IZW "Coronation" Review

IZW “Coronation” delivered once again as Impact Zone Wrestling proved they have no peer in Independent wrestling.  There was plenty of great wrestling, drama and the aftermath set IZW on a new path, a path led by Johnny Z!

In the main event, the tag team of Jermaine Johnson and the returning Johnny Z defeated Aaron “The Bronze Bull” Neil and Brandon Bishop in a hotly contested match.  This was a hard hitting fight as Johnny Z was just as violent as ever as he leveled both Bishop and Neil.  Johnson also seemed rejuvenated, as for the first time in months, he had even odds when he went to battle Impact Inc.  Even in defeat, Bishop and Neil showed why they form a powerful force in IZW as the team gave as good as they got, but with the return of the “Natural Born Leader” and the future of IZW riding in the balance, Johnson and Z would not be denied on this night.  

Johnny Z proved his knee was a 100% at one point delivering a leg drop from the top rope onto a helpless Bishop and if not for the cheating ways of Neil, who broke up the pinfall that would have been the end of the match.  Next up was Johnson taking the hide off of Neil with blistering strikes as Neil was on dream street.  But the champion would not go away easy as he turned the tide on Johnson, stifling his attack and then tagged in his partner Bishop.  Bishop then went to work on Johnson landing a big elbow followed up by isolating Johnson’s left arm in an inverted armbar that came close to hyperextending the arm and getting the tapout.  The final series came when Johnny Z tossed Bishop out of the ring and then countered a Neil attack by delivering a DDT to the IZW Champ.  Johnny Z then landed a perfect Big Boot landing square in the face of Neil followed by an ES2 from Johnson incapacitating the Champion.  That was enough, as Johnny Z then followed that up with a pinfall getting the 1-2-3 as the Impact Arena exploded in cheers and completely changing the hierarchy and foundations of IZW!  

In the match of the night, Double D defeated “Lights Out” Jordan Jacobs in a Ladder Match to win the 2012 Impact Player of the Year Tournament.  There were tons of ladders in play and they provided for some high risk moves from both D and Jacobs that took years off of their careers as both men were in severe pain when it was all over.  The ending was a lesson in grit and determination, exhibited by both men as Jacobs, standing high on a ladder missed a leg drop that would have spelled the end for Double D, but it was a dangerous move and one that cost him dearly as Double D moved out of the way and Jacobs damaged his leg in the landing.  Double D then took the tallest ladder in the building and set it up in the middle of the ring and made his ascent to the top.  But Jacobs followed on his own ladder and it was a race to the top to grab the Impact Player Trophy.  Double D showed amazing athleticism as Jacobs tried to push him off the ladder but instead Double D, still holding on to the ladder, bounced off the top rope and swung back to the middle of the ring where he unloaded body shots on Jacobs and landed a Defacer from the top of the ladders!  It was all over but the shouting as Double D climbed back up the ladder to claim the trophy and victory.    

In other action, the Old School Suckas (Gary Tool and Randy Price) defended their IZW Tag Team Titles after a razor close match against Rage Logan and Damon Windsor.  Windsor had replaced the injured Damien Morte and proved to add a spark to the team as they pushed the OSS to the limit, but in the end the veteran team won out.  Earlier in the bout, Logan and Windsor isolated Tool’s injured right arm and worked it over something fierce.  They looked to be near finishing the match with Tool’s arm sandwiched between a steel chair, held down by Windsor, as Logan climbed to the top rope to deliver his famous corkscrew finisher.  But then at the last moment, Cody Jones ran down to the ring and knocked Windsor down to the floor, and crotched Logan on the top rope.  This allowed both Tool and Price time to recover and they landed their double neckbreaker on a still injured Logan just as the referee regained consciousness and got the pinfall, retaining their titles in a wild match.