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Neil & Z: MSWA Wasn't Big Enough For Both Of Them

Posted: Sep 25th 2010 By: CMBurnham

MSWA Mid-South Champion Johnny Z. IZW Champion Aaron Neil. They've been partners. They've engaged in the 2009 Feud of the Year. But the simple FACT of the matter is that there would have to come a point where one would be gone. And when that finally happened, the shock literally stunned the MSWA fans into silence.

For the better part of a year, Aaron Neil has fought what at times felt like a one-man battle against Impact, Inc. Johnny Z and his associates have used every underhanded tactic they could to turn Neil's friends against him and eventually to steal the Mid-South Title from him. They crushed Neil's confidence and sent him away from MSWA for quite a while. But Neil returned on May 16, disguised as the Midnite Rider (which was supposed to be IZW Impact Division Champion Bernie D) and shocked Johnny, prompting a loss by countout. Johnny then went out of his way to duck and avoid Aaron Neil until MSWA management forced them to face each other in a 6-man tag team match. Neil had Al Snow & Little Rampage with him against Johnny, Bernie & Mike Hawk. The match saw Bernie introduce the tazer that he brought as backup in IZW and that tazer played an important part in both the 6-man tag (with Neil's team coming out victorious) as well as the one-on-one match that followed.

With momentum on his side, Neil & Johnny were announced in a Loser-Leaves-MSWA Match. Neil could feel that he had a chance to not only regain the MSWA Title, but also to drive the constant thorn in his side out of the company. But he knew that if Johnny were left to his own devices, he would stack the deck to ensure his victory. And when Impact, Inc. arrived in the ring last Sunday, they were all smiles and assuredness. Johnny immediately began to brag about his cadre, saying they were where the action was and that it didn't matter to him if the fans didn't respect him because he didn't respect them. He said Aaron Neil and MSWA owner Bad Boy wished they could be half the man he was and even went so far as to say that he was the most dominant performer in Oklahoma. He promised that after this show, Neil would be gone from MSWA for good. Then, to the fans' support, Bad Boy arrived to the ring. He immediately got in Johnny's face and said he was tired of his mouth. He was sure that Aaron was not leaving and that it would be the self-professed "saviour of Oklahoma wrestling" that would be gone. To help achieve that goal, Bad Boy announced that he was banning Impact, Inc. from ringside and assigning them all matches prior to the main event to assure that they would be in no condition to try and interfere. Obviously, Bernie D, Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs were irate about that. But they had no option in the situation. Or at least that's what they wante the fans to believe.

None of the Impact, Inc. members were successful in thier matches which may have cause Johnny some concern. And desperate times can lead to desperate measures. So after Johnny and Aaron entered the ring for their match, the strange things began to happen. For quite a while, the match was man-to-man with Aaron dominating the action. And then through the main entrance walked three "women" who were quickly identified as the other Impact, Inc. members in drag. All 3 stormed the ring and Aaron was able to fend off each one, but the distraction allowed Johnny to recover and take the advantage in the match. Despite the overwhelming amount of punishment Aaron took in the match, he mustered every bit of heart he had and fought back, finally summoning up the strength to hoist Johnny up for the Death Valley Driver. But in positioning him for the move, Aaron ran Johnny's feet into referee Mark Wilson's face, knocking him down and dazing him. Aaron connected with the moves, but Wilson was dazed and made a slow count letting Johnny kick out. Neil then brought Johnny to his feet and whipped him into the corner. Aaron went to charge in, but Johnny pulled Wilson into the corner, then Johnny went off the ropes and went to hit his big boot to Aaron's face, but ended up connecting with Wilson's face. Wilson was out and that allowed Jordan Jacobs to come out with the tazer after Aaron picked Johnny up for a spinebuster. Before Jordan could do anything with the weapon, Bad Boy arrived and began to battle with Jacobs back to the entrance. But Jacobs managed to throw the tazer into the ring and Johnny picked it up and shoved it into Aaron's midsection. He then hit a The Final Impact and covered the champion. Wilson had recovered by that point and moved into position, but Aaron still had just enough to kick out at 2!! The fans screamed their support, but could do no more as Johnny again put Aaron into the Final Impact and this time there was nothing left for Aaron as the referee counted 3 and the match was over.

The silence that hit the arena was deafening. Fans stared in disbelief. Children began to cry as they realised that the best hope they had of wresting the MSWA Title from the clutches of Impact, Inc. And Bernie, Jermaine & Jordan all arrived to celebrate and dish out just a little extra punishment as Jermaine held Aaron up for Johnny to once again stun him. Aaron wriggled out of Johnson's clutches and Johnny ran the tazer straight into Jermaine's midsection. Aaron then clotheslined Bernie D out of the ring, picked up the tazer and stunned Jordan before standing alone in the ring. But it was something of a pyrrich victory as everyone knew it was the last time they would be looking at "The Real Deal". And so the locker room emptied to show it's support of one of the greatest wrestlers to ever set foot in the ring. Neil made his final farewells to all his comrades as his music played and then signalled the fans in his distinctive way.

Neil's accomplishments in MSWA will be most of his legacy. And he continues to compete in IZW, but MSWA fans will now have to find someone else to put their faith in when it comes to ridding the company of Impact, Inc. Johnny Z now can sit comfortably knowing that the biggest threat to his title reign will never bother him again. But somewhere out there, there's another contender that will step up and take Neil's place. And perhaps somewhere, Aaron will be watching and smiling, knowing that his legacy continues even after his departure.

Tags: MSWA, Johnny Z, IZW, Aaron Neil, Midnite Rider, Bernie D, Al Snow, Bad Boy, Jermaine Johnson, Jordan Jacobs, Mark Wilson