The restructuring of Impact Wrestling following the severing of ties with Jeff Jarrett earlier this month continued today, with the release of two former indie stars they’d brought in from the indie circuit in the past year.
The first announcement came this morning when 32-year old Marshe Rockett announced he was parting ways with the company after just over one year with the company. A mid-west indie star for a decade starting in 2006, Rockett made a name for himself with such Chicago area companies as Windy City Pro, Chicago Style Wrestling (CSW) and Resistance Pro Wrestling (RPW), as well as stints in CHIKARA, AIW and IWA Mid-South. He debuted with Impact Wrestling in July of 2016 and immediately began working in Impact’s X-Division. But he saw more losses than wins throughout the year, but was a constant presence in contendership matches. He carried through into 2017 in much the same way, but was dropped from programming shortly after the Anthem takeover. His last match for Impact was a match taped for Xplosion on April 23, 2017, where he defeated Chris Silvio.
Today is a new day and a new chapter. Thank you @IMPACTWRESTLING for everything. Until we meet again!
— *AllDay* Marshe' Rockett (@MarsheRockett) November 1, 2017
Shortly after, Squared Circle Sirens reported that Impact had also parted ways with newcomer MJ Jenkins, who was brought in in March to help relaunch the Knockouts Division. Jenkins debuted at the March 3-5 Impact tapings, filming 5 matches for Impact, Xplosion and the One Night Only PPV, but hadn’t been utilized since. Jenkins is only a 2-year pro, appearing for EVOLVE, CZW and AIW prior to signing with Impact. She made her SHINE debut this past September. Jenkins retweeted SCS report on Twitter, seemingly validating the report.
MJ Jenkins Released From IMPACT Wrestling – https://t.co/Iy1tfdAYUA pic.twitter.com/ytmDJtooLf
— squared circle sirens (@SCsirens) November 1, 2017
Rockett and Jenkins join a recent surge of released talent the past few weeks from the Corgan/Jarrett eras of Impact including Eddie Kingston, Taryn Terrell, Rockstar Spud, and Reno Scum. But it appears that although they’re cutting some talent, they’re still looking to add some new faces as well.
Sami Callihan made his debut (sort of) last week on Impact, when his familiar tattooed arm appeared on camera when Impact World Tag Team Champions OvE aired a vignette promo where they announced they were bringing in family to fight LAX’s family. Callihan is a part of the indie faction Ohio Is For Killers (OI4K) that also features OvE members Jake & Dave Crist. Callihan is expected to debut this Sunday at Bound For Glory in Ottawa.
While still in the very early stages of rumours, there were internet rumblings that Brian Cage could be Impact bound, as he recently started following Impact Wrestling, plus Impact executives Ed Nordholm and Scott D’Amore on Twitter. He also recently polled his fans on where they would like him to sign full time, should the opportunity arise. Still too early to get excited yet, as it could just be smart business to follow the happenings of a potential employer. After all, Cage follows dozens of promotions from around the world. Brian Cage has been one of Lucha Underground‘s breakout stars from the first three seasons, as well as one of the indie circuits top strongmen, with frequent appearances with PWG, Pro Wrestling NOAH, AAW, Glory Pro, WrestleCircus, Beyond and more. He’s the current 2x WrestleCircus Ringmaster Champion. With his Lucha Underground contract, Cage would be able to work Impact and still do LU, much like other LU stars like Johnny Mundo (aka Johnny Impact, John Morrison), Taya Valkyrie, Texano Jr, and Drago.
