D’Amore is excited to have both of them under the IMPACT/TNA banner.
On the IMPACT/TNA Wrestling contract front, Eddie Edwards re-signed and KUSHIDA opted to sign a full-time deal.
Both signings were discussed by company President Scott D’Amore during his appearance on Busted Open Radio and he started off by speaking about Eddie:
Will Ospreay said it best, ‘There should be no conversation about the best in the world that doesn’t include Eddie Edwards’ name’ and it’s a shame that he’s been left out of a lot of those conversations and we’re gonna work towards changing that and having him here, he’s not just an amazing in-ring talent, he’s our guy and Mark (Henry), you’ve been in a lot of locker rooms and a lot of group of peoples. This is the guy that people turn to when there’s any type of concern. They look to see how a guy like Eddie is reacting. Somebody needs to speak up, they look over towards Eddie. So having a guy like that who’s not only just a world-class talent in the ring, but also somebody who that entire locker room turns and looks to. Locker room leaders are few and far between and Eddie has really stepped up over these last handful of years and kind of took that, not by words which, guys, you know is certainly important but by his actions and his approach to everything day after day. So, we’re super excited to have Eddie back here. As far as I’m concerned, Eddie Edwards’ entire career and post in-ring career should all be spent with TNA Wrestling.
KUSHIDA is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and three-time Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. D’Amore remembers when KUSHIDA went on excursion and brought up a conversation they had.
At the time, KUSHIDA said he was unsure if he wanted to go back to Japan and threw out the possibility of him coming to TNA. D’Amore added that KUSHIDA will still be able to compete for NJPW.
KUSHIDA is amazing. I think you’re looking at probably the best junior heavyweight of his time in Japan. He came in here and right away, I knew he would when he was here as a guest, he fit into the locker room and to have him sign with us full-time I think is fantastic, I think it deepens our relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and for me, it’s truly special because KUSHIDA spent his excursion years ago here in Windsor at my dojo training and I’ll never forget as his excursion started to near its end, he was lying on the apron of the ring and he was like, ‘Scott-san, I have secret.’ I go, ‘Yeah? What’s that?’ He goes, ‘Maybe, I no want go back to Japan. I want to go TNA Wrestling.’ So, for all these years, a decade-plus later to have KUSHIDA now, I know he’s stoked about it and I’m excited to have him because he’s done everything you can do in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and he will continue to be there at times and wrestle there but his full-time commitment in-ring moving forward is gonna be with TNA Wrestling and I think that’s amazing for us because not just an amazing talent but he’s one of those guys and you need some of those. We’re a very young company. He’s a guy who’s performed multiple times in front of tens of thousands of people on the biggest stages so, to have a guy like him with his passion and his talent join, I think is an outstanding get.
The start of the new era of TNA Wrestling begins on January 13th at the Hard To Kill pay-per-view. Among the title matches on that show are Alex Shelley defending the TNA World Title against Moose in addition to Trinity putting the Knockouts World Championship on the line against Jordynne Grace.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Busted Open Radio with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
