The end of IMPACT’s Rebellion special last week certainly was noteworthy. With IMPACT Champion Tessa Blanchard in quarantine, Moose stepped up with the TNA World Championship for a main event defense against Hernandez and Michael Elgin. The belt, which exists in the previous lineage of the current IMPACT title, was renamed in March of 2017 along with the rest of the company’s rebranding. So while it seems that Moose may have plucked a title from nowhere, he told PWInsider in a recent interview that he feels that he’s earned it.
I’m the TNA heavyweight champion because as you can see from what I did the last few months on television. I have beaten every single wrestler, every star in my opinion that’s came through TNA. You got guys like Rhino. You got guys like RVD. You got guys like Ken Shamrock. You got guys like Hernandez. All these people that I have beaten, so to cover that, I think I declare and deserve to be the TNA Heavyweight championship and that’s what I am.
https://twitter.com/TheMooseNation/status/1256391060558938112
This doesn’t appear to be a gimmick either. With the ratings success of the TNA-themed special on AXS-TV last month, a show that was originally a promotion for a WrestleMania week nostalgia show may turn into a full-on revival in IMPACT. We’ve several stars express interest in returning and several talents scheduled for the Orlando show originally that could pop up. Needless to say, the current champ is ready for all comers.
So I mean all those guys like Doc Gallows, Ken Anderson and Eric Young, I mean those guys are welcome back to TNA. I mean myself and our locker room and our roster would love to have them, but at the same time, I mean the same thing that happened to guys like Chase Stevens and Rhino and everybody else, they have the same fate. I mean they get in my way, I’m going to do the same thing I did all those guys, I’m going to kick their ass.
Even if it’s just against IMPACT regulars, it seems that the once-maligned TNA branding may have a chance at redemption, and maybe even a show of its own. “If we do get extra TV programming on AXS TV, that’s awesome. I’m here to carry this company to new heights and put this company on my back, which I’ve done the last few months. That’s why I call myself Mr Impact Wrestling.”
