In October, I spent an afternoon with newly minted Impact Wrestling heavyweight champion Johnny Impact. Now, I’ll forever know him as Johnny Nitro, since that was his persona when we met in the mid-2000s while we were both working for WWE. But many wrestling fans might also know him as John Morrison, the Prince of Parkour, or Johnny Mundo; to Survivor fans, he’s simply John Hennigan (@johnhennigan) from Season 37.
John and the folks at Impact Wrestling (impactwrestling.com) were kind enough to let me and a few M&Fers conduct interviews and capture behind-the-scenes footage before a live event taping at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY. We arrived at the venue roughly six hours before doors opened, and everyone from the production crew to the in-ring performers to camera operators and segment producers was nonstop hustling. John was no exception—he filmed numerous promos and pretaped segments, recorded a bit for a commercial, and made it to the ring to warm up with just a few minutes to spare before showtime. And he did it all with a smile.
You can check out the footage from our day with Johnny Impact below, as well as some behind-the-scenes images from the preparation for his match:
