Johnny Impact recently returned as a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report, for an in-depth interview. Featured below are some of the highlights from the show.
On the in-ring style in NJPW compared to WWE: “I think, for me, the talent of New Japan and the different type of structure from your traditional WWE-style match. It’s hard to say specifically, but I’ve noticed the specifics that stick out to me as a pro wrestler when I’m watching, they don’t cover quite as much. The emphasis is still on winning. I feel like that’s always important in pro wrestling, but, like, something that might not beat a person in New Japan isn’t always jumped on by the opponent to try to get a win.
“In WWE, I think they do that more frequently. A lot of New Japan matches, the big ones especially, they get more time. [Kazuchika] Okada [versus] [Kenny] Omega for example, it’s a good example of that, they give those guys so much time and I remember reading an interview about whether or not Okada wanted to go to WWE and he said he didn’t think he would fit on WWE television because the style of match that he likes to have and that’s something that requires more time to tell a longer story.”
On fans reacting to Roman Reigns the way they do because, much like John Cena, he was pushed too hard too early into his WWE career: “That’s a tricky one and I feel like he was a victim of the ‘John Cena Syndrome’ a little bit, and by that, I mean, when John started, he was pushed so hard, so fast, for so long, he was perceived as he didn’t deserve it, originally. And now, he [has] grown into one of the greatest workers of all time, I believe.
“I’d say it’s kind of the same for Roman. When he started, he was pushed really hard. Fans had an adverse reaction to that because he’s standing in the ring across from, I don’t know, AJ [Styles], or Sami Zayn, or Kevin Owens, or somebody that has been perceived to have fought their way up from the indies and scrapped and fought for everything they could get.”
On Reigns growing into being a good worker and being well-liked behind-the-scenes in WWE: “But now he [has] been working on top for so long that he has grown into quite a hand in the ring, I believe. Also, my perspective from people that I talk to, is that he’s pretty well liked in the locker room. And now he [has] got this stigma from all that and it has kind of become cool, I believe, for the fans to boo Roman or be bored by Roman. Yeah, right. And maybe he deserved that five years ago, but I don’t think he deserves it anymore now. Now it’s a situation where it’s tough to deal with.”
Check out the complete episode of The Ross Report featuring the Johnny Impact interview at Player.fm.