According to a report from PWInsider’s Mike Johnson on Wednesday, longtime IMPACT personnel Abyss and Sonjay Dutt have departed the company effective immediately. The report says the parting was amicable on both sides and both were leaving for new opportunities, presumably within the WWE. Sonjay Dutt had previously been offered a position with the WWE Performance Center in late 2016 after a guest stint as a trainer, but ultimately rejected the deal to return to IMPACT in 2017. Dutt and Abyss both served on the Creative for IMPACT Wrestling and according to the same report, Tommy Dreamer and Konnan will be replacing the departing members, joining Executive Vice Presidents Scott D’Amore and Don Callis, as well as Jimmy Jacobs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4vrXJnxRxg
Sonjay Dutt began his career in 2000 as a student of Larry Sharpe and the Monster Factory, he originally started out in such independents such as Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Major League Wrestling (MLW) before joining upstart TNA (now IMPACT) in 2003. He worked for TNA until 2009, before departing for Ring of Honor, returning again in 2012. A former 2x CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion and MLW Junior Heavyweight Champion, he won his first singles gold in IMPACT in 2017, capturing the IMPACT X-Division Championship. He’s been working as IMPACT’s Creative Director for the past year since the reshuffling of management, and will most likely either take a position within the Performance Center or on WWE’s creative, should WWE end up his next destination.
For Abyss, it marks the end of an era and the last of the TNA Originals to depart the company founded in 2002. He debuted with TNA on the first TNA PPV (as Justice), before transforming into the hardcore monster Abyss, and has worked for the company for 17 years. He made his pro wrestling debut in 1995, working for the likes of IWA Mid South and Cincinnati’s Northern Wrestling Federation (NWF) prior to joining TNA. During his long tenure with TNA/IMPACT, Abyss won the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship, as well as the IMPACT Television and X-Division Championship, and is a 2x IMPACT Tag Team Champion, most recently as part of Decay with Crazzy Steve in 2016. Abyss entered the IMPACT Hall of Fame last year. While it’s possible Abyss will wrestle in the WWE, it’s more likely he’s also being hired for Creative.
