Eddie Edwards helps lead Impact Wrestling into New Jersey

Impact Wrestling standout Eddie Edwards’ “hardcore” wrestling persona comes with a pretty hardcore origin.

It dates back to a now infamous incident during a televised brawl with Sami Callihan in March of 2018. A planned spot called for Edwards to lie prone in the ring with a steel chair on top of him and Callihan to hit the chair with a bat. But the chair moved out of position just as Callihan came down with the bat, smashing Edwards, full force, in the face and breaking his nose and orbital bone.

The gory stunt-gone-wrong resulted in a particularly intense feud — one in which Edwards — renowned for his technical acumen — adopted a more violent approach to his matches. A year later, Edwards is still swinging a kendo stick, and any other weapon he can get his hands on.

“It was kind of an opportunity that ended presenting itself out of a horrible situation,” said Edwards, 35, a former heavyweight champion with Impact and Ring of Honor. “My whole career, it’s been the same type of thing — wrestling as a good guy babyface, and stuff like that. It gave me a chance to reach inside and find that edge and see what else we can do and try to get creative.”

“It’s been a fun ride,” Edwards added. “It sucks that it had to come from a freak accident the way it did.”

Wrestling fans in the region will have an opportunity to see Edwards up close when Impact brings its “United We Stand” event to the Rahway Rec Center in Rahway, New Jersey on Thursday. (Tickets are available for the event, which will also stream live on Fite TV.)

The event will be among several held next week as fans and wrestling promotions converge in the New York area for WrestleMania. For Edwards, it will be an opportunity to expose new fans to Impact, which was previously known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

“Fans from all over the world are coming to that one place, so it’s important for us to take advantage and put on the best show we can and show the fans that Impact Wrestling is the place to be right now,” said Edwards, who recently signed a new, long-term contract with Impact. “Impact has been my home for the past few years, and I look forward to it being my home going forward.”

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.