Cody Deaner Discusses Wrestling Without Crowds For IMPACT

Cody Deaner has gotten an opportunity to shine during the pandemic era of IMPACT as he’s been involved in various skits while aligning himself with Eric Young. 

IMPACT is taping at Skyway Studios in Nashville, TN. The company has taped without a crowd, be it fans or extra wrestlers, or virtual fans throughout the closed set tapings. 

Speaking to Spencer Love, Deaner discussed the adjustment during the pandemic era. 

“Well, the main thing that’s different, and I think most wrestlers will tell you this, is the audience, to me, it’s like the third guy in the ring. Well, really, the fourth. The third guy in the ring is the ref, and the fourth guy in the ring is the audience. And they, for someone like me who has been wrestling for 20 years, they are a huge part of me deciding what’s going to happen in the match. If I want to change something, I can do that because I have the ability to be able to do that, and I do that based on the crowd reaction. When they’re not there, there’s nothing to feed off of, and there’s no adrenaline rush that you get. There’s no – the timing is completely different, because normally you’d allow for timing of audience reaction, and you’d adjust how you’re flowing into the next thing and how you’re going to fire up and all those things. It’s all based on the crowd reaction, and all of a sudden, that’s just been taken away from us,” he said.

Deaner continued by saying, “So, for me, it’s really given me a chance to try to connect with that person that’s through the camera lens. Like, I’m doing everything for that camera. I am constantly finding a camera, I know where the cameras are at all times. I normally do that anyway when I’m on television, but this brings like a whole other level to that as a television wrestling performer. Which, a lot of fans don’t realize, it’s completely different than wrestling in front of just a live audience. When you have those cameras on you, it’s a completely different animal. So, this has been a time to really focus on that, but it’s also been a creative time where I’ve got to do some pretty cool things outside the ring. I’ve got to do some things like ‘Cody in Quarantine’ with me stranded in a trailer in the middle of a field. Which, actually, was a short film that has actually been in nine film festivals and just won Best Comedy at one of the film festivals, which is crazy. That never would have happened if this didn’t happen, and then also getting to do a match on the Deaner Compound and do a cinematic match. Also (I got to) do some stuff with Wrestle House with IMPACT Wrestling, so like, it’s been a very creative time. It’s just a very different time. I’ve got a lot of other things that I’ve been able to notch under my belt because of this time, but nothing beats a live audience. Dude, I can’t wait till the audience gets to come back in.”

Deaner is set to team with Eric Young and Joe Doering in an old school rules match against Rhino, Tommy Dreamer, and Cousin Jake at IMPACT Hard To Kill. 

You can view the current lineup for IMPACT Hard to Kill by clicking here. 

Thanks to Spencer Love for sending in the transcription. Fans can listen to the full interview in the video above.