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Reunion, Accomplishment & Heartbreak Punctuate Weekend For "Real Deal"

Posted: Mar 20th 2009 By: CMBurnham

It's not uncommon these days for many wrestlers to be able to perform on 3 shows in the state of Oklahoma any given weekend. With so many federations running, anyone who wants to work can. Aaron Neil tends to keep himself busy with two of those federations; IZW and MSWA. He's also made himself known in GPCW, which runs once a month in Cache. This past weekend, Neil found himself at the centre of many major events in all 3 federations.

Friday night, Neil, who is the IZW Champion, faced off against IZW Tag Team Champion Johnny Z. These two men used to be stablemates as part of Impact, Inc., but when Neil returned to wrestling after an absence of almost a year, he forswore any alliance with that stable and has been battling them endlessly in Lawton. Neil and Z tore into each other with much to prove and it seemed like Neil might have the upper hand in the match until the interference of Johnny Z's fellow IZW Tag Team Champion Bernie D. Two-on-one (or better) is how Impact, Inc. likes to handle it's business and Neil needed someone to watch his back.

He had that protection in the form of his former tag team partner, Se7en and on this night, for the first time since May, 2008, the Real Impact Players stood together in the ring. While both men had been on opposite sides this past summer during the war between SWCW commissioner Miss Sheila and SWCW Hardcore Champion Kareem Sadat, that issue had been patched up and the 3-time MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions faced off against the 6-time IZW Tag Team Champions, allowing one of the great "dream matches" in Oklahoma to finally come true. Both teams used every trick they had and in the end, Neil & Se7en stood triumphant in front of the fans in Cache.

The next night, Neil didn't have Se7en there for backup, but he had plenty of replacements as all the members of Team Real Deal (BLK-OUT, John O'Malley & Kenny Campbell) were lumberjacks along with all the members of Team Impact (Bernie D, Angel Williams, MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion Seth Allen & MWA Champion Blake Albright) when once again Neil stood across the ring from Johnny Z. Both teams made their presence known as they tried to help out their respective teammates. At the peak of the match, Neil hoisted Z up for the Real Drill finisher and that was when Team Impact hit the ring to prevent their captain from being pinned. No sooner did one side come in than the other side also entered and 10-men began to battle inside the same ring they'll be in tomorrow night...except then, it will be surrounded by a steel cage! Team Real Deal drove their opponents from the ring last Saturday, but there will be no escape for them come March 21.

But perhaps the most emotional moment for Neil came Sunday afternoon. Two weeks ago, MSWA Champion Striker had come to the ring and offered to relenquish the MSWA Mid-South Title. He'd been told by his doctor that he was facing facial reconstruction and it meant the end of his career. MSWA commissioner Outlaw gave him two weeks to be absolutely sure that this was the only course of action available. In the meantime, a main event was set that afternoon for Aaron Neil to face Brian Blade to determine the #1 contender to the MSWA Title. Neil won and could now set his eyes on the one title he had never held in MSWA.

Sunday afternoon Outlaw again came out and addressed the crowd regarding the controversy surrounding the MSWA Title. He brought out Striker, who had the MSWA Title with him. Striker again reiterated that when he won the belt from Al Farat, the biggest promise he made to himself was that he wouldn't the same type of champion Farat was. He wasn't going to go away for months at a time and defend against unworthy challengers. But with a heavy heart, he had to tell Outlaw and the crowd that he was not going to be able to defend the belt that afternoon. He wanted the crowd to know that when the wrestlers come to perform for them, they leave families behind and sometimes they lose families. And when doctors tell them that they have to quit or they will end up dead, they have to stop. Striker announced that he was forfeiting the title, but that announcement simply brought Aaron Neil to the ring. Aaron told the crowd that 6 years ago, when he had his first match in MSWA, it was against Striker and it was for the MSWA Title. It was the one title he wanted that he had never won. He still wanted it and he was happy to be the #1 contender for it, but he didn't want to win it this way. He wanted to beat Striker because Striker is the measuring stick for all MSWA Champions. He can't control fate, but he asked for Striker to have one more match. Striker considered for a moment and then said that Neil was right. He deserved more than just someone handing him a belt. He agreed to the match, even though he knew what he was risking.

The match was pure science. Both men brought everything they had, but perhaps in the back of Striker's mind, he knew that it would be better to "pass the torch" to Neil rather then defend the belt successfully. He came out on the losing end and after the match, stood in the corner with tears flowing down his face as he knew that he had wrestled quite possibly the last match of his career. Aaron Neil took the microphone after the announcement was made that he was the new MSWA Champion and said that this was the happiest day of his life, but it was also bittersweet because he knew that Striker wouldn't be around to celebrate it after this point. The two men embraced in the ring to a standing ovation as Striker took what might be his final bows in front of a wrestling crowd.

Striker informed Oklafan that he faces a recovery time of 3-6 months after the surgery and only then will a final decision be made regarding his wrestling career. Aaron Neil now stands as the only dual singles champion in Oklahoma, but neither belt will be easy to defend as the challengers are certainly lining up to knock "The Real Deal" off the hill he's climbed.

Tags: Aaron Neil, IZW, MSWA, GPCW, Johnny Z, Bernie D, Se7en, Real Impact Players, SWCW, Miss Sheila, Kareem Sadat, BLK-OUT, John O'Malley, Kenny Campbell, Angel Williams, Seth Allen, Blake Albright, Striker, Brian Blade, Outlaw, Al Farat