A.J. Styles and Tomko

Infobox Wrestling team
article_name=A.J. Styles and Tomko
type=s


caption=
members=
names=A.J. Styles and Tomko
former_members=A.J. Styles
Tomko
debut=April 5,2007
disbanded=May 22,2008
promotions=TNA|

A.J. Styles and Tomko were former heel tag team partners in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). .

History (2007-2008)

Immediately following Destination X 2007, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage 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 PPV Lockdown. In the upcoming weeks, Christian's Coalition officially formed for the second time in as many months under the name Team Cage (also including Abyss and Scott Steiner along with Styles and Tomko), 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 #1 contender to Cage's title.

On the June 14, 2007 episode of Impact, with Styles and Tomko's help, Cage defeated Abyss by disqualification after Abyss hit him with a steel chair. At Victory Road, Styles and Tomko lost to Sting and Abyss.

In addition, Sting and Abyss secured 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 role in the Coalition as an enforcer. At the iMPACT! prior to Hard Justice, Jim Cornette announced that Christian's Coalition would take on Abyss, Sting & Andrew Martin in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood match 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. This was a barbed wire six sides of steel cage match that could only be won by pinning an opponent after they've been busted open. At Hard Justice, Christian's Coalition was defeated, as Abyss pinned A.J. Styles for the win. After this, Christian and his Coalition would move into a feud with Samoa Joe over who the "real World Heavyweight Champion" is. At No Surrender, Styles and Tomko would win a 10 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 Pacman's substitute, Rasheed Lucius "Consequences" Creed, for the TNA Tag Team Titles.

After retaining the tag titles against the Steiner Brothers at Genesis, Styles and Tomko came out during Christian's #1 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 after, they would assist Kurt Angle in retaining his TNA World Heavyweight Championship, officially joining Kurt and his wife Karen in the Angle Alliance. Styles and 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.

On the next "Impact!" Robert Roode and Cage joined Angle's group, though Christian's membership came on the condition that he became leader of all five of them. Surprisingly, Angle accepted with only momentary hesitation. The newly united stable first worked together for the main event later that evening, but after miscommunication cost them the match, Christian argued with and was attacked by Roode and Angle as Styles tried to hold them back and Tomko just walked away. Christian is clearly out of the Angle Alliance, but status from then on was unknown for Styles and Tomko as far as either the Alliance or the Coalition. On Impact the week after Cage was again attacked by Angle and Roode but this time an upset looking Styles just watched from the ring apron.

In the weeks since, Tomko has made it clear to Styles that they needed to choose sides, and while Styles has been indecisive to no end, Tomko firmly established his own foothold in the situation by leaving both the Coalition and the Alliance on the January 3 2008 edition of Impact, whereas AJ chose to join Angle at the Final Resolution PPV by helping Angle retain the TNA World Title against Cage. Following Final Resolution, Angle would continue to try & recruit Tomko, only to be refuted each time, eventually leading to Tomko attacking Angle after he insulted Tomko's wife. On the February 7 2008 episode of Impact, Tomko came out to help Christian as A.J. & Angle attacked him following his match, and made it known that he was siding with Christian, due to his issues with Angle & history with Cage. But at Against All Odds Tomko turned on Christian and joined the Angle Alliance. Next Thursday on Impact, Tomko clearly stated that the only reason he was joining was because there was strength in numbers.

At Destination X 2008, the Angle Alliance faced the team of Samoa Joe, Kevin Nash, and Christian Cage, who was still looking for revenge against Styles and Tomko for betraying his coalition. The match ended when Tomko tapped out to Joe. The next Thursday on Impact, Tomko was announced the captain of the heel Lethal Lockdown team, and recruited A.J. as his first team member, along with Team 3D and James Storm being the others.

On the April 17 2008 edition on TNA iMPACT Styles and Tomko lost the TNA Tag Team Championships to Super Eric and Kaz. Then they complained to Jim Cornette about the match, and in the end Super Eric and Kaz were stripped of their newly won championships. The Deuce's 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, A.J. Styles competed in the tournament alongside Super Eric. A.J. seemed to be happy with his new partner, leaving the status of his team with Tomko up for grabs.

On the May 22, 2008 edition of "iMPACT!", after Tomko interrupted an interview to interrogate A.J. about teaming with Super Eric, Styles quit the Angle Alliance, including his team with Tomko. From there, Tomko would align with Kurt Angle, Booker T, Team 3D, and The Beautiful People in a loose collective self-identified as "the Bad Guys", who that same night and the week after ended the show by beating down A.J. (and Christian the second time) in the middle of the ring, marking the official disbanding of A.J. Styles and Tomko. Tomko departed TNA in July of 2008.

In wrestling

*Double team finishing and signature moves
**"Tornado-Plex" (Aided whiplash)

*Theme song
**"I Am (Heel Remix)" by Dale Oliver (also A.J. Styles' individual theme)

Championships and accomplishments

*Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
**TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) [citeweb|url=http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/218/84/|accessdate=2008-07-01|title=TNA official title history|publisher=TNAwrestling.com]

References

External links

* [http://www.tnawrestling.com/roster/tomko/index.html Tomko TNA profile]
* [http://www.tnawrestling.com/roster/ajstyles/index.html A.J. Styles TNA profile]