Encourager rang the bell, Groom picked Barry up for the Fall From Grace and 3 seconds later the match was over.

Handling an opponent you can see face-to-face is one thing, but when that opponent attacks from behind, it's much more difficult to deal with. The next night. Groom was scheduled to face Johnny Z. And, where Johnny goes, the rest of Impact, Inc. goes. Groom couldn't count on his friend Blake Albright being in his corner on this occasion, as Albright is a full-fledged member of Impact, Inc. So, he joined Bernie D at ringside to encourage Johnny in his match. Groom knew what he was getting into with this match, but still, 3-on-1 odds didn't favour the Bristow native. Nonetheless, it appeared he might be able to pull of the victory until the rest of Impact, Inc. hopped up on the ring apron. Groom knocked Albright out and Bernie dropped off the apron to tend to his fallen comrade. At this point, Austin Tacious ran down the ramp to interfere, costing Groom the match. Groom was certainly unhappy, but he had a plot in mind, which came to fruition shortly after intermission.

That plot became somewhat more muddled after the post-intermission events. John O'Malley had disposd of Xavior, but wasn't satisfied that he'd inflicted enough damge, so he was in the middle of a post-match beatdown when Groom, with steel chair, arrived to help. Now it was 2-on-1 until Austin Tacious arrived. Austin tried to hit Groom with the steel chair while O'Malley held him, but Austin missed and connected with the forehead of John O'Malley. O'Malley wasn't thrilled, but the damage had been done, as both Groom and O'Malley were laid out and the apparant of this round stood proudly in the ring.

Groom has a shot against Austin Tacious at September Slam on September 19. But Groom also has an unresolved issue with John O'Malley. Whichever one he decides to pursue, he needs to remember the Golden Rule of wrestling: "Do unto others BEFORE they do unto you."

Tags: TOPW, Brandon Groom, Blake Albright, Mike Iles, MWA, Michael Barry, Jack Legacy, John the Encourager, The Texas Outlaws, IZW, Johnny Z, Bernie D, Xavior