Scott D’Amore on Impact’s Future on AXS TV

A recent episode of the Punch-Out podcast had Impact Wrestling Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore as the guest. One of the topics discussed included D’Amore’s thoughts on the future of Impact on AXS TV and being open to the idea of Impact signing a potential television deal with a different network.

“I mean look, much like our policy with talent and much like our policy with other companies, we’re open to exploring anything. I can tell you this, you know, I sit here, I wear a couple of hats. E.V.P. of IMPACT Wrestling, I’m also the E.V.P., Anthem Sports and Entertainment’s Sports Media Group and IMPACT is such a juggernaut on AXS TV for us. I know it’s at times frustrating for fans. It’s one of the reasons why we added the weekly show on the YouTube subscription for 99 cents. 99 cents, you can watch the show every Thursday night or whenever you feel like watching it. We’ve done that, we’re working on some other projects. We will always look to keep IMPACT Wrestling as one of the staples of AXS TV and frankly, our other broadcast networks both domestically and in Canada as such but we’ll also look for other growth opportunities. To me, it’s a great opportunity to serve two masters. We’ve got IMPACT Wrestling, like I said, which is so great on AXS TV, especially paired with New Japan but if we’re out there, the right deal pops forward, we would be more than happy to sit in a room and look at a deal with a different network and the other thing, we’ll continue to work at other streaming platforms and opportunities and that’s why I throw it out there. We’ve got IMPACT Plus, we’ve got our YouTube Ultimate Insiders. If you wanna follow the brand, here’s a simple and easy way and I mean, the world continues to move forward. There’s gonna be less and less broadcast television, more and more streaming. It’s heading that way, the train is not slowing down, it’s gonna continue to build steam and right now, 99 cents, sign up on YouTube. 99 cents a month. You get every episode of IMPACT Wrestling, get a fun chat to sit in there and join so 99 cents a month, 12 bucks a year. You’ve got all those shows at your disposal.”

D’Amore also stated that Impact did have talks with Braun Strowman for a potential deal with the company prior to his recent return to WWE.

“It’s funny man [D’Amore responded to the report of him meeting with Braun Strowman in October 2021]. It’s a small business and I spend a lot of time on the Detroit side of the border and yeah, got together, sat with Braun, had a nice bite to eat, had a drink. We weren’t hiding, we’re doing nothing. It was actually by a Comic Con. It wasn’t in the airport, but sure. Funny thing was, there were other people there. Nobody cared about the other people sitting at the table. It was like, hey, ‘IMPACT E.V.P. and Braun Strowman spotted together.’ Nothing’s hidden here. We can both go into a conference room down the hallway in a hotel. We could do a lot of other things. We sat there, you know, we’re both there for separate reasons, we’re in the same area. It’s like hey, let’s get together, we sat together, it was a great talk, wish him all the best but it’s fun to watch people spin with things like that and I think that’s one of the joys of being a wrestling fan these days is oh, I’ve heard this, I’ve heard this. Everybody loves to keep behind that curtain and that helps create a little interest, great. We’ll need you tuning in on Thursday nights and whenever you wanna stream the show and if you give us an opportunity, support us with our IMPACT Plus app or YouTube Ultimate Insiders or buying our pay-per-views, appreciate it and we hope we’re entertaining you, enjoying the show and in between.”

Transcript h/t: PostWrestling.com