Johnny Impact Talks Impact Wrestling, WWE, Lucha Underground

Whether you call him Johnny Impact, Johnny Mundo or one of his many other names, the 15-year veteran has honed his craft and become one of the most recognizable faces in the wrestling business.

After starting his career in WWE by winning Tough Enough, Johnny Impact has used his time in Lucha Underground, Mexico’s AAA promotion, and Impact Wrestling to become one of the best in-ring workers in the business. Add in his drastic improvements on the mic over the last several years, and Johnny Impact has evolved into an all-around superstar.

In a recent interview promoting the release of Boone: The Bounty Hunter on DVD at Dollar General stores across the United States, Johnny Impact spoke to Ring Rust Radio about being one of the top stars of Impact Wrestling, the changes he wants to see the company make and how his time in the WWE and Lucha Underground have helped prepare him to carry a company.

Since making his debut with Impact Wrestling in August, Johnny Impact has worked his way into the Global Championship scene and has become a cornerstone of the brand in just a short period of time.

As a true international star in wrestling, Johnny Impact holds Mexican promotion AAA’s Mega Championship, is Lucha Underground’s world champion and is now fighting for Impact’s Global Championship. Moving forward, Impact officials would be wise to build the brand around the 37-year-old veteran.

When asked about being the face of Impact Wrestling, Johnny Impact embraces the pressure.

“I’ve done it for the past 15 years. I won Tough Enough 3 when I started. I got signed and there is a learning curve when you step into the business,” Johnny Impact said. “It’s not like you can just step in the professional wrestling and be excellent at it, wrestling is not easy. If it was easy everyone would do it.”

“Over that time that I spent in this business and my career, I’ve continually evolved,” Johnny Impact continued. “I’ve pushed myself with regards to training martial arts and parkour and MMA into my style of professional wrestling, which in my opinion, is the way the business has evolved over the past 10 years. To be able to talk about Impact and talk about myself and having other things going on the side is why I am the perfect person to represent Impact.”

For Impact to shed the negativity associated with the name TNA, giving Johnny Impact the chance to become the face of the brand is the correct decision moving forward. He knows how to succeed in the wrestling business, and he knows how the biggest companies in the world operate.

While adding Johnny Impact to the roster was a great step toward rebuilding the image of the company, Impact Wrestling needs to continue making more changes behind the scenes and in front of the camera to help casual fans tune into the product. The roster is already incredibly talented, but the performers must be given more time to put on elite matches in the ring.

Johnny Impact has a few ideas for changes he’d like to see the company make.

“It’s time to do things a little bit differently, because a lot of the shows that I’m doing on the weekends, what I get from the crowd is that they want faster pace stuff, they want harder hitting stuff,” Johnny Impact said. “People have consumed so much wrestling that some of the stuff that worked back then doesn’t work now. You just need to update everything and I feel like that’s what Impact needed when I got there.”

One of the major problems Impact Wrestling faced in the past was top wrestlers signing with the company and then mailing in their effort once they arrived. Johnny Impact is regarded as a consummate professional, and he will put forth his best effort every time he is working a match or cutting a promo.

When asked about how his experience and talent will help Impact Wrestling moving forward, Johnny Impact spoke candidly about what separates him from some of the other wrestlers who have signed with the company in the past.

“I feel like what I bring to the table for a company like GFW and Impact is my reputation,” impact Said. “I never phone it in and I always leave it all out there. I have been trying to, no matter what or where I’m wrestling, to have a high-quality match.”

“I’ve been on TV with the WWE for almost 10 years, since then Lucha Underground and AAA, and I’ve been wrestling all over the world,” Impact continued. “I feel like someone like me is what the company really needed at the time that I signed, which is really exciting to me, because when I go somewhere I go to be the guy, the main event. It feels like I’m helping the company, and that’s really what I feel like I want to be spending my time on right now in this business.”

While there will always be a contingent of fans who don’t care about Impact Wrestling due to issues with previous administrations, Johnny Impact is doing everything in his power to change the perception of the company one match or promo at a time.

The best part of Johnny Impact’s decision to join Impact Wrestling is that he is still permitted to work for AAA and Lucha Underground. While Season 3 of Lucha Underground is winding down, he is hopeful that a fourth season will come to fruition, which will result in Johnny Impact being a top star in two major American wrestling promotions at the same time.

With so much raw talent and now the platform to showcase what he can do in the ring and on the mic to an even wider audience, Johnny Impact’s stock will continue to rise. Impact Wrestling should continue building its brand around him and let him be one of the cornerstones of the company moving forward.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).