• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Only Room For One Top Dog In The IZW Yard

Posted: Jul 29th 2015 By: CMBurnham

There can only be one pack leader. One alpha male. One top dog.

But sometimes, there can be serious drama in the way of determining who that top dog is.

For almost the entirety of the existence of Impact, Inc., the top dog as been Johnny Z. But in May, 2015, that position appeared to be in dispute. At Sudden Impact 2015, Brad Michaels def. Jeff Wolfenbarger to become the 2015 Impact Player of the Year and a couple of weeks later, he redeemed his opportunity for an IZW Title shot after then-IZW Champion Jermaine Johnson had fought a grueling match against Damon Windsor. Michaels hit a superkick on an exhausted Johnson and won the title with little effort.

So now, Michaels stood in the position that had been occupied by Z for most of 2014 and even extending back into 2013. Michaels now threatened the Top Dog status of Johnny Z. And as the weeks went on, Z made it clear that while he may respect Brad Michaels, he did not like him. But Z, together with Windsor, were seemingly more focused on capturing the IZW Tag Team Titles from the K. C. Wolves while Michaels knew he was going to be facing Jermaine Johnson at Evolution.

Z & Windsor were successful in their Tag Team Title venture, putting tag team gold back around the waist of Z for the first time in 6 years. But that was not the end of the night for Z. Instead, Co-Commissioner Shawn McHale invoked the spirit of Evolution by inserting Z into the IZW Title match, making it an impromptu Triple Threat. This news did not seem to shake Johnson, but it certainly upset Michaels. Z, meanwhile, was elated because it gave him the opportunity to do what only Randy Price had ever done before: hold two IZW Titles simultaneously.

When it came time for the match, the questions were circulating: Brad Michaels trained both Johnny Z and Jermaine Johnson. Would that give him an edge? Johnny Z and Jermaine Johnson were once the best of friends. Would they rekindle that friendship and work together in this match? What about the loyalties of Mark Wilson, Damon Windsor and Lisa Generro? All three men brought their top game in this match and at one point, Michaels laid out both Johnson and Z with Superkicks, but was not able to pin either man and win the match. With action hot and heavy, Johnny Z found it in himself to pin the shoulders of the champion and win (on his own, for the first time) the IZW Championship. And every member of Impact, Inc. was in the ring celebrating with him, along with the fans in attendance that night.

Well, every member....except Brad Michaels...

Michaels remained cool and even the next week, seemed to be complacent in his acceptance that he was no longer the IZW Champion. But he could not resist some verbal digs in the direction of Johnny Z. Z announced that he planned to give Jermaine the 1-on-1 match he was supposed to have at Evolution and made it very clear to all the members of Impact, Inc. that he neither needed nor wanted their assistance in the match. He planned to do things the right way and everyone agreed with him.

Well, everyone...except Brad Michaels, who seemed to insinuate that Z was actually making a plot of some sort and said he would have the back of the champion to ensure he remained champion. Z neither asked for nor wanted that type of protection and when it came time for the match, he faced Jermaine in one of the most scientific and evenly fought matches that Johnny Z has had in recent months. But when it appeared that Johnson may have been on the road to victory over Z, Michaels appeared, entered the ring and hit Johnson with the Superkick. The match was over and Z retained the title, but obviously not in the fashion he hoped for. And things began to degrade very quickly between Michaels and Z.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Co-Commissioner Mark Wilson tried to attempt some damage control. He said that at Redemption, it would once again be a Triple Threat Match with Johnny Z defending the title against Jermaine Johnson...and Brad Michaels! Perhaps come September 12th, this situation will finally resolve itself and there will be one top dog in the Impact, Inc. fold. But until then, both men can be expected to continue to show the other just how much being the Number One man in IZW means to them. And just what lengths they will go to be in that position.