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Impact, Inc.: Strength In Numbers

Posted: Oct 21st 2010 By: CMBurnham

For the entire existence of IZW, the controlling factor has always been Impact, Inc. Through all the various incarnations, Johnny Z?s group of personal thugs has dominated the ring, using gangland style tactics and intimidation to hold titles and make life miserable for the other competitors as well as the fans. Now, with MSWA Mid-South Champion Johnny Z as co-commissioner, the only thing that looks able to stop Impact, Inc. would be internal dissolution. Oddly, that almost looked like it would be happening over the past couple of weeks.

Johnny Z certainly took to his new control position with all the gusto you?d expect from a meglomaniac. He had ideas. He had motivation. And he had people to back it up. Aaron Neil is the IZW Champion. He?s held that title more than any other wrestler in IZW history. Jordan Jacobs is the newest recruit. And while his success ratio is somewhat lacking in the ring, he?s certainly loyal to the group, demanding respect and making waves as the next generation of superstar to lead IZW into the future. And since coming together, Arrogant Money has held the tag team titles on multiple occasions and worked as a combined force to further the group?s end.

And then there was the wild card in the form on Jermaine Johnson. Johnson is a member of Impact, Inc. in MSWA, but still hasn?t been accepted in the IZW version. And to complicate matters, Johnson has made it very clear that he wants a shot at the IZW Championship. He was the first to announce that he was entering the Monster?s Ball Battle Royal at Halloween Hangover. And when Johnny Z announced his position as co-commissioner, he seemed to take a shine to Johnson. With Johnny off the active roster , a replacement for him in the group seemed necessary and Johnson certainly appeared to be the obvious choice. But with the continued desire for his first IZW singles title, it seemed that Johnson and Neil were not going to end up on the same page anytime soon.

This past Saturday, Aaron Neil was set to defend the IZW Title against Jesse White. This match had been hyped heavily on the IZW television show for a couple of weeks and many fans looked forward to White defeating Neil for the belt just as his father, Big Van Vader, had done 5 years before. But halfway through the show, a video appeared on the Zorthotron showing White laid out backstage with Aaron Neil standing over him. Aaron then came to the ring with a chair and sat down, facing the hard camera. He said he let it go when co-commissioner Sam Helton named Bernie D the number one contender to the IZW Title, but he refused to allow ?two scrubs? to receive title shots. He then called Jermaine Johnson to the ring. Johnson appeared and told Aaron to put down the chair. Neil dumped the chair outside, then said that it should be no secret that he didn?t like Johnson. He called Johnson nothing. Johnson responded that he is not a lapdog or a sheep and that Johnny Z was begging him to save Impact, Inc. That made his the best. Neil responded that the IZW made him the best. He even reminded everyone that he beat 3 people in one night to get his last title shot, including Johnson. He then went on to defeat 2 men at the same time to win the belt. With all this posturing going on, it was inevitable that both men would come to blows and that seemed imminent when Johnny Z ran down the ramp and got between them, ordering them to separate corners. He told Aaron to act like a champion, then turned to Johnson and said that even though he was Johnny?s right-hand man, this was still Johnny?s company. He demanded that both men calm down, even though the crowd was chanting ?Let them fight!?

Johnny continued to mediate the situation by giving Aaron the night off. He then told Johnson to do exactly what he told him to do, because Johnson is the most sought-after property in the state. The best plan for Jermaine is to remain in Johnny?s back pocket and in that position, Johnny had a problem for Jermaine to solve. He needed Jermaine to punish Bernie D so badly that he would spend the next 2 weeks healing and not be prepared for his title match at Halloween Havoc. At that point Sam Helton appeared and said that Aaron Neil receiving the night off was ?bullcrap?. He said that Neil intentionally attacked White and he shouldn?t be rewarded for that, so he forced Aaron to defend his title against Dustin Daniels.

When Bernie D came out to face Johnson, a staredown occurred between him and Aaron Neil. Neil eventually went to ringside and sat with Johnny Z. This almost proved to be a mistake for the champion as, during the match, Bernie backdropped Johnson over the top rope onto Aaron, prompting the two to nearly come to blows again even with Johnny between them. Aaron & Johnny then left ringside, but towards the end of the match, Jordan Jacobs came out and tried to interfere in the match. Bernie quickly disposed of him with a Sky High. This provided enough distraction so Jermaine could take advantage and roll Bernie up for a pin, but it only resulted in a 2-count. Johnson then got a chair and engaged in a tug-of-war with referee Mark Wilson. Bernie went in for a clothesline, but Johnson dodged and Bernie collided with Wilson, stunning him. This allowed Johnson to grab a chair, which he then went to hit Bernie with. Bernie ducked, then kicked Johnson in the groin and hit him with a chair. After tossing the chair out of the ring, Bernie covered Johnson and a dazed Wilson made the 3-count.

Johnny desperately tried to grab control back later, interrupting an interview with Arrogant Money. Price & Tacious were being asked about abandoning Neil & Johnson last week during the 8-man tag team main event. It appeared that Randy was about to state that they weren?t part of Impact, Inc. anymore when Johnny burst in and said he would give them an opportunity that night, even though he couldn?t remember the last notable thing they ever did. Johnny made it very clear that Arrogant Money let them down, but Price reminded them that they walked out on him. So when the duo appeared during Neil?s title defence against Dustin Daniels with chairs, Johnny Z?s wish looked like it was about to be fulfilled. Prince & Tacious entered the ring and raised their chairs in the direction of Daniels, but then lowered them and turned in the direction of Neil. They stepped on both sides of Neil, as his back was turned, and appeared to be setting him up for a Con-Chair-To, but suddenly turned and threw the chairs on the face of Daniels. Neil then hit the Death Valley Driver and Arrogant Money left Daniels in the middle of the ring after a devastating double-team move.

Secure and combined once again, Impact, Inc. left the arena stronger than ever. With no more fractures apparent and with the Jermaine Johnson as the ace up the sleeve of the group, there seems to be no respite for the IZW fans. Bernie D will have a daunting hill to climb if he intends to take the IZW Title away from control of the group. But while they seem to be unified now, the effect of the Monster?s Ball may once again cause problems with the group. If they can overcome that challenge, it seems that nothing can threaten the position of power Impact, Inc. holds over IZW.