Don Callis And Scott D’Amore Discuss How IMPACT Wrestling Is Changing, The Company’s Future And More
With Anthem Sports’ acquisition of majority stake in AXS TV, IMPACT Wrestling has found a new home. As a result, the company has been on the forefront of the news this week. On this week’s episode of Talk Is Jericho, IMPACT Wrestling Executive Vice Presidents Don Callis and Scott D’Amore discussed the company’s move to AXS. The duo also talked about how IMPACT Wrestling has changed since they were named as executives.
D’Amore said the move certainly benefits IMPACT Wrestling. “From a linear broadcast perspective, we’ve made a huge jump forward,” said D’Amore. “It’s a great… time, for IMPACT Wrestling and I think for wrestling fans in general on so many levels.”
Callis said the move to AXS gives IMPACT a better platform for reaching audiences. “Other people like Dave Meltzer said it’s the best booked, best written wrestling show on TV and I think I said to you, it’s like, you know, we’ve kinda been the Rolling Stones playing in someone’s garage,” said Callis. The music’s great but not enough people are hearing it. So I think now we’ve got a platform where the excitement we’ve created the last number of months with the storylines, with a great roster, we’ve got some of the changes and the signings, now more people are gonna get to see it and can decide what they like and we think they’re gonna love it.”
D’Amore also discussed the benefits of the general perception of AXS TV. “I think definitely wrestling fans know AXS TV, it’s a destination for wrestling programming, it’s a brand name, it’s a Mark Cuban product and it’s something that certainly brings the prestige back,” said D’Amore. “And I think it’s been a frustrating ride for fans that have followed, historically, this company, because they’ve seen it slide from Spike to Destination America to Pop , and then to go to Pursuit, it was like, ok, maybe this is finally the last of it. So, this now upward move towards AXS, I think [it] has rejuvenated part of the fan base that is jaded and for the very sizable fan base that we still have that is often quiet on these things, they’re excited because they’re along for a ride….” D’Amore said that, for the fan base, the move to AXS is like a payoff to the winding road the company has experienced in recent years.
The full episode is available below:
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