IMPACT superstar Joey Ryan recently spoke with Wrestling Inc. to talk all things pro-wrestling, including which former WWE talent he has a soft spot for, and why he decided to return to IMPACT Wrestling. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On Karl Anderson and more stars who were recently released by WWE:
I have a soft spot for Karl Anderson. We performed together a lot and were a tag team in 2006, 2007 and 2008. We won the NWA World Tag Team Championships together so I have a soft spot for him and would always love to do more stuff with him. But really, all of those guys who were released are super talented. This is the wrestling world we live in where these guys didn’t get released because they couldn’t perform. There’s just over saturation as that company has too many people under contract and they had to let go of some. It benefits the wrestling world because now these guys are free agents and they can sign or not sign with any company they want. It’s a whole new adventure for wrestling right now.
Why he decided to return to IMPACT:
First and foremost, they wanted me to be me. They didn’t want to change or alter it; they wanted me to be Joey Ryan and that meant a lot to me. The second thing was also being a non-exclusive contract, meaning I could still run Bar Wrestling and work the indies that I love working. Probably the biggest factor was that I work with and appreciate all of the office – the agents and writers. I had a preexisting relationship with pretty much all of the backstage members. They are people that I trust and knew how I wanted to work and express myself. I could trust them to not change me. So, those three factors are the main things.