Jimmy Jacobs Says Impact Wrestling Has Advantage Over WWE Regarding Storylines
Former WWE writer Jimmy Jacobs was recently a part of an Impact Wrestling media conference call, and discussed a number of topics regarding Impact, WWE, and Ring of Honor. Jacobs became popular during his time in the independent circuit, as well as his years of competing for Ring of Honor. Jacobs was also one of the founding members of ROH's S.C.U.M. faction, which was a villainous group which included Kevin Owens (Steen), Steve Corino, Matt Hardy, and others, from 2012 to 2013.
Jacobs can now be seen as a manager of Kongo Kong in Impact Wrestling, as both have been challenging Abyss for the past several weeks to see who the real monster of Impact Wrestling is. He was reportedly released from WWE after posting a picture with Bullet Club members Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, and Adam Page, but he discussed during his interview on Talk Is Jericho that there was a compilation of things which led to his release.
Shortly after his WWE release, Jacobs appeared in Impact Wrestling, showing up on their annual Bound for Glory pay-per-view. Although Jacobs was offered to return to ROH, he explained that he was looking to try something different.
"I wanted to do something new, I had a conversation with Scott D'Amore and Sonjay Dutt on the phone about different things at Impact and it just seemed like a nice fit," said Jacobs. "So my first time in Ottawa [at Bound for Glory] was a test run to see how the fit was. We are in a rebuilding phase and they needed somebody who could wear a lot of hats and do a lot of different things and I had experience in all those things. It was a nice week in Ottawa and solidified that Impact was the direction that I wanted to go. I also felt valued and that might seem like a small thing, but it was a big deal. I felt valued and not just by the boys and locker room."
Regarding his contract status with Impact, Jacobs stated that he is on a handshake deal with the company, which is something he wants. He also stated that he has much more freedom at Impact than he did with WWE.
"I felt so restricted for two and a half years [in WWE] and so coming in now with the freedom to grow where I want to and do what I am best suited for," said Jacobs. "I feel like that wasn't an opportunity I had at the last company I worked for."
Jacobs also shared how leaving WWE has opened his eyes to how financially beneficial it can be being an independent wrestler.
"When I got fired from the WWE, I was in the WWE bubble. So when I got fired people kept telling me that the independents was booming, but I didn't know about it," Jacobs explained. "Sami Callihan called me up straight away and introduced me to promoters and stuff and it's brilliant. There is more awesome wrestling going on now than ever before. So much great talent and it's great to still wrestle on independents and work at Impact as well and there are some guys I get to work with that I would love to bring to Impact. I'm making more money than I ever have before in my life so I am not mad at it."
According to Jacobs, Impact has an advantage over WWE regarding storylines.
"One of [the] advantages we have here is that we are taping a lot of weeks of TV in a row. What's cool about that is that we can tell a story long term and in WWE there is not a lot of that. Whilst it's similar in some ways, it's nice that we can tell long-term stories. And we have more freedom to try new things and experiment. It's a time to try something that may fail. Lot of times in WWE you tread water to get to the next week. I feel like at Impact we can do a little more. But it's still crazy busy. The last tapings we did in January was like nothing I have done in my life."
Although Impact Wrestling has a series of tapings at once, Jacobs explained the grueling schedule he experienced.
"It was six days of taping two shows a day then afterwards going back to the hotel and staying up until 6 am and looking at the next day's tapings," said Jacobs. "We were working 18-20 hour days, six days in a row and I remember me and Scott taking the brunt of the work. After one night I remember I looked at Scott and said to him 'I worked with Vince McMahon for over two years but this is the hardest thing in my life'."
Regarding how Impact Wrestling can get back to where it once was, Jacobs said that it is about gaining the trust from the fans again. The company has asked for the fans' trust so many times, only to break it and "screw them over." The key, according to Jacobs, is to bring a unique element to the product in order to regain the trust of the fans.
Source: The Mirror