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IZW'S First Streaming Event Is All About D!

Posted: Oct 7th 2011 By: CMBurnham

IZW's fortunes have been steadily increasing as this year has progressed. Regarded by most as the best company in the state, they have invested heavily in high-tech broadcast material, recruited some of the top talent in the area and had secured a distribution deal for a TV show covering much of Southwest Oklahoma and Northwest Texas.

A few weeks ago, another step was taken with their first iPPV, the Danny Hodge Invitational Tag Team Tournament. The quality so impressed the staff at GFL.TV that they were asked to commence with weeky free streaming broadcasts. And those began this past Saturday.

One of the recurring segments from the IZW TV show was an interview section with IZW Champion Jermaine Johnson called "All About Me!". The topic of the discussion was usually represented in the title. But this week, Johnson brought his segment to the live crowd at the Impact Arena, providing an opportunity for himself to interview the IZW Impact Division Champion, Double D.

The history between D and Johnson is lengthy. At one point Johnson had D's girlfriend Erica as his personal servent while all 3 people were competing in MSWA. So with controversy already surrounding the meeting, it didn't take long for Johnson to get old feeling stirred up. He interrupted D and Erica backstage, warning D that MWA MAX-Division Champion Michael Barry was preparing to add the Impact Division Title to his collection and that D should take the moments before the talk segment to treasure that belt as he wouldn't have it at the end of the night.

When Johnson brought D out, he immediately lanced into Erica, running her down as well as many of the other women in the crowd. D said that was one of the differences between them: he knew how to treat a woman. Johnson responded that if he actually saw a woman anywhere, he knew how to treat them. He then went on to the topic of respect. He complimented D on defending the Impact Division Title with respect, even though he had (in Johnson's eyes) cheated to win it. D had suffered through about as much of the insulting tone as he could tolerate and said that he wanted to change the name of the segment from "All About Me" to "All About D", which the crowd heartily approved of. Johnson said he would play along and inquired as to what they would talk about, then listed potential topics such as Lifetime TV, Rachel Ray and Jersey Shore. D tried to turn the tone of the segment back one that was serious, informing the crowd that Johnson had no opponent for Halloween Hangover, but Johnson couldn't stop with the jokes, taking an opportunity to ask if D had a blind relative do Erica's hair or if he took her to a barber college. Erica was quick to point out some things about Johnson's mohawk. Johnson then tried to claim that he was undefeated since winning the IZW Title (a blatant lie as Johnson has lost approximately 2/3 of the matches he's competed in this year alone). D simply reminded Johnson about how he defeated him for the IZW Title, only to have it taken away due to legal shenanigans from Jeff Wolfenbarger. With the crowd firmly supporting him in an impromptu poll of who would win a match between the two, Johnson tried to duck the issue by saying that he didn't recall D being the #1 contender. D simply said that he pinned Johnson once, and that if he was given another match, he could do so again. All he needed was an opportunity. Johnson seemed to agree, saying that if D could pin him again, MAYBE he would get a title shot.

But that match-up seemed to take the back burner position as D had to worry about defending his title against the man he won it from: Michael Barry. With commissioner Jeff Wolfenbarger in Barry's corner, it seemed the factors were in the challenger's favour. In the end, Wolfenbarger certainly factored into the finish. D went for a crossbody, but Barry, who had been thrown the title belt by Wolfenbarger, slammed D in the face with it, then covered him for the pin. Barry now stood as a 2-time Impact Division Champion. The entirety of Impact, Inc. came out to the ring to celebrate as Erica looked dejected, unable to do anything about the outcome. And that was when the ego overwhelmed Jermaine Johnson.

Johnson asked the rest of Impact, Inc. to clear the ring, then too the mic and said that he had thought about giving D a #1 contender's match and decided that it would be a great idea. As long as it happened right then. With the bell ringing, an impromptu match began as Johnson dominated the exhausted superstar. And Johnson certainly thought he had everything in control as he covered D at one point, then picked him up at 2, just to display his arrogance at the whole affair. As both men stood up, D was able to roll Johnson up and not 10 seconds after sacrificing what might have been a sure pin, Johnson found himself on the losing side, giving Double D a shot at the IZW Title once again.

Obviously D was upset about losing the Impact Division Title, but that cleared the way for him to focus on the Heavyweight Title. And it's unlikely that the presence of Impact, Inc. would be a deterring factor in that match as D could probably call on the members of Team Johnny Z to come to his aid. As Johnson closes in on the one-year anniversary of winning his title, he certainly steps in at a psychological disadvantage. And knowing that fans all around the world could see him lose the belt on November 5th, thanks to GFL.TV streaming their events, certainly makes Johnson wonder if everything should be all about him after all.