Johnny Impact On If He's Committed To Impact Going Into 2019, AEW Rumors, Brian Cage
With the futures of many wrestlers uncertain heading into 2019, everyone is getting asked if they are staying where they are currently at, jumping ship to a new promotion or even starting their own promotion.
Johnny Impact was the latest to get posed that question via Nick Hausman on our WINCLY podcast. A departure from Impact would seemingly necessitate a name change for the former John Morrison, but he gave some good news to Impact Wrestling fans.
"Johnny Impact is committed to Impact [Wrestling]," Impact confirmed when asked about 2019. "I feel like all the progress we've made with Impact has created leverage so I'm thinking that sometime in 2019 we'll have the opportunity to move to a bigger network."
He also talked about how Impact Wrestling has been knocked down and smack-talked more than any other wrestling promotion maybe ever, but it's still standing today.
Speaking of wrestling promotions, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks are rumored to be starting their own called All Elite Wrestling. Impact was asked to share his thoughts on that possibility.
"The Bucks and Cody's All Elite thing is an upstart promotion and whether or not that's going to last, I'm not one to say," stated Impact. "I will say that I'm really proud of what we've done with Impact. Being a part of it and being world champion and representing a brand going into 2019 is something that I'm really excited to do."
Impact Wrestling Homecoming is the company's next pay-per-view and it will feature Johnny Impact defending his Impact World Championship against Brian Cage. The two of them are friends but when you are competing for the top spot in the company, friendships are bound to be tested.
"Yeah, absolutely," Impact responded when asked if this feud has put a strain on his relationship with Cage. "It's one of those things about sports and about wrestling where there's only one world championship. We're friends, but at the end of the day, only one of us is gonna leave with that world championship.
"It's show business, not show friends. If I had to pick between a friend and a world championship, for me, for Taya and my family, it's the world championship...
"I'm hoping Brian and I can be friends after. If we can't, if our relationship changes based on what happens on Jan. 6, that's something I'm prepared to deal with."
Impact also weighed in on the Ultimate X matches that have become synonymous with Impact Wrestling and discussed what he would try to do in such a match.
"I've always been fascinated by the Ultimate X matches. It's one of the things I remember watching and trying to figure out how hard it would be to go hand-over-hand over those ropes. I always wanted to know if I could walk on top of the ropes. The possibilities with that Ultimate X setup always fascinated me," said Impact.
"Of course I wish I could be included in that match, but there is no match that I would rather have at Homecoming than the match against Brian and defending the World Championship."
Gimmick matches like TLC and Hell in a Cell eventually became their own pay-per-views in WWE and Impact was posed with the idea of Ultimate X becoming its own ppv.
"That's an interesting concept. I don't know? You could argue that if Ultimate X had a full ppv called Ultimate X, would that mean all the matches are Ultimate X matches? That might be a little too much," said Impact.
"One of the cool things about it is that it's not everyday you get an Ultimate X match because those matches take a lot out of the people involved. If there was an Ultimate X match every week, the Impact roster may thin out a bit because people might start dropping and getting hurt."
Impact Wrestling Homecoming will take place on January 6, 2019 from Nashville, Tennessee. Johnny Impact will defend the Impact World Championship against Brian Cage while Impact's wife, Taya Valkyrie will take on Tessa Blanchard for the Impact Knockouts Championship.
Check out the WINCLY podcast in the audio player below which features more from Johnny, including him discussing if he's talked to Austin Aries since Bound For Glory, Survivor and more. The episode also features all of the latest news and exclusive interviews with Justin Credible (taped days before his arrest), Flip Gordon, WWE Superstar Matt Hardy and Glacier!