David Sahadi: If I Didn’t Work At IMPACT, I Wouldn’t Watch It; Wrestling Has Grown Stale To Me
David Sahadi has worked in wrestling since 1992 when he joined WWE, sticking with the promotion for 11 years before leaving. Sahadi joined IMPACT Wrestling after leaving WWE, and aside from a two-year absence from 2017 to 2019, has been with the promotion since 2004 as a producer.
Sahadi helped usher in multiple new eras during his time in WWE, and before wrestling, was part of the NBC Sports team.
Appearing on Man School 202, Sahadi discussed politics in wrestling and how he may not always like the business.
“As I joke with people, I’m Switzerland. I’m not on Team A or Team B or Team C. I’m on Team Company. Whoever is in charge and making decisions at that time, that’s whose side I am on. I stay away from politics. They are ugly, messy, backstabbing, people are two-faced to you. I’m a New Yorker, I speak from the heart. If anybody wants to know what I’m thinking, all you have to do is ask and I’ll let you know. Politics in wrestling, it’s inherent, but it’s also disgusting and that’s one part of the business that I do not like at all,” he said.
When asked if there was a part of wrestling that he did like, Sahadi replied, “I love the companies I’m working for and I love building a brand. When I came to WWE in 1992, I came from NBC Sports and I brought a sports mentality to what we’re doing and a whole new look. I helped the company grow and did creative outside the box stuff. That’s what I love about the business. I respect those athletes, they are tremendous at what they do, and I love watching our shows at IMPACT. I love directing the shows, meeting the talent backstage, they ask me for advice, we talk and chew the fat. I love that part of it. I work on editing all of our shows, but if I wasn’t working for IMPACT, I probably wouldn’t watch it. To me, it’s growing a little stale over the years, just wrestling in general. Seems like it’s the same old formula that’s been going on since we started back in the late 90s at the height of the Monday Night Wars. Not much has changed except the names, stages, and looks.”
Asked if there was room for creativity in wrestling, Sahadi did offer praise on IMPACT for their current direction.
“There is room for that, and one thing about IMPACT that I like is that the writing team, especially Jimmy Jacobs and Robert Evans, they listen to talent and get ideas from talent. Our brand is unique, we have a little bit of everything. We have great athletes, we have the best storylines out there, we also do comedy. We’re kind of like a variety show when it comes to wrestling. We are starting to do things differently, but there is a lot more that needs to be done. We have to appeal to that younger generation right now. What we were doing in the 90s appealed to the 20 and 30 something year old people that were having frat parties in college to watch Monday Night Raw and Nitro. Right now, the audience is in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s because those were the people watching 25 years ago. We need to do something right now that appeals to the younger generation,” he said.
Finally, he was asked what wrestling could do to appeal to the younger generation. He replied, “I’m not exactly sure what that will be, but it’ll be doing things differently, creatively, and intriguing to have people watching us.”
Sahadi noted the crossover spots with WWE that used to air on networks like CNN or ESPN and “fish out of water” spots with wrestlers such as Brock Lesnar on beach hitting the F5 on a shark. He believed those spots brought an intrigue to wrestling.
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