Jimmy Jacobs' creative abilities have been lauded by many within the industry.
A wild 2017 saw Jimmy Jacobs move from WWE creative to Impact Wrestling creative, with an ROH cameo mixed in. As Jacobs moves forward to 2019, he's opening up more and more about the creative processes that take place between both companies. When speaking to Fightful ahead of his Zelo Pro appearance on January 4 in MIlwaukee (at the Pabst Theater), he compared WWE and Impact.
"They're similar in that you have a finite roster and number of stars that matter on that roster. It's hard to have a match between a couple of guys that aren't that established. That's how it's similar. The difference in Impact is I don't have to answer to a Vince McMahon or someone with that same personality type. That has its benefits. One of the other good things about Impact is the rules are what we make them. If I want -- instead of having a match at Bound For Glory -- Allie and Su Yung can go into the underworld and (they) can fight there. What if Su kidnaps Allie's friend, and Allie has to go there and we get to shoot something in an alternate dimension -- we can go there," Jacobs said.
One of the benefits Jacobs sees in Impact's taping schedule and the contrast from WWE's creative and filming methods is that the show's vision is carried out as planned.
"It's kind of nice that no matter what happens, these are the six weeks of tv. After week one, we're not going to drastically change what happens on next week's TV. In WWE, I was very surprised by how week-to-week it was. How you could try to do something, but generally that would get derailed quite quickly," Jacobs told Fightful.
Vince McMahon rewrites are almost infamous in wrestling lore, and rooted in truth according to Jacobs. While the situation can be frustrating, Jacobs says that WWE operates so smoothly, major changes with little time actually gave him perspective on the company and how effectively it runs.
"Day of changes to the show happened every week. Something I agree with that Vince says -- the best idea wins. Even if it's at the eleventh hour. Let's do that better thing, not 'we already have this on paper.' It would vary. Sometimes it would be minimal, sometimes you'd get to the show (and it changes). I remember one time we were in Houston, Texas, and Vince likes to visit his mom when he's there. He gets to the show late and changed a significant portion of the show. I think this show started with Roman Reigns and he was coming in from the concourse like The Shield used to do, and a writer had to give Roman the script for what's going to happen minutes before he's supposed to go out there. That gave me an appreciate for how well that place runs," Jacobs said.
Jimmy Jacobs will appear at Zelo Pro on January 4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for "Milwaukee Meltdown" at the Pabst Theater, where he faces Austin Aries. You can check out Zelo Pro Wrestling's Youtube channel at this link