Various: PCO Signs New Contract with Impact, Scott D’Amore on Impact Reverting Back to TNA Wrestling Name, Indies

Oct 25, 2023

PCO Signs New Contract with Impact

As noted before, PCO’s contract with Impact Wrestling is currently set to expire at the end of this month. PCO finished his scheduled commitments with Impact at this past weekend’s Bound For Glory 2023 event and Impact! television tapings.

Impact announced that they have recently signed PCO to a new official contract with the company. Terms regarding PCO’s new deal were not given.

Official press release:

TNA Wrestling Signing Confirmed: PCO
The first official signing of the new era of TNA Wrestling was announced this morning by company president Scott D’Amore.
PCO, who won the 4-person Monster’s Ball match this past Saturday at the 2023 Bound For Glory pay-per-view extravaganza in Chicago, has signed a new contract. Terms were not disclosed.
“I really wanted to be part of the new era of TNA Wrestling and Scott D’Amore made me an offer I could not refuse,” PCO said.
IMPACT Wrestling is returning to its iconic Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling name, starting with its January 2024 pay-per-view special, Hard To Kill, which will originate for the first time ever from the Palms Casino Resort near the world-famous Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 2024 Hard To Kill PPV is set for Saturday night, January 13, with a second night of action-packed pro wrestling – the Snake Eyes Extravaganza Show – at The Palms on Sunday, January 14, which will be taped to air on the company’s flagship weekly TV show, iMPACT!, airing every Thursday night on AXS TV (8 p.m. EST).
PCO made his return to IMPACT Wrestling at the 2022 Hard To Kill PPV.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that PCO had come to terms for a new deal over Bound For Glory 2023 weekend and word had spread backstage at the event that he was locked down to a new deal.

Scott D’Amore Comments on Impact’s Decision to Revert Back to TNA Wrestling

As noted before, Impact Wrestling announced at this past Saturday’s Bound For Glory 2023 that they will be rebranding back to their former name of TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Wrestling in January of 2024.

Impact recently held an interview with Impact President Scott D’Amore. One of the topics discussed included D’Amore’s thoughts on Impact’s decision to revert back to their former name of TNA Wrestling.

“When I got here and took over the helm going into 2018, the company had gone through so much. It had been TNA Wrestling, then Impact Wrestling, then I think it might have briefly been TNA, then it was GFW, then it was Impact. Coming in, the last thing it needed was another name change. What it needed was to figure itself out. What it needed was stability, it needed consistency, it needed respectability. And we spent a lot of time under the Impact banner doing that. And I think we’ve proven ourself.
But the fact is, when this company was formed, when this idea was first hatched — three men on a boat with Jeff and Jerry Jarrett and Bob Ryder — it was Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. That’s what they were looking for. And I think that while we found that stability under the Impact banner, and very proud of that, I think what we now have is we’re ready to go there and have our growth and our true success. Our true second golden era under our true name. TNA Wrestling.”

D’Amore also gave his thoughts about some people assuming TNA’s return means a return to the Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett, and Vince Russo era of the company.

“This isn’t about looking back, this is about looking forward. Certainly TNA/Impact Wrestling has had its ups and downs over the years. But we’re looking at taking the things that worked, bringing them back. We’re looking at doing a better job of managing how things are handled. And like I said, are we going to make mistakes? Absolutely. But we’re going to do more great than we do missteps.
This isn’t about any one person. It’s not about Jeff Jarrett, it’s not about Vince Russo, it’s not about Scott D’Amore. This is about a locker room and a company that feels something special. And this is about a fan base that I think is starting to feel something special.”

D’Amore also confirmed the reports of new championship belts as part of Impact’s current TNA Wrestling revival plans.

“We have all new championship belts. I know people have talked about returning to this design or that design, there are some amazing designs. The belts will continue to evolve and change, but we felt it was important that, we’re TNA Wrestling, but we’re still moving forward. We have all new championship belts and those will be revealed as we lead up to Hard to Kill. One of the things to address is, all the current IMPACT Champions and that lineage will continue. We’re not crowning new champions. Fans will be excited to see the belts. We wanted to give them something new and something we push forward with into a new era.”

D’Amore also confirmed that Impact will not be bringing back the six-sided ring as part of their revival plans for TNA Wrestling due to wrestler health and safety reasons.

“The six-sided ring question comes up all the time, I get it, I was in the ring when the six-sided ring was brought in. I know it has its supporters. The fact is, at the end of the day, almost to a person, the athletes that have performed in the six-sided ring don’t prefer it. They say it’s harder on the body, it creates more injury, and more than injury, it creates more wear and tear on the body. Doing it night after night is harder on the body. We’re happy to have conversations about how to make the product look the best, but one of the things, unwaveringly, that we’re not willing to negotiate on or compromise is the athlete’s health and safety. We’re going to be a four-sided ring. I know that disappoints a lot of people, but my respectful and honest question to that is, ‘do you really love the six-sided ring more than you love ensuring the health and safety of the men and women who get in the ring and put their health on the line? Do you want to make a more dangerous situation for them?’ It’s wrestling, never say never, there could be changes in the future. It’s a simple one for us, athlete safety is number one, so we have four sides. Take that off the table and anything else is possible.
I know the fans have been waiting for a new set, and some have been waiting very patiently and some have been waiting a little less patiently than others, and it all comes from a point of passion. We’re hard at work designing a new look and new feel for TNA to both honor our history but also to be forward thinking and forward moving.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com, Fightful.com 1 & 2

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

As noted before, indie wrestler and former Major League Wrestling talent Teddy Hart was arrested this past July over a speeding incident resulting in him being charged for with possession of MDMA and possession of a controlled substance without prescription. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Hart is currently scheduled to attend a court hearing on December 14th in Titusville, Florida based on recent court records. Johnson reported that this upcoming hearing is listed for an “Early Resolution” which under Florida law means a plea deal being offered for those arrested to prevent them from going to a felony trial. Johnson reported that Hart’s attorneys had originally requested an October date for this upcoming hearing before filing a motion requesting for this hearing to be pushed back to December 14th which the court granted.

Indie wrestler Luke Hawx recently announced on Facebook that he got married to his fiance Sonia this past Monday in California.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that many within Impact Wrestling were kept in the dark over the company’s plans to revert back to their old name of TNA Wrestling until it was made public.

Impact recently released the video of the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship match between Deonna Purrazzo & Tasha Steelz and champions MK Ultra that was taped prior to the start of the pre-show for this past Saturday’s Bound For Glory 2023 event.

Impact also recently announced that their upcoming UK Invasion Tour event on Thursday, October 26th will now be an Impact! television taping and will air on November 9th.

Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their co-promoted Combat Princess USA event with Prestige Wrestling on December 14th in Los Angeles, California:

Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh vs. MK Ultra (Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly)

Revolution Pro Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their Uprising 2023 event on December 16th in London, England:

Luke Jacobs vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Lucha Libre AAA recently announced one new match for the card of their co-promoted AAA x Impact Ultra Clash event on November 26th in Monterrey, Mexico: