D’Lo Brown On Tessa Blanchard’s World Title Win and Allegations Against Her, Learning From Ron Simmons

D’Lo Brown spoke with TalkSport for a new interview discussing his producer work for Impact, Tessa Blanchard’s World Title win and more. Highlights are below:

On his favorite people to work with in Impact: “I mean, wow. To name one would be to insult others. But, maybe not favourite matches, I can tell you who I really like working with? Anytime I’m involved with Sami Callihan, Tessa Blanchard, Eddie Edwards, Michael Elgin, The North, people like Rich Swann and Willie Mack – it’s fun to have that collaborative process, put together ideas and see them go out there and they become really great matches. That’s really fun for me. We have such an incredible roster, a really talented roster here at IMPACT. Anytime I get to work with any of them, I enjoy it immensely.”

On if the allegations against Tessa Blanchard tainted her Impact World Title win: “I still think it was a big moment for her and for IMPACT. Seeing it live and being there and hearing the reaction of the crowd, seeing responses days and weeks later – it was still a big moment. As far as the rumour and innuendo that was out there before? There’s nothing to speak on. I don’t know because I wasn’t there. All I know is how Tessa is with me as an individual and I know she is one fine person, one fine individual and someone I’m proud to call a friend and confidant. To me, it was a big moment and she has many, many more to come.”

On who helped him learn the knowledge of the wrestling business that he uses as a producer: “Without a doubt, Ron Simmons. I consider him my professor. He helped me get my Phd in wrestling. We would do shows and then get in the car and drive for three or four hours and all we would do is talk about how we could improve that match, what I did right, what I did wrong, how I could fix certain things. Then we would go out the next night and I would try to work on it. He was very influential in me getting that next level understanding in this business. Every time I put together something right now, I try to pull on some of the knowledge he gave me. It’s helped me so far, it’s served me very well. I couldn’t thank Ron enough for the time he invested in me and I’m going to pay it forward and invest it in the next generation.”

On The Rock becoming the star that he did: “If anybody says they saw what The Rock was going to become, they’re lying to you. It was a perfect combination of his charisma, timing and a thousand other things that allowed him to become the star that he became. But, the first step in that was his preparation, his readiness to be a star. He always had that, you could see that a mile away. Now, if we spin forward to IMPACT, when I look at certain individuals on our roster and I go ‘Yeah, they’ve got IT’. It’s there. We’re just trying to tap into it and break it out. Yes, it allows you to get a better understanding of what it takes to be that person that the world focuses on. It allows you to see what it takes to connect with the people. Not that it’s easily teachable – if it was, everyone would be a star – but it allows you to see it in different people and get it out of them.”