Over the summer, John Hennigan brought Slamtown to Fiji as he competed on the 37th season of the CBS hit, Survivor. While Hennigan didn’t win (he was the seventh contestant voted out, ninth to leave the island, and the second member of the jury), he did have some memorable moments along the way, including most notably alongside his fellow Brochachos, Dan Rengering and Christian Hubicki. But ultimately, Hennigan was felled by a perfectly executed blindside that he really had no reason to even see coming. Ironically, it was a blindside that was made possible due to Nick Wilson and Davie Rickenbacker, the two Survivor contestants who will be in Hennigan, or rather Impact’s corner, this Sunday at Homecoming.
IMPACT Wrestling released the following press release on Thursday afternoon:
TORONTO | NASHVILLE – Johnny Impact is getting support from two former foes in his main event World Championship title match against “The Machine” Brian Cage on Sunday, January 6, at IMPACT Wrestling’s Homecoming pay-per-view event.
Nick Wilson – the $1 million winner of Survivor: David vs. Goliath, the just-finished 37th season of the hit reality TV show – will be sitting in the front row at Homecoming, which will be held at the famed Asylum Arena at the Nashville Fairgrounds. Wilson is bringing 10 other loyal Impact fans and even fellow Survivor contestant Davie Rickenbacker.
Wilson and Rickenbacker were aligned on the original David tribe, while Impact battled on the TV show as part of the Goliath tribe. Impact was the seventh voted off the island, on day 22, and the second member of the jury, which ultimately voted Wilson as the Sole Survivor and $1 million winner.
“I’m really excited that Nick and Davie will be in my corner for the Homecoming pay-per-view match,” said reigning World Champion Johnny Impact. “Although I was rivals with both at the start of Survivor, we ultimately became good friends and I know each will have my back. Brian Cage won’t be able to blindside me with Nick and Davie watching my back.”
Impact has dipped into the Survivor well for additional support in his Homecoming match. Impact has talked at-length with Professor Christian Hubicki about how to defeat a Machine.
The Homecoming pay-per-view features all of the Superstars and Knockouts of IMPACT Wrestling, including Impact’s real-life wife, Taya Valkyrie, who challenges Tessa Blanchard for the Knockouts Championship.
Impact and Valkyrie, married days after he returned from filming Survivor in Fiji, are looking to be the company’s first husband-wife duo to simultaneously hold major championship titles – and one of the first-ever in any pro wrestling promotion.
The Homecoming pay-per-view also features a four-man Ultimate-X match to crown a new X-Division Champion, plus LAX (Santana and Ortiz) defends the Tag-Team Championship against the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. and Fenix), while Eli Drake battles Abyss in a Monster’s Ball Match.
Homecoming, the three-hour extravaganza kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET and will be distributed on cable, satellite and digital pay-per-view, including DISH, DirecTV, iN Demand, Vubiquity, Rogers, Bell, Shaw and Sasktel across North America, and streaming live globally exclusively on the FITE.tv app and if you order on the FITE.tv app, be sure to look for your code for a FREE 2019 IMPACT Calendar!
Professor Christian Hubicki on How To Beat a Machine: https://t.co/xYAuLXElIg via @YouTube
— John Morrison (@TheRealMorrison) January 4, 2019
As a Survivor cast member, Hennigan was a member of the Goliath tribe, but in IMPACT Wrestling, despite being the champion, he might as well be considered the underdog or the David of this match-up. In his short IMPACT career, Brian Cage has a record of 23-3. Debuting in January, he wasn’t pinned for the first time until October, when alongside the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon and Fenix), he lost a triple threat oVe Rules match to Dave and Jake Crist and Sami Callihan, the man who pinned him.
While that record makes Cage seem like the unbeatable Machine he claims to be, it’s even more impressive when looking at his record in singles competition. In almost one full year with the company, Cage has wrestled 19 singles matches with a record of 18-1 and that loss came in a count out. Cage has yet to be pinned in a singles match.
https://twitter.com/ky_nickwilson/status/1080894980904927232
So @realKILLERkross if you care at all about that nice jacket you got I’d steer clear of the Asylum while I’m taking @MrGMSI_BCage to #Slamtown 👊🏼💥 @ky_nickwilson & @itweetdavie will blindside you & snatch your duster faster than a CIA cover up 😎😎 https://t.co/Jhp28mfIRT
— John Morrison (@TheRealMorrison) January 4, 2019
Impact has spent the past several weeks turning down Killer Kross‘ offers of having his back, but now it seems he’s found even more suitable replacements. While Nick and Davie’s role may be limited to shots of them cheering from the front row of the Asylum, they are still good backup to have. After all, those two Davids used their brains and sound strategy to take out first John, then Dan and finally Alec Merlino, three of the most goliathy Goliaths. Davie finished in sixth and Nick went on to win Survivor, finishing above two more Goliaths in the final three. If anyone knows how to slay an unstoppable force like Cage, it’s those two guys right there.
