Paul Heyman’s time running ECW showed off his tremendous skill at putting wrestlers in the best position to succeed. The Impact Players perfectly show that as two talented wrestlers who achieved their greatest success in ECW. Lance Storm and Justin Credible formed a great duo that connected with the diehard fan base of the promotion.
Both wrestlers were trying to find their groove in wrestling after years of experience in various ways. The Impact Players were a Heyman creation who saw something special in Storm and Credible together. Many fans forget about their peak since they only spent a little over a year together. Credible and Storm deserve more credit for their epic run together as the Impact Players.
Finding Each Other When Needing To Break Out
Lance Storm and Justin Credible were viewed as decent talents in ECW when they formed the Impact Players. The two wrestlers had different wrestling styles, personalities, and backgrounds before uniting. Storm came up with Chris Jericho learning from the Hart brothers and wrestling on the independent circuit in Canada before getting a shot in ECW.
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Credible had a run in WWE with the awful Aldo Montoya gimmick that negatively harmed his reputation in wrestling. Even though he formed a friendship with the bigger stars of the Kliq and was viewed as an unofficial sixth member, WWE had no plans for him. Paul Heyman saw his potential and signed him to join the company with a solid mid-card role.
Both Storm and Credible were fitting in well for ECW’s depth, but they needed each other to get to the next level. The Impact Players formed when Shane Douglas cut a promo looking for the “next Franchise” with his fake retirement angle. Douglas insulted both men claiming they weren’t worthy, but that just inspired them to get together in a career-changing move.
The Team Found Major Success Together
ECW was known for giving talented wrestlers the chance to showcase their talent and get over in wrestling by being themselves. Lance Storm was able to play the no-nonsense technical wrestler using submissions and doing his talking in the ring. The same applied to Justin Credible for being able to get over by having a brash style and delivering more high-impact moves in the ring.
Paul Heyman’s track record was great at knowing what the ECW fans wanted, and this was another home run example. ECW viewed the Impact Players as bigger stars together than they were as solid mid-carders trying to find their ideal roles. Dawn Marie and Jason Knight were the respective managers of Storm and Credible and continued to work with them.
The Impact Players scored their first ECW Tag Team Championship victory over the duo of Tommy Dreamer and Raven to defeat two major ECW main eventers. Fans gave them great heat as heels but also showed interest in them as a compelling act. The second tag title reign came when defeating Raven and his new tag partner Mike Awesome. ECW gave the Impact Players victories over upper card names like Dreamer, Raven, Awesome, Masato Tanaka, Sabu, and Jerry Lynn in various makeshift teams.
Becoming A Perfect Unit
The Impact Players' run lasted less than a year together, but it remains the most important part of their careers. ECW witnessed Lance Storm and Justin Credible becoming the best tag team in ECW at a time needed when the Dudley Boyz left for WWE. However, the short-lived time in a top duo ended when Storm decided to leave for a bigger contract in WCW, and Credible was primed for a bigger push in ECW.
Fans would have likely welcomed the Impact Players sticking around for another couple of years, but it wasn’t meant to be. Credible won the ECW Championship and had a strong singles run in the company’s final years. Storm did a lot better than most expected in WCW and was arguably the last great heel act before they went out of business. WWE used Storm in a solid mid-card role as well, but none of these things felt as natural as the Impact Players.
The diehard fans of the time will always link Storm and Credible together despite having singles success as well. WWE tried reuniting them during the Invasion angle when WCW and ECW merged, but there was never a real push to give them a fair chance. ECW One Night Stand 2005 provided the last major reunion to a huge pop when Credible, Jason and Dawn Marie helped Storm beat Chris Jericho. The Impact Players were one of the greatest ECW acts and an all-time underrated team linked together for good reason.
