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Tag Team Turmoil Forms Focus Of IZW Event

Posted: Feb 10th 2011 By: CMBurnham

Tag Team wrestling seems to have heated up in IZW in recent weeks with 4 tag teams vying for control of the titles. One of those tag teams has gone back to their roots to put themselves in title contention and certainly seems to head into "Violent Valentine" with plenty of momentum.

When Nemesis first branched away from SWCW, they made themselves known by sitting front row at shows for IZW & MSWA and stealing attention away. This actually got them booked in MSWA a couple of years ago, although they never made it into contention for the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles. In late 2009, Crisstopher Crow & SWCW Cruiserweight & MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion Rage Logan entered IZW and quickly worked their way up the ladder for a title shot against then-IZW Tag Team Champions Arrogant Money. That title shot was supposed to happen at "Chaotic Christmas" that year, but The New Age Syndicate made certain that Nemesis didn't make it to that event and took the title shot instead.

On January 15, Nemesis, this time in the form of Rage Logan & SWCW Hardcore Champion Damien Morte, returned to IZW. But they were there in the seats among the fans, not backstage. Nonetheless, they took it upon themselves to express their feelings about current IZW Tag Team Champions Awesome X. This led to a brief shoving match between the champions and the intruders and Nemesis found themselves being escorted from the building. The next week, the appealed negotiated a bargain for a match against the champions. If they won, they would get an IZW Contract. If not, they were banned from the Impact Arena. The champions accepted with the understanding that this would be a non-title match and Nemesis pulled off the win when Rage connected with a standing moonsault on a dazed Xavior.

And ecstatic Nemesis returend the next week and joined IZW Co-Commissioner, MSWA Mid-South Champion Johnny Z in the ring. They said that as far as they were concenred, they were the rightful tag team champions and they just needed a title shot to prove it. This brought former Tag Team Champion Aerial Assault down. Eric Rose & Ky-ote Joe both made it clear that if anyone deserved a title shot, it should be them. Johnny decided to make a #1 contenders match and the winner would get a title shot at "Violent Valentine". This time, as Joe was coming off the top rope, Morte spit mist in his eyes while referee Mark Wilson was distracted and got the pin, allowing Nemesis to surge to the top of the rankings.

This week, as the show opened, IZW Champion Jermaine Johnson came to the ring. Johnny Z said he had a match lined up to show just how dominant of a champion he was. That opponent was Eric Rose. With Ky-ote Joe still out injured from the effects of the mist, Joe was faced with a potential 4-on-1 situation, but the interference, which every figured would happen evntually, came from an unexpected origin as Nemesis ran down and attacked Eric Rose, earning him a win by DQ. There was a brief 3-on-1 attack until Awesome X slid in for the rescue. This all brought the other Co-Commissioner, Sam Helton, out. Helton changed the title match at Violent Valentine to a Triple Threat Match, inserting Aerial Assault into the mix as well. He said that Nemesis was starting off on a bad foot with him. Even though Johnny Z liked them, he didn't. He didn't like them as fans at ringside and he doesn't like them as wrestlers. But he has to deal with them, so he arranged a match for later that night: Awesome X & Eric Rose vs. Nemesis & Jermaine Johnson.

That match was as hard hitting as one might expect and at one point, one after another, every member of the match dove over the tope rope onto the growing number of opponents and tag team partners waiting below. The boiling feelings between Nemesis & Awesome X didn't cool down in any way and eventually all 4 men battled their way back up the ramp. The rest of Impact, Inc. was at ringside to provide support for Jermaine Johnson and Johnny Z ordered Erica to grab the IZW Title belt and give it to Johnson. Erica reluctantly went to the announce table and took the belt, but didn't seem to want to give it to Johnson, no matter how much he demanded she do that. A tug-of-war occurred and when Johnson wrested the belt away and turned around, he was met with a thunderous superkick and was covered by Eric Rose for the pin.

Several interesting observations come out of this whole event. Nemesis has pinfall victories over both their opponent tag teams going into the Triple Threat match this Saturday. That certainly gives them the momentum. Awesome X have been champions now for a little over 2 months and have fended off challenges from Arrogant Money and Aerial Assault as well as the team of Soto Miyagi & The Midnite Rider and Aaron Neil & Jermaine Johnson. Aerial Assault's position in this match seems tenuous. The haven't competed together as a team since they lost to Awesome X in January 1st. Before that, they lost a Triple Threat Match with Arrogant Money to Awesome X. But Eric Rose has certainly come out of this in an interesting position as he holds a win by DQ and a pinfall in a 6-man match over the IZW Champion, both in the same night. If he comes up short in his tag team title bid, this could position him for a run at the IZW Title in the near future.

Seemingly forgotten in all this is the team of the Future Hall of Famers. Dane Griffin & John O'Malley have not received a tag team title shot against Awesome X as they have been preoccupied in a fued with Angel Williams & Jesse White. But both members have individual victories over Kevin Morgan & Xavior, both gained on January 15. This "wild card" position for the Future Hall of Famers certainly puts them in a credible position to make a challenge for the tag team titles as well.

Awesome X's days on top of the tag team title scene may soon be coming to an end, not matter how well they prepare.