That Didn’t Take Long: Rampage Jackson Debuted On Last Night’s Impact Wrestling

As we mentioned what, three days ago? Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had signed a multi-year deal with Bellator and, by proxy, its sister program TNA Impact Wrestling. Impact wasted no time getting Rampage on the show, and … well, here you go.

If there’s one thing TNA does right, it’s saying how special their “special guests” are. Remember, this is the company that made Pacman Jones a tag team champion when he couldn’t legally wrestle. Rampage Jackson made his debut with WOLF MUSIC~ and all his appropriate taunts, having a brief, mumbly conversation with Jeremy Borash about “being the best” before being interrupted by Impact Wrestling’s interpretation of the best, Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. They teased a confrontation down the road and got in each others’ faces. Using TNA logic, this means that they’ll either

1. Have a match next week, which will end with run-ins and people getting hit/sprayed with props

2. Never have a match, because Rampage will be gone in three weeks

Video of the confrontation is after the jump.

In all seriousness, signing MMA guys to be wrestlers is a better idea than signing football players and race car drivers like TNA usually does. MMA guys have a decent history of success in the world of fake fighting … Ken Shamrock became a WWF Intercontinental Champion and still shows up as a legend in their video games, and Dan Severn had a thorough career in North America and abroad. If Brock Lesnar counts, he’s still getting into all kinds of stressful situations on Raw. Rampage can legitimately be one of the best signings they’ve ever made, but they have to make sure to do two things: not call him “legit” to the point of suggesting everyone else on Impact ISN’T, and keep him around long enough to make it matter.

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