What’s the story?
Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion Sonjay Dutt recently sat down for an interview with The Pancakes and Powerslams Podcast and spoke about the current state of Impact Wrestling, him winning the X-Division title and also about the offers that he had received from the WWE and Ring of Honor.
In case you didn’t know...
Sonjay Dutt, whose real name is Retesh Bhalla, is an Indian-American professional wrestler. Dutt wrestled for Impact Wrestling (then known as TNA) from 2003 to 2009 and then returned in 2012 for another year, before leaving the promotion again.
Besides Impact Wrestling, Dutt has wrestled for a host of other independent wrestling promotions including Ring of Honor, Global Force Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling. He returned to Impact in April 2017 under the pretext of him working as a backstage producer, he ended up returning as an on-screen competitor soon afterwards, however.
The heart of the matter
During the interview, Dutt stated that he returned to Impact Wrestling because it was what he really wanted. He said that he received offers from Ring of Honor and WWE but he wanted to work for a promotion without being bound by a contract, which was what Impact offered him.
He then stated that Low-Ki returning to the X-Division, winning the title (after injuring him) and then losing the title to Dutt a few weeks later was not a coincidence and that it was all meant to happen that way for their story to be told properly.
Also read: Interview: Sonjay Dutt talks about Impact Wrestling, his backstage role, Low-Ki and more
Dutt also gave his thoughts on Impact Wrestling’s newest incarnation under Anthem. He stated that the company was mismanaged in the past few years but that things had changed now. He gave credit to Impact’s former ownership for being experts at “some things” but iterated that a pro wrestling company required a different approach.
Dutt was quoted as saying:
“I think that the shows for the past three months have proved that things are different.
The faces are different, the stories are different, the way we’re telling the stories are different, and at the end of the days, it is about the personalities and the stories.”
What’s next?
Sonjay Dutt will next be seen taking on Low-Ki in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match, with the Championship on the line at Impact’s Slammiversary XV Pay Per View. The PPV is scheduled to take place at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida on 2nd July 2017 and will feature six other matches.
Author’s take
Sonjay Dutt is 35 years old but still has a lot left to give to the world of professional wrestling. He was always one of the most intriguing Superstars in the old TNA but it always seemed like he never got his fair share of credit for everything he did.
The X-Division title was a long time coming for Dutt and I’m personally very glad that he is the champion now. Here’s hoping that he and Low-Ki will have a great match at Slammiversary XV!
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