We’ve seen relations between WWE and Impact Wrestling thaw over the course of 2018. Long gone are the TNA days of Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan trying (and failing... miserably) to restart the Monday Night War. Even the recent scuffles like Impact’s new owners Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corporation attempting to prohibit Matt Hardy from using the Broken gimmick outside their promotion have been settled, to the point footage from Matt and Jeff Hardy’s TNA runs has been featured in a couple prominent productions for WWE Network.
Still, reading that Impact executives Scott D’Amore and Ed Nordholm traveled to Titan Towers in Stamford, Connecticut last week to meet with “several high ranking WWE executives” is a little jarring.
Whether you were jolted by that headline or not, that’s what PWInsider is reporting happened.
But don’t start wondering if Impact will be on WWE Network soon just yet. Insider’s story is mostly about what didn’t happen at the meeting, which is said to have taken place in the middle of last week after Impact’s team returned from MediaCon in the United Kingdom and before they headed to Mexico for a television taping:
- Vince McMahon wasn’t there.
- Doesn’t sound like his son-in-law was either, but “members of Triple H’s team were in attendance”.
- The sale of Impact wasn’t discussed and isn’t on the table.
- Same goes for their tape library.
What was discussed? Insider says they’ve confirmed the meeting itself with WWE and Impact sources, but neither say. The Impact side “declined to comment” aside from specifying ownership of the company and its video archives weren’t on the agenda. One of the site’s WWE sources “described the meeting as a general discussion about the two companies and as a chance to get everyone in the same room as opposed to a specific negotiation.”
So, while I’m confident the words “synergy” and “collaboration” were uttered, I’m not sure what else to read into this item. I’d definitely caution against getting too excited about it until more information comes to light.
But for some reason - and this is purely my own imagination being inspired by reading PWInsider’s story and not anything in said story - I’m now convinced we’ll see Chris Jericho in Impact sometime over the next 12 months.
What are your takeaways/flights of fancy, Cagesiders?