For nearly eight years, Robbie E. was an Impact Wrestling staple. After several months off the weekly PopTV broadcast, the four-time champion and former star of The Amazing Race has parted ways with the company.
“I’m 34-years-old and in the best shape of my life,” the grappler told Arm Drag Takedown with Pollo Del Mar. “Robbie E has a lot more to offer, not just to Impact but the wrestling world; I just can’t sit around and wait.”
Robbie E., half of The Amazing Race favorites “The Wrestlers,” has left Impact Wrestling.
In the ring, Robbie E. – real name Robbie Strauss -- is a two-time World tag team champ, claimed the company’s coveted X-Division championship and even held the now-defunct Television title. Arguably an even greater achievement, he outlasted numerous corporate owners, broadcast homes, a slew of tag team partners and even his foray into reality TV fame.
“I’m the first one to admit, [Impact] gave me an opportunity. Without them, I wouldn’t have been on reality television. I wouldn’t have traveled the world. I wouldn’t have been on worldwide television all those years,” Strauss told the podcast.
“I love Impact with all my heart...I’m thankful for everything I was given,” he said, “But I had to take a risk.”
Leaving the weekly pro wrestling episodic was not a decision he agonized over, however, the New Jersey native stated. According to Strauss, a contestant on the 25th season of CBS powerhouse The Amazing Race, his departure happened rather quickly.
“I know it’s going to sound crazy, but the day I asked for my release was the day,” shared the star, who initially planned to see what Impact — recently reorganized under the Global Force Wrestling moniker — had in store for him.
“It wasn’t really something I was thinking about for a while,” Strauss continued. “That day I talked about it with my wife and said, ‘It’s time.’”
His exit comes amid a host of similar stories in the industry. Recently-returned Taryn Terrell has also left, despite the female superstar being scheduled in a Knockouts (women) title match at the company’s Nov. 5 Bound for Glory pay-per-view event.
“For some people, it’s about the money. Some people want better storylines. For some people, they’re sick of the travel. For some people they don’t like the way they’re being treated as humans,” Robbie E. said, describing factors at play in established stars seeking contract release. “Everybody wants something different out of wrestling.”
Often booked as a comedic character, intricacies of his onscreen treatment never became a stumbling block for Strauss. While he “respects” stars who place great emphasis on those aspects of the business – such as Neville and Nia Jax, both reportedly on hiatus from World Wrestling Entertainment TV amid dissatisfaction with the creative direction of their on-air personas – Robbie has a different perspective.
“I would look at it and say, ‘What do I care? Wrestling isn’t real, and I’m making just as much money,’” he said.
Jax, allegedly unhappy with her booking, and Neville, rumored to see dropping the WWE Cruiserweight title to Enzo Amore as devaluing him in the company, appear to take a different view. (“Neither of us is wrong,” Robbie said.) Strauss recalls countless Impact storylines which might have upset others, notably his on-screen feud with former girlfriend and Race costar Brooke Adams.
“If I had said, ‘No, I don’t want to lose to a girl. I don’t want to lose to Brooke,’ [Impact] would have probably said ‘Alright,’” he asserted, “Then I would have been fired a few months later, and I wouldn’t have had a job for the last four years.”
The ability to push back in the world of wrestling “depends on who you are,” Strauss shared. The more value the company places on a wrestler, he suggested, the more creative freedom he or she has. A great deal of what determines whether an unhappy worker stays with a promotion is determined by earning capacity should the individual leave, he noted.
“For someone like Neville, God… he could wrestle around the world,” Robbie E. pointed out. “He’s one of the best, and I’m sure he could go anywhere and he has other opportunities to make as much money as he’s making.”
For Robbie, finances play a huge role in the decision to leave Impact. A previous contract renegotiation saw him paid on a per-appearance basis, he said; being without an on-screen role was a low-blow to his bank account.
“I’m the first one to tell you: I got into pro wrestling because I want to be a star,” he said, “I want to be on TV and I want to make money.”
Without a contracted sports entertainment home for the first time in nearly a decade, Strauss is exploring options on how to do all of those. That includes numerous independent wrestling bookings, a weekly Tuesday FiteTV app mini-show and a series of workout videos for Muscle & Fitness and Men’s Fitness magazines.
Branded the “The Dad Bod Destroyer,” every Monday (Muscle & Fitness) and Thursday (Men’s Fitness) he shows others creative ways to include their children in a fitness routine. From doing squats with a baby on his shoulders or curling child safety seats, he says it’s equally fun for the kids and dads.
While he “definitely” wants to wrestle full time, Strauss said nothing is beyond discussion phases at this point. When asked about Ring of Honor, for example, he enthused: “Anywhere that would offer me a contract to wrestle full-time, I would be 1000% down to consider it.”
One career path the grappler has focused on is a potential return to reality television. Strauss admitted, “I’ve already reached out and started making connections.”
Following the fourth-place finish of “The Wrestlers” on Amazing Race, he received offers from other projects. At the time, he noted, Impact was on a more stringent television schedule, preventing him for accepting those. Now that he is free, a return to the boob tube is imminent.
“I am trying to branch out and do more television, whether that’s reality shows or normal acting gigs,” he related. “I’m definitely going to have some stuff coming up in the next six months to a year.”
Follow Robbie E. on Twitter.