For the past two weeks, IMPACT Wrestling has been hyping the debut of The Rascalz, a trio featuring 2017 IMPACT Super X Cup winner Dezmond Xavier, alongside newcomers Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel. In a hilarious vignette that pays tribute to one of the most well-known segments from That 70’s Show, we were introduced to the three members of The Rascalz. This past week, it was announced they would make their in-ring debut together next Thursday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhTlBOBDulQ&t=2s
WHO ARE THE RASCALZ
So who are The Rascalz? Well, for one, they aren’t new – they’re new to IMPACT Wrestling as a unit, but the trio (which is actually a quartet on the independents) have been making waves for years in various incarnations together. But it was only this year that the four young stars united to create the faction that is making it’s IMPACT debut next week.
Dezmond Xavier
The Super X Cup Champion Dezmond Xavier has been wrestling since 2011, honing his skills early with Maryland Championship Wrestling (now MCW Pro) in the tag team Unleashed with Fenix Fury. He would also work with his hometown promotion, Dayton, Ohio’s Rockstar Pro, where he would work with Matt Taylor in 2 Man Militia. In 2016, Xavier made a significant leap as a singles star, when he was selected for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW)‘s 2016 edition of Best of the Best tournament. But it would be a new faction alliance that would start the path that would ultimately lead to the Rascalz we know today.
In 2016, Xavier was picked to join a new stable lead by Ohio Is For Killers (OI4K)‘s Dave Crist alongside JT Davidson and one of Crist’s young protegees from OI4K, Zachary Wentz. The new stable was called Scarlet & Graves, and ultimately Wentz and Xavier were paired together as the stables tag team. The two young stars had an instant connection and become one of the fastest rising stars on the indie tag team scene. Wentz was a former Rockstar Pro Champion, and together as Scarlet & Graves, the duo captured the CZW World Tag Team titles on two occasions, as well as the All American Wrestling (AAW) Tag Team titles in Chicago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vAmJY9UTSY&t=15s
Zachary Wentz
Zachary Wentz got his start in 2014, as a student of the Crist Brothers in Rockstar Pro. A year later, and he was tagging with Dave Crist in OI4K Inc. A year later, as OI4K continued to expand, he became part of the Freebird Rules tandem that would rotate members – they captured the Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling (XICW) Tag Team titles in Detroit and helped defend the titles with Dave Crist. But it he also worked with one of OI4K’s other young recruits, Toldeo’s Trey Miguel.
Trey Miguel
Trey Miguel got his start shortly before Zachary Wentz, working Ohio and Michigan indies, before heading to Rockstar Pro in 2016. When he was inducted into OI4K, he was reunited with Wentz, whom he had worked with before in tag team action, for the likes of Northwest Ohio Wrestling (NOW) and IWA Mid South. The two would also form a proper team called Alienated Youth. Miguel would work with some other young studs in tag teams in 2017, including Stephen Wolf in Team EatClips, but it was his pairing with a rising young star from Kentucky named Myron Reed, who was making a name for himself in Glory Pro. Miguel and Reed were paired together in Rockstar Pro and would go on to work with AAW, IWA Mid South, CZW, Beyond Wrestling and more, capturing the IWA Mid South Tag Team titles.
With the Crist brothers and Sami Callihan working IMPACT Wrestling and elsewhere more as the three-man unit Ohio Versus Everything (OvE), OI4K took a back seat, as did Scarlet & Graves. It was time for Xavier and Wentz to move on their own. It was this spring that Wentz and Xavier reunited with their Ohio brethren Miguel – and his own partner Reed – to form a new stable called The Rascalz. Four young and hungry athletic specimens, determined to take over the world of wrestling – singles and tag team – and have fun doing it.
As The Rascalz, Wentz and Xavier continued to shine. As of right now, the two hold the tag team titles in Wrestling Revolver. And they’re over 200 days into their first reign as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) World Tag Team Champions, having defeated former champs The Chosen Bros (Matt Riddle & Jeff Cobb) and The Young Bucks in a triple threat for the belts at PWG All Star Weekend shortly after The Rascalz were formed. Miguel and Reed have won the Rockstar Pro Trios titles twice this year. But while Wentz, Xavier and Miguel have united together on IMPACT Wrestling, bringing the Rascalz to national television, Myron Reed is notably absent. But he’s still doing quite well for himself – he currently holds the AAW Tag Team titles with AR Fox, and the Glory Pro Tag Team titles with his other longtime partner Stephen Wolf. Hopefully, in time, we see Reed take his rightful spot with the rest of the Rascalz on IMPACT as well.
But the Rascalz influence isn’t just limited to North America. This past week, Xavier, Wentz and Miguel headed to Japan, where they’ve allied with CIMA and T-Hawk‘s Stronghearts.
Well tonight I made my Korakuen Hall Debut 🔥🔥 https://t.co/Zal7f7jqIL
— Trey Miguel 🌹 (@TheTreyMiguel) November 23, 2018
So if you’re a long time fan of the men in The Rascalz, you already know the talent and what these three men (hopefully soon four) can bring to the ring. If these past few weeks was your first introduction to Dezmond Xavier’s friends, rest assured. You’re in for a treat.
Be thankful this #Thanksgiving!
Next week you get to see them Ohio kids @DezmondXavier, @zachary_wentz, & @TheTreyMiguel debut on @IMPACTWRESTLING #IMPACTonPOP.#TheRascalz#MidwestTerritory #ForOhioByOhio pic.twitter.com/uzvmAyjfAt
— Death Machine (@TheSamiCallihan) November 22, 2018
