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Zorthos & Donderwitz Look to Once Again Make an Impact in the Tag Team Division

Posted: May 31st 2007 By: CMBurnham

It's been almost a year since Impact, Inc. members John Zorthos and Bernie Donderwitz lost the IZW Tag Team Titles to the Party Express. And that was the last time the IZW owner and his closest friend tasted championship gold. Recently, Zorthos & Donderwitz have made thier intention to climb back to the top of the tag team ladder known and they're not terribly picky about which tag team ladder they climb or who they have to go through to get there.

The flyer for the May 26th IZW show advertised that IZW Tag Team Champions Team Shenanigans would defend those belts against Impact, Inc. And that proved to be true as both teams arrived to the ring prepared to do battle for those gold trophies. This would be Kenny Campbell & Tyler Bateman's first tag team title defence and Impact, Inc. could be counted on to use all the treachery in the world to wrest those titles away. Using lots of double team maneouvres, Team Shenanigans dominated the first half of the match until Bateman was isolated and then Zorthos and Donderwitz went to work, holding Bateman to the mat and working over those legs of his. When Bateman was finally able to tag his partner, Campbell came in with both fist roaring, knocking down both men repeatedly. Donderwitz was eventually knocked outside the ring and he took it upon himself to go to the ring announcer's table and grab one of the championship belts. He tried to sneak it back to the ring to hit Bateman with, but at that point, MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion Bad Boy ran to the ring and dropped Donderwitz on the top rope, knocking the belt out of his hand. Team Shenanigans performed an awesome double team move on Zorthos and, with no help coming from his partner, the Impact, Inc. leader left the arena with no gold around his waist.

The next day at the MSWA show, Zorthos and Donderwitz, along with fellow Impact, Inc. members MSWA Oklahoma Champion Aaron Neil & MSWA Mid-South Champion Brad Michaels, came to the ring and disrupted a match between Red the Magnificent and new IZW Cruiserweight Champion Matt Garza. After throwing both competitors out of the ring, Zorthos demanded that MSWA commissioner Halo come down to the ring and answer some questions. Halo arrived and reminded Zorthos that there was to be no trouble as he had an entire locker room ready to kick Impact, Inc's asses. After some posturing and trash-talking, Aaron Neil threatened to walk out of MSWA with his Oklahoma Title if Impact, Inc. weren't granted a match against MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions Bad Boy & Outlaw that afternoon. Not one to be pushed around, Halo refuses that deal, but counters with the offer to allow Impact, Inc. prove themselves worthy of a title shot by putting them in a match against Mr. Mid-South 3 and Mr. Mid-South 4. This wasn't exactly what Zorthos & Donderwitz were expecting, but they agreed to it, which should have been a sign that something was wrong.

When the time for the match arrived, Impact, Inc. came out first, followed by Mr Mid-South 3 & 4. Both Mid-South's had appeared before in that ring, but that last time seen, they certainly qualified as ;light heavyweights. While Mr. Mid-South 4 was still small, Mr. Mid-South 3 seemed to have gained about 200 pounds and his ring style certainly was different. But the fans didn't take much notice as anyone who opposed Impact, Inc. was on their side. Despite the change in appearance, there wasn't much change in result as Impact, Inc. dominated the match and took the win. And then, all Hell broke loose.

After the match was over, Zorthos & Donderwitz engaged in a post-match beat down on the Mid-South's, until Bad Boy & Outlaw, along with Ryan Davidson, came out rescue the masked me. The Mid-South stalwarts held the IZW boys at bay until Mr. Mid-South 3 re-entered the ring, pulled off his mask and revealed himself as Gary Tool! Joined by Aaron Neil, they enjoyed a 4-on-3 numbers advantage until the arrival of Angel Williams and a steel chair, which quickly cleared Impact, Inc. from the ring. As the boos and jeers showered down upon them, Gary Tool took the opportunity to reintroduce himself to the crowd, who were now chanting "5 More Minutes!". Not taken aback at this, Tool went over to one of the children who was chanting that and made the offer that he & Impact, Inc. would give them 5 more minutes if the kid could count to 5...in German! Unable to fulfill the request, Impact, Inc. left as the Mid-South stalwarts stood their ground in the ring.

It's unclear whether Halo will allow a tag team title match to take place, given the circumstances surrounding Impact, Inc's win. But it's certainly clear that Impact, Inc. is frustrated. They didn't get a shot at the Mid-South Tag belts. They failed in their bid to win back the IZW tag belts. And, despite their claimes of supremacy, a recent poll on Oklafan named ComPro, SWCW & NWA-U Universal Tag Team Champions Texas, Inc. the most dominant tag team in the state. Might Impact, Inc. decide to stick their collective noses in the business of Bernard Funk & Timothy J. Rockwell? One thing's for certain: no one can predict what lows Impact, Inc. will sink to in their chase for gold.