Scott D’Amore On Impact’s AXS TV Deal, Surviving Through Tough Times, Steady Approach to Fixing Issues

– Speaking with Jeffrey Harris at the Impact media day for the 411 Wrestling Interviews Podcast, Impact Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore discussed the company’s deal with AXS TV, how the company made it through tough times and how they took a slower, steadier approach to fixing the company’s problems. D’Amore was promoted to the position of EVP with Don Callis in January of 2018, and since then has been working in a measured approach in trying to repair the company’s issues and concerns from fans. Highlights from the discussion and the full interview are below:

On how it feels for Impact to ‘come out the other side of the storm’ with their AXS TV deal: “Look, I think that’s kind of an accurate statement. You can’t run from the fact that Impact Wrestling with previous regimes had some rather difficult times, we’ll say. I think that Anthem Sports stepping in, they’ve shown a commitment and dedication to Impact Wrestling, and a passion for Impact Wrestling that is refreshing. And I think that when myself and Don Callis came in at the beginning of 2018, it was comforting to know that we had the full support and assistance of Ed Nordholm, our president, and Len Asper who’s our majority holder in Anthem Sports. And that’s kind of what’s allowed us to take a slow, steady approach to getting to where we are today.”

On taking a measured approach to fixing the company’s issues: “It was very hard for wrestling fans to hear in January of 2018, they wanted to be told that things were going to be better instantly. And we were very strongly of the belief that there’s no quick fixes. Lots of people came in, and they were gonna do quick fixes and make things better. And we said, ‘There’s no quick fixes, there’s no magical pill that’s going to make everything okay. Where we sit now, the only way to make this better is to get up every morning and work extremely hard, and make sure that we make small, incremental increases and improvements in what we’re doing. And you’re not going to realize it in one day, two days, three days. You’re going to realize it in six months, a year’s time, when you look back at where you were and you see what you’ve progressed to. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of steering the Impact ship in the proper direction, and being patient in allowing things to develop. We didn’t turn around and go, ‘Hey, let’s go grab the biggest stars from other places that are at the tail end of their career.’ The veterans that we brought in were all brought and are being brought for specific purposes. And that’s to be tools to help nurture what we have, which we think is one of the best home-grown rosters in professional wrestling.”

In the full interview, D’Amore talks about Impact’s new TV deal with AXS TV and the stability it brings, being replaced by Vince Russo in 2006 and his relationship with Russo, the Team Canada stable, doing more co-promotional work and more.

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0:00 – Introduction
2:52 – On Impact’s new TV deal and the company surviving through difficult times
5:59 – On the company getting more stability through AXS TV and seeing their long-term plans come to fruition
9:30 – On the decision to put the TNA World title on Jeff Jarrett in 2006
12:49 – On the decision to bring in Vince Russo to replace him in creative in 2006, his relationship with Russo
14:40 – On Team Canada stable and it being a breakthrough for Bobby Roode, Petey Williams, and Eric Young
24:49 – On if co-promotional efforts will continue in the new era

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