D'Lo Brown Recalls Eric Bischoff's Creative Direction For TNA, Talks Aces & Eights Angle
Much has changed with Impact Wrestling since D'Lo Brown's first run with the company in 2003-04. The biggest, obviously, is the name change from TNA but Brown is back with the promotion as a backstage producer.
Brown talked about how the Impact atmosphere now compares to back then when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"It seems everyone is more excitable today and they wanna go out there and put on the best show. They wanna show their talents and not that that's different than before, they're just younger and more enthusiastic and really wanna make an impression. Impact is trying to create a niche for itself and you have talent that wanna be a part of that," said Brown.
During Brown's second stint with TNA/Impact, he was a part of Aces & Eights which was the vision of Eric Bischoff. Brown discussed what it was like to work under Bischoff with the news of him being named the Executive Director of SmackDown.
"He had a vision of what he wanted and he conveyed that down the line. You fell in line with his creative flow and I'm sure it's gonna be the same way with what he does with SmackDown," stated Brown. "He was pleasant to work with and I never had an issue with him. He's a very 'this is the way I want it done' and I think that's how he'll handle SmackDown."
As for the Aces & Eights faction, Brown was a huge fan of the storyline and being the first Vice President of the group.
"It was so cool; it was fun. The whole Sons of Anarchy rift, wearing the mask and being these unknown assailants; it was really cool. Then to be revealed as being a part of that, I had fun with it," revealed Brown.
Many are saying that pro wrestling is currently going through a Renaissance period that hasn't been seen since the Attitude Era in which Brown was a part of. He was asked how much of today's wrestling scene reminds him of back then.
"There's a buzz about pro wrestling right now and that's very similar to The Attitude Era," admitted Brown. "I like the landscape of the business with six different companies all vying for their spots. What that means is more eyes on wrestling and that benefits the fans and the boys. I'm very excited about where wrestling is going for the next few years.
"Impact is staking our claim to our niche in pro wrestling as being one of the premiere companies out there. I like where we're going and the possibilities of what Impact could be and I'm looking forward to taking this ride."
Brown has wrestled a couple of matches this year for indie promotions, but his best days are clearly behind him. However, he was asked which of today's talent he wishes he could have faced in his prime.
"Oh, I would have loved to have matches with like [Brian] Cage and [Michael] Elgin. I would love that; it would have been so fun. Now I couldn't keep up with them if you paid me, but I would have loved to back in the day. In my prime, their prime, I think that would have been great," stated Brown.
D'Lo Brown now serves as a full-time producer for Impact Wrestling. Impact Wrestling can be seen every Friday night at 10 pm EST via Pursuit and Twitch. D'Lo's full interview with Wrestling Inc was included on a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Brown discusses Signing with Impact Wrestling, his day-to-day Impact responsibilities, Rhyno's alleged appearance at Slammiversary, Eric Bischoff's creative direction during his TNA run, Aces & Eights, Sami Callihan vs Tessa Blanchard and more.
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