Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
JOHNSON: With all the wrestling programming and the landscape that's changed as of this week, is it possible that there could be other wrestling programming, either Impact-produced or another company from the outside added to the lineup of AXS Wrestling as we see it today?
NORDHOLM: That would be premature to comment on. We do have a whole year… but ten, twenty days into our ownership of the business, we're evaluating all the programming options, but wrestling and combat sports generally, it has always been an important part of the programming offered by AXS television and if we were to look at it, we already know that is the optimal mix for the future.
JOHNSON: Okay. There's been a back and forth online in regard to Kevin Kross. I understand that he hasn't been used by Impact in some time. Has there been any thawing of the ice? Do you foresee that perhaps the two sides can sit down? Do you think maybe this will be like a Matt Hardy situation where in the end, everything works itself out to a positive end for each side? From an Anthem perspective, where do you stand on this, because there are a lot of people who are sympathetic to him right now. So from an Anthem corporate standpoint, where do things stand with Kevin Kross?
NORDHOLM: Well, nothing has changed. Kevin decided that he would rather sort of tweet his position rather than deal with...We prefer talents discuss amendments as appropriate. We say the same for Kevin. He is a talented wrestler that we would prefer you to see in the ring than on the sidelines.
JOHNSON: Is there a possibility you guys can come and make amends and bring him back to the company storylines anytime soon?
NORDHOLM: Yeah. Well that would require him to come speak to the company and deal with his company, rather than Tweet. I mean there's always the possibility. We are open to all conversations.
JOHNSON: Okay. One last question on Kross. You said it would require him to actually speak to the company. Let me ask this. When was the last time anybody in the company made an overture towards him?
NORDHOLM: We’re in an awkward situation, but there has been recent discussions to his sources. It's open there. It's been recent.
JOHNSON: Okay. I wanted to ask you a couple of quick questions about the Anthem takeover of AXS. Obviously this was something that took place for over a long period of time. I know you were very personally involved in it. Talk a little bit about what this deal entailed and what it was like trying to make a deal of this magnitude work for Anthem, because obviously it gives you your biggest footprint in the United States to date, and what your hope is for the station overall and what it will mean in terms of cascading over to Impact Wrestling?
NORDHOLM: That’s a broad question. [Laughs] What does it mean for Anthem overall? I mean it is, obviously from an Anthem perspective, it's an opportunity that we've been looking for ever since I started working with Len [Asper] ten years ago, frankly. So it's Len's ambition for Anthem and we joined with my colleagues in Fight Network to build this sort of suite of targeted content…eyes on finding a way to get scale in the United States has always been part of our thinking and we've been looking for an appropriate acquisition target to give us that scale for many years now and the opportunity to enter into this transaction, to acquire control in partnership with Mark Cuban and AEG and to a lesser extent, CBS. It's a pretty exciting opportunity for us. We couldn't ask for better partners and assets that are more neatly suited to the existing businesses we have and where we want to go. So it's clearly a game-changing transaction from an Anthem perspective and where we want to go, we finally got scale in the United States.
From an Impact perspective, in the wrestling business and the Fight Network and the business that we have had in the combat sports [realm] that we have been interested. The first channel that Anthem had was the Fight Network and AXS' particular legacy for, in fact, combat sports content proved well for what we do and its interest in music audiences suits well for our strategy of finding and focusing on targeted content that will reach global audiences. So from my perspective, it's a great acquisition. We're thrilled to death about it.
The interview continues on Page 4.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
