Reports say that Scott D’Amore hoped to outright buy TNA Wrestling before his sudden departure was announced this week.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider is reporting that D’Amore offered to purchase TNA from Anthem “at some point in recent weeks,” coming to them with written backing by a bank. However, the report states that Anthem denied this proposal.
Regarding the details of the offer, Johnson was told by sources close to Anthem that it was “legitimate” and “worthy of consideration” but ultimately not accepted.
News broke Wednesday that D’Amore’s contract with TNA Wrestling had been terminated and that he would be replaced by Anthem executive Anthony Cicione. While the reason for D’Amore’s exit has been hard to find, PWInsider says that disagreements between him and Anthem over TNA’s operation were the cause for his departure.
D’Amore rejoined TNA Wrestling in 2017, coming back seven years after his initial stint for the promotion. He quickly moved up the chain of command, eventually becoming the promotion’s president last year.
The 49-year-old Canadian was the face of the promotion’s move back to the “TNA Wrestling” brand after being referred to as IMPACT Wrestling for many years. He notably gave a speech at their Hard To Kill event last year announcing the change.
Many wrestlers have spoken in support of D’Amore since the news of his contract being terminated earlier this week. Naomi, a WWE wrestler who wrestled in TNA up until early this year, posted: “We don’t play about @ScottDAmore! Ok bye.”
