{"id":72362,"date":"2018-12-27T15:18:28","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T21:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=72362"},"modified":"2018-12-27T15:18:28","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T21:18:28","slug":"interview-highlights-impact-wrestling-champion-johnny-impact-talks-about-tnas-homecoming-ppv-moving-networks-teaming-with-his-wife-original-tna-years-brian-cage-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/12\/27\/interview-highlights-impact-wrestling-champion-johnny-impact-talks-about-tnas-homecoming-ppv-moving-networks-teaming-with-his-wife-original-tna-years-brian-cage-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview Highlights: Impact Wrestling Champion Johnny Impact talks about TNA&#8217;s Homecoming PPV, moving networks, teaming with his wife, original TNA years, Brian Cage, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2380719615\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em>The following are highlights of an interview Johnny Impact did with Interactive Wrestling Radio on Dec. 13 with host James Walsh. The transcribed highlights were supplied by the the host of the show for PWTorch.com.\u00a0Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.WrestlingEpicenter.com\">www.WrestlingEpicenter.com<\/a> for more interviews and to listen to and to download this one.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Before Impact Wrestling returns to the place where many of our first impressions of the company emanated from &#8211; The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee &#8211; Johnny Impact, the Impact World Champion, visited the company\u2019s roots on a media tour to promote the Jan. 6, 2019 Homecoming pay-per-view. As part of that tour, Johnny joined the Wrestling Epicenter for a one-on-one talk about his experiences in Nashville, his Homecoming opponent Brian Cage, Killer Kross\u2019s continued involvement, and even a little talk about The Iron Sheik\u2019s Massacre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On the crazy media day in Nashville:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI am in Nashville. We just finished a media day promoting the first pay-per-view of 2019, Homecoming, at the Asylum where Impact Wrestling began in the early 2000\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On the loyalty to Impact in the Nashville area:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA lot of people I have talked to today are die-hard fans of Impact Wrestling and have been since the very beginning. It felt really cool! It really struck me today&#8230; Going back to its roots, the journey always takes you home\u2026 That kind of thing. It is one thing to say it but to be on the ground and talk to people that are excited for Impact to come back really hit home with me today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On if he watched many of the Impact Asylum era PPV\u2019s in 2002-2004:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cAbsolutely. I would say I was a fan. I was aware of Impact Wrestling. But, at the time, I was kind of in the WWE developmental bubble which was pretty time consuming and almost all-inclusive. (laughs) But, Elix Skipper, A.J. Styles, and a lot of those guys that were at Impact at that time I was a fan of and still am to this day. But, now that I\u2019ve been with Impact Wrestling for over a year, I feel like I\u2019ve got a much better grasp on the company, its history, and its roots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On the charm of the Asylum venue:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI love it, man. I\u2019ve wrestled there a few times before. It is such a cool venue! First of all, it has the nostalgia of Impact there. But, the other times I\u2019ve wrestled there, it always has this electricity. I think that\u2019s why Impact started in Nashville and Nashville became the heart and soul of Impact Wrestling from day one. The people of Nashville are wrestling fans and they\u2019re really cool to wrestle in front of. That, and the building is really cool! There are a lot of reasons to come down to Homecoming on January 6th or to the TV tapings on January 7th&#8230; Before the Asylum closes. I\u2019ve heard it is getting remodeled sometime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On life as champion being special:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIt is always nice to stand on top of the mountain and drink a Diet Cola and revel in accomplishment! (laughs) It\u2019s been great. No one grows up and dreams of being a number one contender. So, it means a lot. I feel like I\u2019m doing my best to be a brand ambassador to Impact. There are so many great things that has happened to Impact Wrestling in 2018. The up-swing. The shedding of negative connotations about Impact Wrestling. And now? Now I feel like we\u2019re in a good spot. Wrestling\u2019s hot right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On Impact Wrestling\u2019s momentum going into 2019:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cI feel like the work that our roster has done in 2018 has a good shot of getting us on a network that has more eyeballs on it in 2019. Really, it comes down to putting on quality wrestling performances. The people that are watching and those that are coming to the shows have been really gracious in letting us know they\u2019re appreciative of the work that we\u2019re doing. It feels good to be a part of this company right now!\u201d<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3551174837\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>\u2022On facing Brian Cage at Homecoming:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cMan, it\u2019s tough. He is someone I\u2019m very familiar with. He\u2019s someone I consider a friend. BUT! They call it show business. They don\u2019t call it show friends! If I have to pick between him or me, I\u2019m going to pick me. Brian went on record and said he was going to do whatever it takes to take the championship from me. So, I think it is safe to say we\u2019re going to set aside our friendship on January 6th. Maybe not our respect. I\u2019ll always respect Brian and I think he\u2019d say the same about me win, lose, or draw at Homecoming. Brian is no joke. I think this is going to come down to my belief that the main event of a pay per view is more like a chess match than it is a power lifting contest. That, I think, is going to be my competitive advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On the potential involvement of Killer Kross at Homecoming:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cMan, I hope not. (laughs) I would be naive if I thought he was going to stay out of it completely. He\u2019s an intelligent man \u2013 Maybe a little sociopathic. There\u2019s a few screws loose. When he sets his sights on something, he gets it. And, I know he wants the world championship. It has been pretty clear. He\u2019s been offering his services and trying to stay close to my title reign. He\u2019s offered to help me against Brian which I don\u2019t want any part of. I know there\u2019s something in it for Killer Kross. What it is? I don\u2019t know. But, I\u2019m trying to keep myself focused on Brian Cage knowing I\u2019m probably going to have to call an audible or two or three. Killer Kross is going to be in the building. He\u2019s probably going to try something. If he does, I\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On ending 2018 getting to team with his wife whom he married this year:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cYeah! Taya Valkyrie is my favorite human. Anytime I get to do anything with her is really special to me. But, more than that, I respect her as a performer and her psychology for professional wrestling. So, to tag with her as husband and wife, it\u2019s exciting! She\u2019s someone that really has my back. We can kick ass together. It does feel like a special way for 2018 to come to an end!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022On what to expect from Johnny Impact in 2019:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cMan! Expect the unexpected! Expect the best damn year in the history of years! (laughs) Kira (Taya) and I wrote this short crazy horror movie on our honeymoon that we shot at our house a couple of months ago. There\u2019s still fake blood and crap all over the walls! It is called The Iron Sheik\u2019s Massacre. I can\u2019t say too much more about it except that the Iron Sheik is molt. It is one of the first substantial things that I\u2019ve directed in a long time. That will be coming out at some point in 2019. Expect me to continue to evolve physically and mentally. I\u2019ve come to the realization, especially after Survivor, that there is nothing that I\u2019m better at than professional wrestling. I want to prove that I\u2019m the best in the world at it and prove that I deserve to be Impact World Champion and deserve to be World Champion wherever I go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/12\/27\/interview-highlights-petey-williams-talks-about-his-initial-reaction-to-new-of-impact-wrestling-tv-moving-to-pursuit-anticipating-advantages-creatively-and-logistically\/\">Interview Highlights: Petey Williams talks about his initial reaction to new of Impact Wrestling TV moving to Pursuit, anticipating advantages creatively and logistically<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-127428625\"><div id=\"pwtor-1987380377\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The following are highlights of an interview Johnny Impact did with Interactive Wrestling Radio on Dec. 13 with host James Walsh. The transcribed highlights were supplied by the the host of the show for PWTorch.com.\u00a0Visit <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/12\/27\/interview-highlights-impact-wrestling-champion-johnny-impact-talks-about-tnas-homecoming-ppv-moving-networks-teaming-with-his-wife-original-tna-years-brian-cage-more\/\" title=\"Interview Highlights: Impact Wrestling Champion Johnny Impact talks about TNA&#8217;s Homecoming PPV, moving networks, teaming with his wife, original TNA years, Brian Cage, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4247,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-interview-highlights","category-news_tna"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/MorrisonJohnGG_3x2_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72363,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72362\/revisions\/72363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}