Over the years, IMPACT Wrestling has shown the world that it’s hard to kill, and Josh Matthews has watched this perseverance from the best seat in the house over the last few years.
Matthews had been featured as a member of the commentary team, but he rose up the ranks and became the senior producer in January 2021. Since then, IMPACT has continued to generate a lot of buzz; last year alone, the promotion called Kenny Omega, arguably the best wrestler on the planet, its world champion. The company has also collaborated with AAA, the National Wrestling Alliance and, more recently, Ring of Honor.
In an interview with Greg Oliver of Slam Wrestling ahead of IMPACT Wrestling’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view, Matthews discussed the promotion’s successful working agreements with other prominent companies. He noted that 2021 was an “interesting year”, given Omega’s sustained run atop the card, and he also called the opportunity to honor ROH’s brand “really cool.” Matthews then focused on the way wrestling can be a strong community if promotions put aside their differences work with each other.
“I was looking at all of our DVD covers last year, and three out of the four had Kenny Omega on the cover,” said Matthews. “It was an interesting year to say the least. And everything that happened with Ring of Honor and them announcing their hiatus until April. We obviously all wish them great luck and hopefully Ring of Honor re-imagined is something that we do see in a few months. But I think to keep that brand alive, and to keep obviously, amazing, talented people like Jonathan Gresham getting an opportunity to come over here, bring that championship over here, is really cool.
“And Rok-C and the things that have been happening with her and Deonna Purrazzo, I just think that wrestling is in a great place, and it’s an amazing community. And if companies would kind of get out of their own way, and work with each other, like we’ve seen with Impact do, starting with AAA, and then AEW, and then NWA and just everything else that has come up, and never really saying no to an opportunity has really changed the landscape of what wrestling is in 2022.””
As Matthews pointed out, IMPACT, alongside AEW and other brands, changed the game in 2021 by kicking down The Forbidden Door and delivering plenty of interpromotional dream matches. Moving forward, many fans are excited to see how IMPACT, and the wrestling world itself, continues to evolve.
IMPACT Hard to Kill will air on Saturday, January 8. More information is available here.
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