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IMPACT Wrestling has been in the news a lot lately, as it continues to air its flagship weekly two-hour program IMPACT! every week airing on AXS TV. Last month, the company announced that it renewed its long-running broadcast deal with Mexico City-based MVS Comunicaciones MVStv and a new international partnership with the TV LATAM platform.
One of the IMPACT performers who will be main-eventing this month's Slammiversary on July 18 is Eddie Edwards. The longest-tenured member of the current IMPACT roster, Eddie Edwards is a former World Heavyweight Champion, X-Division Champion, and World Tag Team within the IMPACT ranks. And on July 18, Eddie Edwards will battle against Ace Austin, Trey Miguel, and a mystery competitor for the company's recently-vacated World Championship.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Eddie Edwards by phone on July 8, 2020. Edwards opened up about main-eventing Slammiversary, finding long-term success in wrestling, his wife and fellow IMPACT star Alisha, hobbies outside of wrestling, and more.
The full conversation with Eddie Edwards is embedded below for your listening pleasure. More on Eddie Edwards can be found online via Twitter, his book, and on Impact Wrestling's website.
On main-eventing this year's Slammiversary:
Eddie Edwards: It's added pressure, really, for myself. Whether I'm the opening match or mid-card or the main event, I have the same goal I think everybody in IMPACT does and wrestlers I think everywhere do: to go out there, steal the show, win, have a great match and go out and celebrate that night.
Being that that is the main event of Slammiversary, which is our biggest pay-per-view of the event, and especially this year, it's kind of a rebirth, a restart for IMPACT. There's a lot of moving parts, so I feel that this main event of this pay-per-view, there's a lot of eyes on us for good reason.
So we have to go out there and deliver. Being the main event of that show, you better go out there and do it because if it's on us to deliver and show the people what we've got and what we can do. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pans out.
On the current morale within the IMPACT locker room:
Eddie Edwards: I've said it before, it is cliche in the world of wrestling and sports, "we're a family" and stuff like that. But along those lines, I feel we are. Are we all best buddies, best friends? No, but everybody is there for IMPACT. Everybody wants IMPACT to succeed, and we do that by supporting each other and trying to help each other.
It's never a negative thing, somebody sees something that they didn't think was great or they shouldn't have done, we'll talk to each other. That's how people grow as performers and as people. We're there to support each other, with the good and the bad. I think we're much like a family out there, whether it's cliche or not, but you talked me into it. (laughs)
On whether wrestling was almost not his full-time career at any point:
Eddie Edwards: No, never. Ever since I joined wrestling school, that was one of my main goals. My love for the business has never changed. As far as being a part of IMPACT, as you said, this has been my home for six-plus years at this point. I wouldn't be in wrestling if it wasn't something I loved. It hurts too much to do it if you don't love it, you know what I mean?
This was always my goal to be my one and only job, to be my career. I'm lucky that it has been my job for so long at this point. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, knock on wood. But IMPACT, it is my home and I'm proud to be the longest-tenured guy at IMPACT right now.
