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Nemesis DOA Thanks To Playboy's Surprise Return

Posted: Apr 1st 2010 By: CMBurnham

For the better part of two years, the strongest and most dominant faction in SWCW was Nemesis. Though comprised primarily of cruiserweights, the group ran roughshod over SWCW, capturing multiple titles and presenting a unified front against all opponents. At the forefront of that group was Rage Logan. And it appears that his absence from the group led to their final demise, even though he had nothing to do with the specific match ending the group's unity.

The "Ultimate X-Mas" event on December 19th saw all four current members of Nemesis, Logan, Damien Morte, Crisstopher Crow and Xavior compete along with David Kyzer and Sage in an Ultimate X match. The winner of that match would receive a Sure-Shot contract, guaranteeing them a title shot for whatever title they wanted, whenever they wanted it. The previous year, Logan had defeated Morte, but this time, it seemed that the Nemesis were guaranteed a winning decision, since they comprised 2/3 of the match. That wasn't certain, though, with dissention and arguement breeding amongst the foursome over the weeks before the match happened. Ultimately, Damien Morte came out with the victory. That wasn't too surprising, but the implosion of Nemesis in the following moments was. Morte ejected Logan, saying that his show of sportsmanship and heart had no place in the group. Morte then stepped forward as the leader and proceded to wage war on Logan with the rest of Nemesis behind him. Or at least that's the way it appeared at first. But then Crisstopher Crow was removed from the group when he chose to take a shot at the SWCW Cruiserweight Title, then held by fellow member Xavior. Even Xavior began to slide into the background after losing that title and that left only Morte to carry on the Nemesis name.

Seemingly forgotten amongst all these events was former member Damon Windsor. Windsor had returned the night of Ultimate X and had endorsed Morte as the man to take Nemesis into the next decade. But when he became aware of the events that happened in his absence, he became truly disenchanted with the whole situation and vowed to make some changes upon his return.

That return happened on March 11. Milton Winkelman announced to the crowd that Shawn McKeaigg was not present and an interim commissioner had been named for the night. Before that name could be revealed, Damien Morte arrived with his Sure-Shot briefcase in hand. He boasted to the crowd how his guaranteed contract was going to take him to new heights, but before he could get much further, Damon Windsor came through the curtain to a thunderous ovation! The former SWCW Champion told the crowd that it was good to be back in Oklahoma City and that he had been contacted by Shawn McKeaigg to come in his place. Morte and Windsor embraced and Windsort said that the last time he was in town, Morte had won the briefcase. That same night, Morte had busted Rage Logan open and said he was planning on taking Nemesis to new heights. Windsor then turned the tables and asked Morte what happened. Since that moment, Xavior was absent and Crow had the Cruiserweight Title, but was no longer a member. From what Windsor could see, Morte had taken Nemesis and flushed it down the toilet. As Morte stood flabbergasted, Windsor called him a loser, a screwup and a "cancer on the group", then said there would be no more chances or excuses. He challenged Morte to a match with the stipulation being that, if Morte lost, Nemesis would die forever.

Even with his faction's existence on the line, Morte wasn't willing to put aside his issue with Rage. During the SWCW All-American Title tournament match between Logan and Korvin Sage, Morte came out to observe. As the referee was distracted, Morte hopped up on the ring apron and delivered a forearm to Logan, which allowed Sage to hit a codebreaker and advance to the next bracket. Morte had once again scored some points in his war against Logan, but the last shot was still to be delivered.

Morte and Windsor put on another Match of the Year candidate, hitting devastating moves and keeping the audience on the edge of their seat. Ultimate, Windsor would catch Morte by surprise with an RKO and score the pin, putting the nail in the coffin for Nemesis forever. Morte was obviously humiliated by this and while Windsor was celebrating, hit him from behind with the briefcase. Then, to many people's surprise, Rage Logan arrived to rescue Windsor. At first, it appeared that the odds were too great for Morte, who powdered to the outside. But as Logan and Windsor regained their feet, Morte reentered the ring and hit both men with the case before leaving and heading up the ramp. Windsor and Logan once again stood back up and were somewhat untrusting of each other (based on Windsor's endorsement of Morte on December 19), but finally bumped fists in a show of solidarity before leaving the ring.

Thus the chapter of SWCW involving Nemesis is closed. Battles with X-Rated, Miss Sheila, Sage and many others are closed forever. While it's unclear if the group would be allowed to revive in another federation, it seems unlikely for that to happen. At this point, "The Suicide Saint" still has that contract to cash in whenever he wants to. But now he has to be aware that when he decides to go for that title, he won't have any backup to help him bring it home.

Tags: SWCW, Nemesis, Rage Logan, Damien Morte, Crisstopher Crow, Xavior, David Kyzer, Sage, Damon Windsor, Milton Winkelman, Shawn McKeaigg, X-Rated, Miss Sheila, Korvin Sage