10 Best Impact Face/Heel Turns Vol.1
Photo Credit: IMPACT Wrestling
Outside Impact Wrestling. A long time "Jerichoholic", Mick Foley, Kurt Angle & Hardys fan, pop open a little bit of the Bubbly, read what's being written by me with an open perspective & enjoy.
- Impact Wrestling’s build to the big 20. Part 1 - February 25, 2022
- (Exclusive) Rosemary: A Journey through the Valley of Shadows – PART 1 - September 19, 2021
- Revival of the X-Division: Tale of the Tape - June 20, 2021
8. Rosemary & Crazzy Steve (Journey to the Valley of Shadows)
One of the most unique teams you’ll see in wrestling, especially from a creative perspective. Rosemary’s debut onto Impact Wrestling sent a massive explosion of creativity & experimentation ready to burst through the surfaces of the dire state the company was in at the time, in terms of long standing fan satisfaction*. *For me? I‘d only recently started watching & was so glad to see something unique after a long time watching another company fail to entertain.
Looking at Decay’s popularity & Face value now, you’d be forgiven if you forgot that on arrival, Rosemary was on the other side of the spectrum, arriving with one of the most unpredictable character changes from Crazzy Steve & bringing “The Monster” Abyss back into the spotlight. Decay was a team hell bent on taking anything & everything. Starting with The Wolves (EddieEdwards & Davey Richards) & soon taking the Tag Team Titles from Beer Money (James Storm & Bobby Roode).
Remaining in the Heel role throughout The Broken Hardy saga, Rosemary would also beat Jade (Mia Yim) for the TNA Knockouts title, which added to Decay’s popularity, escalating it more & more regardless of their status as Heel based characters, cementing them as fan favourites for years to come. Decay would sadly be disbanded after the merger of GFW (Global Force Wrestling) began, LAX would win the vacated TNA Tag Titles, burying Crazzy Steve & Abyss. Rosemary would transition from Heel to Face as her relationship with Allie grew, going from tormentor to guardian demon taking us into the Undead Realm with Allie, Su Yung, Kiera Hogan & Father James Mitchell, but most can also attribute Rosemary‘s end of Heel role after Taya Valkyrie debuted on September 7th 2017, she entered the ring & attacked Rosemary on arrival. Crazzy Steve would not be seen under contract again until 2020.
When Crazzy Steve returned & Rosemary took a large part of Impact’s roster onto the Wrestle House/Who Shot Bravo storyline, fans could see their relationship spark up again. With subtle references to their past being dropped & slowly building up the fan’s already overflowing demands to reform Decay. Fan’s patience would be rewarded as after Taya Valkyrie left her Tag Team partner (after it was revealed Taya Valkyrie shot John E Bravo, preventing Rosemary from obtaining her “Virgin Sacrifice”), Crazzy Steve would bring Rosemary around to step away from the mortal realm, stop mourning the “death” of Allie & not long after Decay was reborn.
The much wanted Monster was added in the form of Black Taurus to help deal with Tennile Dashwood, Kaleb with a K & the team of XXXL (Larry D & Acey Romero), since his arrival there has also been several ongoing interactions between Havok & Rosemary, leaving fans wondering & wanting Havok to join Decay, especially now that Decay’s momentum has dropped dramatically in recent weeks with Brian Myers pinning Black Taurus, in a clean victory at Under Siege.
Regardless of what Face or Heel roles come next, Rosemary’s arrival & the transformation of Crazzy Steve remains one of the best decisions Impact had made & more importantly, allowed Rosemary to carry forward after Decay was disbanded.
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