IMPACT Wrestling icon Eddie Edwards recently sat down with Lucha Libre Online’sMichael Morales Torres to discuss a range of topics including how he got into the wrestling industry, why he chooses to remain in IMPACT Wrestling and what his future holds.
During the interview for the first edition of the Lucha Libre Online Magazine, Edwards would reveal that he plans to spend the remainder of his career in IMPACT Wrestling adding that “there is no other option”.
Speaking to Michael Morales Torres, Edwards would state:
“That’s exactly what I want and I see no other option. This is what I want to do. You can tell through this interview with something that I really believe in something that’s in my heart. I take pride. Not only what I do, but what IMPACT does. Because I feel that we can do so much more and we can continue to ride this momentum and just keep getting better”.
Edwards has been with IMPACT Wrestling since his debut in 2014, appearing alongside tag partner Davey Richards at IMPACT’s January Genesis special.
Edwards would recall his debut to Lucha Libre Online, adding:
“Me and Davey would debuted as The Wolves with MVP. It was a big angle; a big storyline. It was a big opportunity for us. We were being put in this big role right away. This is the test. This is what we want to do”.
“Let’s jump into the deep end and let’s see, we either sink or swim. Luckily, we were able to swim and do something with it. I remember from the first time there, everybody… You always hear horror stories of different wrestling companies. Of people, you feel like you’re very on edge in the back and you’re walking on eggshells because you don’t want to offend anybody. You don’t want to miss anybody. You can say hi to everybody. But getting to TNA at the time, it was like, very relaxed. Everybody was very nice to us”.
“We had done stuff on ROH, but nothing on the level of impact or TNA at the time. So it was nerve-racking at the beginning, but we also know a few guys that were in the company at the time. So that definitely helped kind of ease our way into it. Maybe I’m lucky but I’ve always been treated with nothing but respect from any Office or Creative staff that we have. There’s been a few changes since I’ve been there obviously, but they’ve always treated me well, and they show me respect and I showed them respect. That’s why I fully believe in in everything that Impact Wrestling was doing”.
Eddie Edwards reached the mountain top of IMPACT Wrestling in 2016 when he defeated current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley to become the TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
The Innovator of The Boston Knee Party recalled his initial reaction to this monumental victory, commenting:
“The fact that I’d beat Bobby Lashley. I love wrestling with Bobby. He’s a giant of a man who’s freak of an athlete, a great wrestler obviously, but also one of the nicest guys backstage, which is always great. You just saying that right now, it’s giving me chills, because I think of that moment being in the ring where, you know, there’s ups and downs in everybody’s career”.
“There’s been certain points where I didn’t think that I would ever have that shot. I always wanted that, but I didn’t know if I would be given that opportunity and when that day came, I hit Bobby Lashley with the Boston Tea Party, and I pin him. 1, 2, 3… That moment where I’m kneeling down, I’m looking at the title, is very much real emotion”.
“I literally getting chills right now talking about it because that the end goal. That’s what everybody wants to do. Everybody wants to be the champion. For me, I want to be the champion. I want to be the IMPACT Champion because of my love for the company and my belief in the company. So, being a champion, it says: ‘I’m the man on top of the mountain and I’m the one who’s carrying everybody else. I’m the one’”.
“I want to tell people to follow me. We’re going to make it through this, whatever it is. We’re going to make it through and it was a pretty surreal moment. There’s a lot of emotions into it. One of my best friends have passed away the time when I’d started wrestling with. It was just a full release of emotion when I won that belt and I was able to hold that Championship. It was an amazing feeling”.
At IMPACT Wrestling ‘Under Siege’ Eddie Edwards & FinJuice successfully defeated the trio of Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows in a well-received match.
You can watch Lucha Libre Online’s full interview with Eddie Edwards on their YouTube channel and you can read more via the Lucha Libre Online website.
h/t to Lucha Libre Online for the Interview & the transcript, if you use any quotes from this article please provide a h/t and link back to the source.