IMPACT Wrestling will make its long-awaited debut in Kissimmee, Florida with back-to-back nights of action-packed live pro wrestling on Friday and Saturday, on May 13 and May 14 – both originating from the Osceola Heritage Park – Event Center. The 2-night CITRUS BRAWL will feature high-energy, high-intensity action for IMPACT’s flagship weekly TV show, #IMPACTonAXSTV (Thursday, 8 p.m. ET on AXS TV in the U.S., Fight Network in Canada and Impact Insiders on YouTube.) In advance of the Orlando-area shows, former IMPACT World Champion Moose & Knockouts Division star Deonna Purrazzo will be in Central Florida for a Media Tour & Press Event, on May 10 and 11.
Moose is the former IMPACT World Champion, which truly was a record-setting championship run. Quinn Ojinnaka, the real-life Moose, played for four teams over seven seasons in the National Football League, including the New England Patriots, before transitioning to pro wrestling, making his debut in 2012. His NFL career included time as teammates with legendary quarterback Tom Brady while playing for one of the best NFL head coaches in history, Bill Belichick.
An offensive lineman, Ojinnaka played 62 NFL games after playing at Syracuse University and was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Moose and Bill Goldberg are the only former NFL players from the modern era to have gone from the NFL to become the World Champion of a pro wrestling company.
In fact, there are only four others in addition to Moose & Goldberg to have gone from the NFL to World Championship glory in pro wrestling, including Bronko Nagurski, who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The others are Ernie Ladd, Dick the Bruiser and Gus Sonnenberg. Sports Illustrated spotlighted Moose and his record-setting journey from the NFL to IMPACT World Champion.
Deonna Purrazzo is a 2-time former Knockouts World Champion and is now the reigning Ring Of Honor Women’s Champion. A New Jersey native who has been wrestling professionally since 2013, Purrazzo was ranked No. 3 of 150 female wrestlers in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Women’s 150 in 2021.
All the IMPACT stars will be in the Orlando area for the May 13 and 14 shows, including X-Division Champion Ace Austin and Knockouts World Champion Tasha Steelz, along with The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson), Mickie James, W. Morrissey, Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, Chris Sabin, Eric Young, Madison Rayne, Rosemary, Rhino, Heath and Jordynne Grace, among others.
Many of the matches for the Orlando area shows will be announced in the coming weeks, but surprises are certain, too, including wrestlers making their IMPACT Wrestling debut.
IMPACT Wrestling in early April announced a partnership with the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) that will put IMPACT in line with other major professional sports leagues, teams and major worldwide brands that also partner with NAGAAA.
NAGAAA runs the annual Gay Softball World Series, which annually attracts 200+ teams from across North America and is the largest annual LGBT single-sport, week-long athletic competition globally. Teams from the 47 member cities of NAGAAA participate annually, including the Central Florida Softball League (of Orlando).
Members of the CFSL will be at both IMPACT shows in Orlando, on May 13 and May 14. And at the show on the 13th, IMPACT will feature a rainbow-coloured shirt for sale for the first time, plus a pre-show ceremony when the commissioner of the CFSL will be presented with the first IMPACT Rainbow Shirt.
IMPACT Wrestling stars and members of the CFSL will be at The Center Orlando (946 N. Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803) for a Special Ceremony at 3 pm ET on Wednesday, May 11. The event will feature the unveiling of the inaugural IMPACT Rainbow T-Shirt, a donation from IMPACT to CFSL and The Center, and more.
IMPACT Wrestling has been a strong supporter of the LGBT community. IMPACT promoted a multi-day Coming-Out Tour in Chicago for wrestler Kiera Hogan after she announced on social media that she was in a same-sex relationship. IMPACT recently had openly gay Las Vegas-based wrestler Jai Vidal wrestle and appear multiple times on the company’s weekly TV show.