A.J. Styles and Tomko
Encyclopedia
A.J. Styles
and Tomko
are former tag team
partners in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
(TNA) who were a part of two factions together, Christian's Coalition
and the Angle Alliance.
In addition to being involved in many a headline match due to their associations with Christian Cage or Kurt Angle
, Styles and Tomko are notable in history for their run as TNA World Tag Team Champions. Stopped at 184 days, it stood for three years as the longest run in the history of that championship, and second longest of all tag title runs (only to America's Most Wanted
's 250-day sixth reign with the NWA World Tag Team Championship
while TNA was still using that title) in the history of the company, until Beer Money, Inc.
, in the midst of their fourth reign, pushed it back a spot in both categories on July 13, 2011.
's enforcer resulting in Christian regaining the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
, Christian would expand his leadership into a full coalition
to enforce his reign. While Scott Steiner
would officially come on board as Cage's "consultant", recently turned villain A.J. Styles would align himself with Christian on occasion. Styles and Tomko, however, would have yet to interact, as Styles' appearances alongside Christian came without Tomko present.
Immediately following Destination X 2007, the champion Christian and Kurt Angle
were informed by TNA management director Jim Cornette
that they would each be captaining five-man teams to compete in a Lethal Lockdown cage match at the upcoming pay-per-view Lockdown
. In the upcoming weeks, Christian's Coalition, which had somewhat broken down by Destination X, officially formed for the second time in as many months under the name Team Cage, also including Abyss
and Steiner along with Styles and Tomko (the latter whose rejoining finally united the duo), while Team Angle went on to comprise of four recent rivals of the Team Cage members (Angle included) and Jeff Jarrett
. At the match itself, Team Angle won when Jarrett hit Abyss with a thumbtack-loaded guitar and let Sting make the pin to become number one contender to Cage's title. From there, the collective would systematically betray and destroy Abyss and eventually Scott Steiner's trust issues specifically with Tomko would cause him to leave to team with his brother Rick
, all of which in effect left only Styles and Tomko to carry on together behind Cage as Christian's Coalition.
at Slammiversary
, which all three men were in qualifying for. On May 31, 2007, Styles had originally been scheduled to face Jeff Jarrett
in a qualifying match, but since Jarrett couldn't appear due to his wife's death, Tomko was put in his place. After Styles defeated Tomko thanks to "botched" interference from Christian Cage, Tomko needed convincing from Cage to stay on board. On the June 14, 2007 episode of Impact
, Styles and Tomko showed that they were once again a united front, helping Cage defeat Abyss by disqualification to get into King of the Mountain after Abyss hit him with a steel chair
. The group came out empty-handed at Slammiversary. Styles and Tomko, whose feud with Sting and Abyss was less connected to Cage than usual for awhile, would lose to the avengers at Victory Road.
After being attacked by Judas Mesias
and the Robert Roode-assisted Coalition, Sting and Abyss overcame Styles and Cage to secure a contract for an Abyss vs. Christian match at Hard Justice 2007 with the help of the TNA debut of "The Punisher" Andrew Martin to counteract Tomko's Coalition enforcer role. On the Impact! prior to Hard Justice, Jim Cornette announced that Christian's Coalition would take on Abyss, Sting and Andrew Martin in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood match, a barbed wire steel cage match in which a person could only be pinned once they were bleeding, at Hard Justice in which the wrestler who scores the pinfall for his team in the match would receive the next title shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
. At Hard Justice, Styles was pinned by Abyss as the Coalition lost. Styles and Tomko next accompanied Christian in his feud with Samoa Joe
over who the "real World Heavyweight Champion" was.
partner Christopher Daniels
, Styles and Tomko won a ten-team Gauntlet Match to become the number one contenders for the TNA World Tag Team Championship
at Bound for Glory
against the team of Adam "Pacman" Jones
and Ron Killings
. At Bound For Glory, Styles and Tomko defeated Killings and Rasheed Lucius "Consequences" Creed, Pacman's surprise substitute, for the TNA Tag Team Titles. At this point they were still solidly Christian's enforcers in his feud with Samoa Joe and later his Fight for the Right Tournament efforts, but were also branching out on their own and establishing their act as a tag team, even becoming somewhat popular with the audience despite their villainous status.
After retaining the tag titles against the Steiner Brothers
at Genesis, Styles and Tomko came out during Christian's number one contendership ladder match with Kaz
right as Cage was about to win, despite his specific instructions not to. This distracted Cage, costing him the match. Immediately afterwards, they assisted Kurt Angle in retaining his TNA World Heavyweight Championship
, officially joining Kurt and his wife Karen
in the Angle Alliance. The hopeless dreamer Styles and major skeptic Tomko from then on would attempt to be part of both the Angle Alliance and the Christian Coalition, despite the clashing egos and animosity between Christian and the Angles. It was implied during that time that Karen, who'd been shown on-screen to have a seducing effect on A.J. on occasion, conned him into thinking this union was possible.
On the December 6, 2007 Impact!, when Cage's leadership-conditioned attempt to follow Robert Roode into accepting Angle's offer to join the group backfired after one match and led to his betrayal at the hands of Angle and Roode, Styles tried in vain to hold the assailants back by himself as Tomko walked away from the situation. At that point, Cage was out of the Alliance, but Styles and Tomko's status was unknown regarding both the Alliance or the Coalition. On the following episode of Impact! Cage was again attacked by Angle and Roode but this time an upset looking Styles just watched from the ring apron.
In following weeks, Tomko made it clear to Styles that they needed to choose sides, and while Styles was indecisive, Tomko firmly established his own foothold in the situation by leaving both the Coalition and the Alliance on the January 3, 2008 episode of Impact!. Styles later succumbed to Karen's seductions once again and chose to join Angle at the Final Resolution pay-per-view by helping Angle retain the TNA World Championship against Cage. Following Final Resolution, Angle and Styles continued to try and recruit Tomko, only to be rebuffed each time, eventually leading to Tomko attacking Angle after he insulted Tomko's wife over Karen and appearing to side with Christian leading up to the title rematch between Angle and Cage. At Against All Odds, Tomko and Styles surprisingly showed no signs of conflict in their defense of the Tag Team Titles, and in the end Tomko cost Cage the championship again in the main event. He subsequently joined the Angle Alliance on the next Impact!, his reasoning being simply because there was strength in numbers and he was tired of years of yet-incompletely-fulfilled promises of stardom under Christian Cage.
At Destination X
, the Angle Alliance faced the makeshift "Unlikely Alliance" consisting of the vengeful Christian, Samoa Joe
, and Kevin Nash
. The Angle Alliance fell as Tomko tapped out to Joe that night. The next Thursday on Impact!, Tomko was announced the captain of the villainous Lethal Lockdown team. Tomko and his pre-recruited teammate Styles would enlist Team 3D and James Storm
in the coming weeks, only to lose to Christian's team of Nash, Rhino
, Sting, and Matt Morgan.
On the April 17, episode of Impact! Styles and Tomko finally lost the TNA Tag Team Championship to Super Eric
and Kaz
. Afterwards they complained to Jim Cornette about the match, and in the end Super Eric and Kaz were stripped of the championships due to Super Eric being unable to realize he and Eric Young (who was slated as Kaz's partner) were one and the same. The Deuces Wild tournament was organized, but Tomko had been suspended by TNA (due to no-showing a TNA Fanfest Event - his absence was explained in the storyine as having been injured in a shoot fight). Therefore, Styles competed in the tournament alongside Super Eric.
, Team 3D, and The Beautiful People
in a loose collective self-identified as "the Bad Guys". That same night, and the following week, Angle, Booker, Team 3D and Tomko ended the show by viciously attacking Styles (and Cage in the second week), marking the official disbandment of Styles and Tomko as a tag team. Tomko departed TNA in July 2008, appearing once against Samoa Joe on the way out, while A.J.'s rivalry with Kurt Angle would continue for over a year, most notably through his constant role in resistance
efforts against the Main Event Mafia
.
On the December 17, 2009 edition of Impact!, the newly-reigning World Heavyweight Champion
Styles and Tomko teamed with Angle, Bobby Lashley, and Abyss, and came out victorious in a 10-man tag team match - Tomko's official return match with TNA after over a year away - when Styles pinned Brutus Magnus
of the British Invasion
. This loose alliance wouldn't last, however, as Tomko later revealed himself to have been the masked man in black assaulting A.J. for months after Bound for Glory
. He did it to score his former partner's attention and a title shot, which he successfully gained but lost.
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Tomko
Travis Tomko
Travis David Tomko is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his...
are former tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
partners in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA) who were a part of two factions together, Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition / Team Cage was a villainous professional wrestling faction in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling led by Christian Cage...
and the Angle Alliance.
In addition to being involved in many a headline match due to their associations with Christian Cage or Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
, Styles and Tomko are notable in history for their run as TNA World Tag Team Champions. Stopped at 184 days, it stood for three years as the longest run in the history of that championship, and second longest of all tag title runs (only to America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted (professional wrestling)
America's Most Wanted was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of "Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Tennessee Cowboy" James Storm, who competed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
's 250-day sixth reign with the NWA World Tag Team Championship
NWA World Tag Team Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship is the professional wrestling world tag team championship within the NWA framework.-History:...
while TNA was still using that title) in the history of the company, until Beer Money, Inc.
Beer Money, Inc.
Beer Money, Inc. was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Robert "Bobby" Roode and James Storm in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where they are former four-time TNA World Tag Team Champions, while also holding the record for the longest reign as...
, in the midst of their fourth reign, pushed it back a spot in both categories on July 13, 2011.
Formation
By early 2007, following Tomko's recently-reprised-from-WWE role as Christian CageJason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
's enforcer resulting in Christian regaining the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
, Christian would expand his leadership into a full coalition
Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition / Team Cage was a villainous professional wrestling faction in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling led by Christian Cage...
to enforce his reign. While Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
would officially come on board as Cage's "consultant", recently turned villain A.J. Styles would align himself with Christian on occasion. Styles and Tomko, however, would have yet to interact, as Styles' appearances alongside Christian came without Tomko present.
Immediately following Destination X 2007, the champion Christian and Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
were informed by TNA management director Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
that they would each be captaining five-man teams to compete in a Lethal Lockdown cage match at the upcoming pay-per-view Lockdown
Lockdown (2007)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which took place on April 15, 2007 at the Family Arena in Saint Charles, Missouri. This was the second monthly pay-per-view, after Bound for Glory , to be held outside Orlando, Florida. It was the...
. In the upcoming weeks, Christian's Coalition, which had somewhat broken down by Destination X, officially formed for the second time in as many months under the name Team Cage, also including Abyss
Chris Parks
Christopher J. "Chris" Parks , better known by his ring name "The Monster" Abyss, is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Steiner along with Styles and Tomko (the latter whose rejoining finally united the duo), while Team Angle went on to comprise of four recent rivals of the Team Cage members (Angle included) and Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
. At the match itself, Team Angle won when Jarrett hit Abyss with a thumbtack-loaded guitar and let Sting make the pin to become number one contender to Cage's title. From there, the collective would systematically betray and destroy Abyss and eventually Scott Steiner's trust issues specifically with Tomko would cause him to leave to team with his brother Rick
Rick Steiner
Robert Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Rick Steiner.Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling, where he was an eight time World Tag Team Champion...
, all of which in effect left only Styles and Tomko to carry on together behind Cage as Christian's Coalition.
Growing Feuds
Tension would develop between Styles, Tomko, and Cage heading into the King of the Mountain matchKing of the Mountain match
The King of the Mountain match is a professional wrestling match exclusive to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . It consists of five competitors competing for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship or the TNA X Division Championship as of Slammiversary 2009...
at Slammiversary
Slammiversary (2007)
Slammiversary was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which took place on June 17, 2007 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the third event under the Slammiversary chronology and marked the fifth anniversary of...
, which all three men were in qualifying for. On May 31, 2007, Styles had originally been scheduled to face Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
in a qualifying match, but since Jarrett couldn't appear due to his wife's death, Tomko was put in his place. After Styles defeated Tomko thanks to "botched" interference from Christian Cage, Tomko needed convincing from Cage to stay on board. On the June 14, 2007 episode of Impact
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
, Styles and Tomko showed that they were once again a united front, helping Cage defeat Abyss by disqualification to get into King of the Mountain after Abyss hit him with a steel chair
Folding chair
A folding chair is a light, portable chair that that folds flat, and can be stored in a stack, row, or on a cart.-Uses:Folding chairs are generally used for seating in areas where permanent seating is not possible or practical. This includes outdoor and indoor events such as funerals, college...
. The group came out empty-handed at Slammiversary. Styles and Tomko, whose feud with Sting and Abyss was less connected to Cage than usual for awhile, would lose to the avengers at Victory Road.
After being attacked by Judas Mesias
Ricky Banderas
Gilbert Cosme better known by his ring names El Mesías and Ricky Banderas, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He began his career in the International Wrestling Association based on Puerto Rico...
and the Robert Roode-assisted Coalition, Sting and Abyss overcame Styles and Cage to secure a contract for an Abyss vs. Christian match at Hard Justice 2007 with the help of the TNA debut of "The Punisher" Andrew Martin to counteract Tomko's Coalition enforcer role. On the Impact! prior to Hard Justice, Jim Cornette announced that Christian's Coalition would take on Abyss, Sting and Andrew Martin in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood match, a barbed wire steel cage match in which a person could only be pinned once they were bleeding, at Hard Justice in which the wrestler who scores the pinfall for his team in the match would receive the next title shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division...
. At Hard Justice, Styles was pinned by Abyss as the Coalition lost. Styles and Tomko next accompanied Christian in his feud with Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
over who the "real World Heavyweight Champion" was.
Tag Team Champions
At No Surrender, thanks in part to some unsung help at early points from Styles' former tag teamA.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels
A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels are recurring tag team partners in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , having won the NWA World Tag Team Championship two times in their regular run as teammates...
partner Christopher Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
, Styles and Tomko won a ten-team Gauntlet Match to become the number one contenders for the TNA World Tag Team Championship
TNA World Tag Team Championship
The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
at Bound for Glory
Bound for Glory (2007)
Bound for Glory was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on October 14, 2007 at the Gwinnett Center in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Georgia. It was the third event under the Bound for Glory chronology...
against the team of Adam "Pacman" Jones
Adam Jones (American football)
Adam "Pac-Man" Bernard Jones is an American cornerback and return specialist who is currently playing for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was drafted in the first round with the sixth-overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. He played college football at West Virginia.Jones has also...
and Ron Killings
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
. At Bound For Glory, Styles and Tomko defeated Killings and Rasheed Lucius "Consequences" Creed, Pacman's surprise substitute, for the TNA Tag Team Titles. At this point they were still solidly Christian's enforcers in his feud with Samoa Joe and later his Fight for the Right Tournament efforts, but were also branching out on their own and establishing their act as a tag team, even becoming somewhat popular with the audience despite their villainous status.
After retaining the tag titles against the Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of American brothers Robert "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner and Scott "Scott Steiner" Rechsteiner...
at Genesis, Styles and Tomko came out during Christian's number one contendership ladder match with Kaz
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
right as Cage was about to win, despite his specific instructions not to. This distracted Cage, costing him the match. Immediately afterwards, they assisted Kurt Angle in retaining his TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division...
, officially joining Kurt and his wife Karen
Karen Angle
Karen Jarrett is an American professional wrestling valet and personality, currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
in the Angle Alliance. The hopeless dreamer Styles and major skeptic Tomko from then on would attempt to be part of both the Angle Alliance and the Christian Coalition, despite the clashing egos and animosity between Christian and the Angles. It was implied during that time that Karen, who'd been shown on-screen to have a seducing effect on A.J. on occasion, conned him into thinking this union was possible.
On the December 6, 2007 Impact!, when Cage's leadership-conditioned attempt to follow Robert Roode into accepting Angle's offer to join the group backfired after one match and led to his betrayal at the hands of Angle and Roode, Styles tried in vain to hold the assailants back by himself as Tomko walked away from the situation. At that point, Cage was out of the Alliance, but Styles and Tomko's status was unknown regarding both the Alliance or the Coalition. On the following episode of Impact! Cage was again attacked by Angle and Roode but this time an upset looking Styles just watched from the ring apron.
In following weeks, Tomko made it clear to Styles that they needed to choose sides, and while Styles was indecisive, Tomko firmly established his own foothold in the situation by leaving both the Coalition and the Alliance on the January 3, 2008 episode of Impact!. Styles later succumbed to Karen's seductions once again and chose to join Angle at the Final Resolution pay-per-view by helping Angle retain the TNA World Championship against Cage. Following Final Resolution, Angle and Styles continued to try and recruit Tomko, only to be rebuffed each time, eventually leading to Tomko attacking Angle after he insulted Tomko's wife over Karen and appearing to side with Christian leading up to the title rematch between Angle and Cage. At Against All Odds, Tomko and Styles surprisingly showed no signs of conflict in their defense of the Tag Team Titles, and in the end Tomko cost Cage the championship again in the main event. He subsequently joined the Angle Alliance on the next Impact!, his reasoning being simply because there was strength in numbers and he was tired of years of yet-incompletely-fulfilled promises of stardom under Christian Cage.
At Destination X
Destination X (2008)
Destination X was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on March 9, 2008 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. It was the fourth event under the Destination X chronology and the third event in the 2008 TNA PPV...
, the Angle Alliance faced the makeshift "Unlikely Alliance" consisting of the vengeful Christian, Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, and Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
. The Angle Alliance fell as Tomko tapped out to Joe that night. The next Thursday on Impact!, Tomko was announced the captain of the villainous Lethal Lockdown team. Tomko and his pre-recruited teammate Styles would enlist Team 3D and James Storm
James Storm
James Allen Cox is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J...
in the coming weeks, only to lose to Christian's team of Nash, Rhino
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Sting, and Matt Morgan.
On the April 17, episode of Impact! Styles and Tomko finally lost the TNA Tag Team Championship to Super Eric
Eric Young (wrestler)
Jeremy Fritz is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under his ring name Eric Young. He currently performs for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he has gained popularity using a variety of comic relief gimmicks....
and Kaz
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
. Afterwards they complained to Jim Cornette about the match, and in the end Super Eric and Kaz were stripped of the championships due to Super Eric being unable to realize he and Eric Young (who was slated as Kaz's partner) were one and the same. The Deuces Wild tournament was organized, but Tomko had been suspended by TNA (due to no-showing a TNA Fanfest Event - his absence was explained in the storyine as having been injured in a shoot fight). Therefore, Styles competed in the tournament alongside Super Eric.
Falling outs
On the May 22, 2008 episode of Impact!, after Tomko interrupted an interview to interrogate Styles about teaming with Super Eric, Styles quit the Angle Alliance, including his team with Tomko, in a fit induced by Styles having faced many pointed fingers in recent weeks mainly pertaining to his relationship with Karen. From there, Tomko would align with Kurt Angle and characters such as Booker TBooker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
, Team 3D, and The Beautiful People
The Beautiful People (professional wrestling)
The Beautiful People was an alliance of professional wrestlers that appeared in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , consisting of Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Cute Kip, Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich. The stable was known for their narcissistic gimmick, and holding the TNA Women's Knockout...
in a loose collective self-identified as "the Bad Guys". That same night, and the following week, Angle, Booker, Team 3D and Tomko ended the show by viciously attacking Styles (and Cage in the second week), marking the official disbandment of Styles and Tomko as a tag team. Tomko departed TNA in July 2008, appearing once against Samoa Joe on the way out, while A.J.'s rivalry with Kurt Angle would continue for over a year, most notably through his constant role in resistance
The TNA Front Line
The TNA Front Line was a heroic alliance in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
efforts against the Main Event Mafia
The Main Event Mafia
The Main Event Mafia was a heel stable in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
.
On the December 17, 2009 edition of Impact!, the newly-reigning World Heavyweight Champion
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division...
Styles and Tomko teamed with Angle, Bobby Lashley, and Abyss, and came out victorious in a 10-man tag team match - Tomko's official return match with TNA after over a year away - when Styles pinned Brutus Magnus
Nick Aldis
Nicholas Harry "Nick" Aldis is an English professional wrestler and actor. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Magnus, where he is a one time World Tag Team Champion with Doug Williams...
of the British Invasion
The British Invasion (professional wrestling)
The British Invasion is a professional wrestling alliance in the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , currently consisting of English wrestlers Douglas Williams and Magnus. The group previously also included their Welsh enforcer Rob Terry...
. This loose alliance wouldn't last, however, as Tomko later revealed himself to have been the masked man in black assaulting A.J. for months after Bound for Glory
Bound for Glory (2009)
Bound for Glory was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on October 18, 2009 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. It was the fifth event under the Bound for Glory chronology. The Event was the Premiere...
. He did it to score his former partner's attention and a title shot, which he successfully gained but lost.
In wrestling
- Finishing tag team moves
- Tornado–Plex (Aided snap swinging neckbreaker)
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "I Am (Second Remix)" by Dale OliverDale OliverDale Byron Oliver is an American music composer who works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Formerly a guitarist in BackHawk , Oliver serves mainly as a composer of theme music used in professional wrestling.-Music composer for TNA:Since 2003, Oliver writes, records, and produces music under...
(This was also Styles' theme in singles competition)
- "I Am (Second Remix)" by Dale Oliver
Championships and accomplishments
- Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
- TNA World Tag Team ChampionshipTNA World Tag Team ChampionshipThe TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
(1 time)
- TNA World Tag Team Championship