Acey Romero On What "The Last Straw" Was That Led To Him Not Re-Signing With Impact

In a recent interview with Cultaholic, former Impact wrestling star Acey Romero opened up about the events that led to his Impact release earlier this year. Romero is admittedly disappointed with how his run with Impact ended up, especially considering he debuted at Bound For Glory 2019.

"It's hard because my run there was less stellar than I ever wanted it to be just because of the way it started off. Right away, I debuted at Bound for Glory in the ladder match, and immediately, I was like, 'Oh s–t, this is way cool. I think they're going to use me and want me to be a pivotal player, but alongside that, there's not a bunch of matches or things where I can say, 'Oh yeah, that was awesome.' But I will say that my time filming Wrestle House was very fun," Acey said. "I think that's one of the things I'll be most remembered for was my time at Wrestle House.

"As far as my involvement [with the creative], I just got an email that said, 'hey, you have been selected to join Wrestle House, and dah, dah, dah. We film these day.' Yeah, it was cool, like, they were very long days, but man, the way it was produced and the final product was awesome. And getting to work with all of those people was cool, and it was good to show a different side– my comedic or whatever you want to call it," he added.

Romero detailed the events that began leading to his release request to Impact management. After a debilitating case of COVID-19 in May 2021, Romero wasn't booked for another Impact show for the remainder of the year. He adds how it made the experience even more frustrating knowing that stars from other companies were performing on Impact.

"Yeah, obviously when you sign a contract and you're with a national company, you obviously want to be used as much as possible. That's why you're there. But it all stems from me getting COVID; I got COVID in May of this year, so the last time I had ever been at Impact this year was April," he stated. "So I missed the May loop and just never came back. I got to August and I was like, 'What are we doing here?' It was just a weird time because now there are a lot more talent on the show from different companies. And obviously they've got to fill spaces, so it's one of those things where I'm ready to go, I've been ready to go since the end of May. But like, 'What's happening?' And there just wasn't any room, that was basically the answer I got. 'There's too many people on the roster and there's just not enough TV time at this moment in time.

"My parents would call me like, 'What's going on with Impact? Like, why are you not being booked?' And I mean, I get it, I understand that it's a TV show so they can't be throwing me on like it's an indie show," Acey explained. "Everything has got to fit the story, there has got to be a reason why I'm there... Yeah, I had contact with them but, you know, it wasn't as much as I wanted to. I would talk to my boss or talent relations like I said. But they would say, 'We're trying, we're trying, we're trying but at this point in time, nothing's happening.'

He wanted to emphasize that his intentions aren't to bad mouth Impact or bury them– he is trying to just tell the events how they unfolded. Romero also explained that near the end of his contract, Impact was pulling him from television right at the last moment.

"I don't think it's talking s–t because I'm telling the truth of what happened. Just for the listeners, I don't want them to think I'm burying Impact because I'm very grateful for the opportunity I was afforded 'cause I'm just some guy from Maine. I could have very well got stuck in the Maine indie systems, and Maine wrestling has grown exponentially since then, but I could have very well become a once a month wrestler," he said. "So I just want people to know that I'm not talking s–t or trying to bury Impact, but the last straw was when we were going to be booked in August and then we were pulled off the week of.

"And I'll be honest, Impact was a big chunk of my income, and my deal was that if I wasn't there, I wasn't getting paid. So I was getting paid for appearances, you know? So I was counting on that loop to help me financially. And I was ready to go, it was the week of, like a Friday and we were filming on Monday, and it was just, 'Hey, bad news. The creative has gone in a different direction.' That's when the frustration really goes, and I would call him and say, 'Can we do something better? What can we do to come back?' And that's when I felt– and not saying they were doing this, but I felt like we were being d–ked around, for lack of a better term."

If you use any quotes from this podcast, please credit Cultaholic with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.