Johnny Impact On His ‘Plus/Minus Average’ Leading To A Good Championship Run, Drawing Power From The Slamtownians (Exclusive)

I recently spoke with Johnny Impact during a press tour for IMPACT Wrestling’s Homecoming pay-per-view on January 6th.

Johnny Impact will defend the IMPACT World Championship against Brian Cage at IMPACT Homecoming at the Asylum in Nashville. Johnny spoke about the promotion’s history in Nashville at the Asylum, and what he’s taking from the experience leading into 2019:

I was in a different wrestling bubble when IMPACT was starting down here in Nashville, but Nashville really is the heart and soul of IMPACT Wrestling. We’ve been gone from Nashville for a very long time, and the people and the wrestling fans and IMPACT fans in Nashville are the original fans, and they’re very passionate about IMPACT Wrestling. The fact that we’re coming back to Nashville and back to the Asylum for those people awesome, and in a lot of ways it’s hard to articulate.

It’s an honor to walk in as the IMPACT World Champion, and as far as what IMPACT has been doing in the last year since I’ve been here is so impressive. I feel like IMPACT has shed a lot of negative connotations that it’s had in the past; it’s signed one of the most talented talent rosters in the world right now. With Slammiversary and Bound For Glory and now Homecoming, the buzz and the positive feedback from fans and critics is off the charts, and I feel like we’re in a really good position now. In 2019, based on the collective work—everyone on the roster and behind the scenes, in terms of the people watching and the networks we’re on, and the digital platforms and the eyeballs that are watching us [there] and internationally, commenting on social media—that trajectory is something that I’m excited about.

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We joked about the feedback Johnny received after shaving his beard, a move he said on social media was done once every two years to make sure his beard wasn’t the source of his powers:

Where do my powers come from? I think if Slamtown is a metaphor—like the mayor of Slamtown—what does that actually mean? Is it a town, a place? Am I the Mayor of a metaphor or some imaginary place where strength is derived? If my beard is not the source of my powers, then I think Slamtown and the Slamtownians really are the true source of my powers.

Johnny said it’s tough to pick one moment from his title reign as a potential favorite due to each title defense being different, but touted his effect on the shows he’s been featured on as why his title run has been meaningful:

There’s a couple things. Hockey does this thing known as the plus/minus average; how good is the team doing when you’re in the game? I think if you look at my plus/minus average—with all of the promotions that I’ve been part of and especially with IMPACT, with me as champion—and pay attention to the upswing, the drop of the negative connotations and the buzz and excitement around IMPACT, and the things that are going to happen in 2019, I think that’s a good definition of a good championship run, and why my championship run is going to be meaningful. I’m planning on taking the promotion to a higher place and a better place than it’s been in a long time.

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