Apex of the Decade 4

Apex of the Decade 4 was the 4th official ranking for the Apex of the Decade, an Apex listing of the top 25 e-wrestlers to have competed in the e-federation, Lords of Pain Wrestling (LPW), formerly the Psychotic Wrestling Alliance (PWA), acknowledging the in and out of character success from those who paved the way during the promotion's first decade of existence.

The 4th overall ranking was announced at All-Stars on January 12, 2010. Drew Michaels was the e-wrestler who claimed the 4th spot with 455 points.

Synopsis


VITAL STATISTICS

Height and Weight: 6'1” 235 Pounds Billed From: http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/lpw/images/thumb/d/de/Flag_of_the_United_States.png/24px-Flag_of_the_United_States.png Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Debut: PWA Schizphrenia LIVE from San Jose, California (Defeated by Bobino and Marjin) Career Accomplishments: LPW United States Championship, LPW International Heavyweight Championship, Martinez Cup Champion (Altered Reality 4), LPW Undisputed Tag Team Championship (With Tromboner Man) Career Record: 29 Wins, 14 Losses Highest Spot Achieved on APEX in Career: 1st (2 Times; Most Recent – July 2008) Latest Match: LPW Inferno 15.3 – Night of Champions (Defeated Jeff Watson and Bobino) Score: 455 Points (No First Place Votes)

Patient History: There are two kinds of wrestlers in LPW. There are the wrestlers that will do whatever it takes to get to the top, regardless of whom they hurt, and how many relationships they destroy in the process. Then there are the people who rise from this pile, assisting all they can, and punishing those who morally stand in the way of them and their colleagues. Drew Michaels is the spitting image of this second option. His moral driven approach to wrestling has created some memorable moments, many of which are huge turning points in the story of LPW.

Drew Michaels debuted under the guise “Headbanger”, and stumbled into a mixed start. After losing his first match up, he rebounded the next night, and won a rookie battle royal. Sparking a fire in his belly, Headbanger would go on to challenge for the vacant TV Championship, a match which would see Red Dragon eliminate him from the contest. After defeating Dragon the next night, Headbanger proclaimed himself a hero to the people, winning over the fans. Joining forces with rivals Edible, and Stevie Richards V2, now competing under the name “Trey Spruance” the trio formed “The Misfits”. After feuding with the Payroll, Headbanger sought one more name to join the stable, T.J. Rage. However, it wasn't the Misfits which made Headbanger, rather, a competitive loss to D. Hammond Samuels. This match caused people to see Headbanger as a legitimate threat, and suddenly, championship chances began to come to Headbanger again.

After the United States Champion, The Rabbi, offered Banger a title match, should he beat his Misfit Brothers, Banger made good, and won the match. After being attacked for many weeks by the mmysterious “C.Y.W” attacker, this opportunity filled Banger with hope. However, at the Schizos Wild PPV, The Rabbi would retain his championship, despite Headbanger winning, thanks to a disqualification. After leading the Misfits to a losing effort at Altered Reality 3, Headbanger finally won the US title, at Homecoming, defeating the Rabbi at the Homecoming event in a No Disqualification Match. Later that night, Headbanger, along with his Misfit brothers, and the groups manager, and Headbanger's girlfriend, Juliet, were all drafted to the Pyromania brand.

Upon starting at his new brand, Headbanger was targetting by Blackwell, who kidnapped Juliet. At the same time, it was revealled that the mysterious C.Y.W. attacker was none other than X. After trying to take down both men, Headbanger would fall to X at “At All Costs”. He made up for this loss by defeating Blackwell at “The Rising”, retaining his title and recapturing Juliet in a carnival brawl match. After the match, Headbanger proposed to Juliet, an offer she couldn't refuse. It was also revealed that the young couple were expecting a baby, delighting the LPW Universe.

In the lead up to their wedding at Inferno 10.2, Headbanger began wrestling under his Christian name, Drew Michaels. As a wedding present to the man, Inferno General Manager Spectre gifted Michaels an International Heavyweight Championship match with D. Hammond Samuels at Sacrament. Michaels willingly accepted the offer, as after the Homecoming event, Samuels declared Michaels a non-person to him. Samuels contradicted his words however, interupting the wedding and attacking Michaels, and laying a blow to Juliet's stomach, causing her to miscarry the child. With the feud now personal after the death, Samuels cost Michaels his US Championship at Inferno 10.3 by tipping over the ladder he stood on. After being stripped of the title, Samuels used legal tactics to get it back, setting up the bitter 60 Minute Iron man match. In a gripping finish, with seconds on the clock, Michaels would fall 1 second short of tieing the match, as Samuels walked out the winner on a 3 to 2 count.

Michaels was not satisfied, esspecially since he felt the killing of his unborn baby has gone unpunished. After a fight between the pair broke out at 11.2, they were ordered to fight again at Dead Reckoning. After Samuels won a pick your poison time race to name the stipulations, he picked his signature match type, and one of the deadliest in history, the Tijuana Cage Match. With Michaels at a severe disadvantage, he overcame the obstacle and won the title in the bloody epic, hitting a DDT off the top of the Cage to defeat his enemy.

Drew finally got a measure of retritbution, but he wouldn't be finished with Samuels just yet. His first title defence was scheduled to be against Samuels, along with Wevv Mang and Sheepster in a fatal four way. However, when Samuels was removed from the match at 12.3 for hitting an official, the match became a triple threat. After successfully defeating the hungry contendors, Drew Michaels had qualified to compete in the Martinez Cup match at Altered Reality Four. Facing off against Insanity's World Heavyweight Champion, cYnical, Drew Michaels took advantage of an overturned decision towards cYnical to defeat the man, and claim the Martinez Cup, in what he has claimed to be “The proudest moment in my wrestling career”.

At Homecoming, he was drafted to Insanity, but in a shocking move, traded back to Inferno for cYnical, at the request of the mysterious new General Manager of the brand, “The Boss”. The duo clashed almost instantly, with Drew very sceptical of the mysterious man. He was forced to defend his title against both Eric Scorpio and NPD. Using a champions clause to include Ash Strife in the match, he lost the match after Strife, after being taken over by his alter ego, Crazy Ash Killa, brutally destroyed Scorpio, and Krimson Mask attacked Drew himself. After CAK buried Eric Scorpio alive the next night on Insanity, killing his brother, LPW stock plummeted. With the Boss planting the blame squarely on Michaels' shoulders for including Strife in the match, the Boss granted Michaels the opportunity to face Krimson Mask. After being mistakenly disqualified, Mask attacked Michaels, before the Boss came out to his “rescue”.

Instead of saving Michaels, the Boss tormented Michaels by revealing his true identity, D. Hammond Samuels. Announcing that with the stock price so low, he'd completed a buy out of LPW, and now held controlling share of the federation. Michaels instantly put every ounce of his being into saving LPW from the mad man, and found a very unlikely ally in the process. After saving his Misfit Brothers Trey Spruance and Sean Jenson from a beat down from the newly crowned Tag Team Champions Krimson Mask and Samuels, former Tag Champion Tromboner Man joined the attack, saving Michaels from a beat down himself. With the Misfit's hatred of the Madcore's ingrained in Michaels' soul, and vice versa for TBM, the pair put aside their differences to lead an allied attack against Mask and Samuels. Defeating the pair for the titles at Sacrament, the pair seemed to have all the answers to the power play of Samuels and his dastardly “Illuminati”, but Michaels had another ace up his sleve, separating Michaels and TBM by tricking Tromboner Man into doing duty with the Australian Army. Without TBM there to hold the other tag strap, Michaels vacated the titles, as he looked for another way at dismantling Samuels' grip on the federation.

Drew Michaels' career is a storied one, which has changed course more than anyone could have foreseen. His unspectacular start to his career caused many to believe he was just a flash in the pan, and no-one could have imagined the great things Michaels has gone on achieve. The Martinez Cup Champion is truly an inspirational man, and has inspired the LPW Universe to vote him in at number 4 on the Apex of the Decade. Drew Michaels, congratulations.