EC3 Says Impact Wrestling Departure Wasn't Over Company Financial Issues
Ethan Carter III in a recent interview with Newsweek talked about what led to his decision to leave Impact Wrestling and join WWE. While Impact has a track record of financial problems, that wasn't a factor in his move, he told Newsweek.
"My decision to leave Impact had nothing to with their business or finances and everything with me wanting to challenge myself to something new," he said on January 23. "Leaving Impact was a very difficult decision as I had six months left on a very lucrative and talent-friendly contract. Anthem lived up to that contract and always treated me with the utmost respect as a businessman and a person."
EC3 was shown on camera at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia on January 27.
Don Callis and Scott D'Amore are new executive vice presidents working with Impact. Callis said the recent changes to Impact's talent roster are good for the company.
"Change is good," Callis said. "Yes, EC3 left, but Brian Cage came in, Johnny Impact was signed, Austin Aries came in."
Talents like EC3, the Hardys, James Storm, Laurel Van Ness, Drew Galloway, Rockstar Spud, Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis and announcer and producer Jeremy Borash have all left the company as of late. D'Amore, who's had previous roles in the company, said new talent coming in are eager to fill the void left by others.
"This company has been a launching pad for people to come in and prove they're stars and deserve the notoriety," D'Amore said. "The Brian Cages, the Su Yungs, all these people coming in are going to be the next Bobby Roodes and Angelina Loves of the next generation."
D'Amore acknowledged Impact needs to rebuild a buzz and following with its audience to get the company where it wants to be.
"In 2018, we're re-establishing trust with the talent, with business partners, with fans," he said. "You can't fix it overnight. We've seen, historically, I call it the dangling carrot: 'When we have this, everything's going to be great.' We're going to roll up our sleeves and work hard. Slowly but surely we're going to make progress. When we look back at the end of 2018, I think we're going to be happy with the progress we've made."
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Source: Newsweek
Terry Kozak contributed to this article.