Jake Crist Says Impact Did Not Pay Him The Last Six Months Of His Contract
Fresh off officially being a free agent, Jake Crist was on The Wrestling Inc. Daily podcast where he chatted with Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman about his future. Crist revealed on the podcast, that his computer show unfortunately had to shut down and that he was not paid by Impact Wrestling during the time he was off TV.
"My computer shop Nerd Reserve, we ended up having to close that," Crist revealed. "Big shout-out to Nerd Reserve. Pandemic's been hard. I've lost pretty much everything. It's all good though. [Hausman asks if he was getting paid by Impact] No, just not getting paid. To be honest, if I was getting paid — I'm scared to death of this pandemic just like everybody else is.
"So you wouldn't be seeing me going out there as much as I have been during this pandemic if I didn't have to go out to make money, to make ends meet, to put food on the table to be to be completely honest. You wouldn't see me doing all the indie shows that I've been doing if I was still getting paid (Crist chuckles)."
Acey Romero revealed before that Impact talent are only given a temperature check. Crist also confirmed on the podcast that he only received a temperature check and went out on his own to get a COVID test.
"Every time we'd have to go in, [we] get the temperature check and all that, but as far as getting tested, I never personally got test," Crist revealed. "I got tested on my own, but the company never did the testing stuff."
Hausman noted that is similar to how it is on the indies, and Crist recalled a match where the person he was facing tested positive. He revealed he went out right away to get a COVID test that cost him $150.
"Oh, yeah, absolutely. It's scary," Crist admitted. "It's scary. I just wrestled Gary Jay at IWA Mid-South not too long ago, great performer, amazing performer. Had an amazing match. We killed it, but he sent me a message a couple days later saying that he tested positive for COVID, and it scared me to death. So I ran and got a rapid COVID test. It ended up costing me $150, but I had that ease of mind that I knew right away that I didn't have COVID."
Crist has wrestled for Ring of Honor in the past, and he also revealed on the podcast that he has reached out to ROH. He took the time on the podcast to state his case and try to get ROH management to reach out back to him.
"I would love to go back, and that's been one of the promotion's I've reached out to, but Hunter (Delirious) is horrible getting back at people," Crist laughingly said. "Hey Delirious! Call me bro! I've called you! I've called you bro. I've left you message after message. I've given you emails. I've got a hold of a whole bunch of people on your roster. Hook me up bro! Give me a call. Give me a chance. Come on, Delirious! Come on Hunter! What's up, bro? What a pitch right? Why wouldn't you want me in your company?"
Hausman noted that NJPW is building up their U.S. presence through NJPW Strong and have brought in talent like Lio Rush and ACH. Crist stated his desire to get in the ring with them.
"Man, two great guys I would love to have a match with," Crist remarked.
You can follow Jake on Twitter @TheJakeCrist. Jake's full interview aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.