In an interview with WrestleZone.com, Impact Wrestling’s Scott D’Amore commented on the company’s relationship with AEW:
“I think it’s something where the stars just aligned or the right cards came up in the deck…You know, Don Callis is an outside-of-the-box thinker and certainly, Don’s thoughts and actions have been a huge part of leading to this place where it is, where there’s a collaboration, and the driving force is no doubt, Kenny and Don are right at the focal point of it. You’ve also seen The Young Bucks express their thoughts and excitement for it. I mean, ultimately you’ve seen Tony Khan appear via his paid ads on IMPACT Wrestling as a way of getting out there and doing it and I think that timing-wise, I think the timing could always be right if the right people are at the table and are willing to consider doing it.”
“IMPACT Wrestling has always said its doors were open to doing business with anybody and I think we’ve done that, where it was on the local level and doing some of our collaborations with independent promotions, which I think produced a win-win, even though we were partnering with companies that were on a more independent level than us, we still certainly got some great value out of it, with both content and the ability to scout and work with some great talent that ultimately ended up on our roster. And I think you’ve seen it here with AEW with the little bit that’s been done. It certainly has created a buzz and excitement with fans and with people in the wrestling industry alike. And you’ve also seen it, too, like recently we had Chris Bey and TJP both were part of the New Japan Super J, and TJP is a freelancer. He’s been a part of IMPACT throughout the years and many times he’s a guy who from his teenage years is a part of New Japan so I think maybe that part of it wasn’t shocking but for Chris Bey,” D’Amore said, “who is 100% an IMPACT guy, to appear on a New Japan event like that, that shows what can happen when companies come to the table and work together. I think that’s one of the great things that 2020 has done, is it started pushing people more toward collaboration and I think whether it’s AEW or IMPACT Wrestling or New Japan or Pro Wrestling NOAH or AAA or CMLL, I think collaboration is the future.”
You can check out the full interview below:
