It was a shocking moment for many when Scott D’Amore suddenly exited his role as President of TNA Wrestling earlier this year. For a long he was seen as one of the leading backstage names attempting to turn the brand around, fixing its reputation and trying to rebuild its presence in the 2020s.
But shortly after the promotion had its Hard To Kill event in January, D’Amore’s deal with TNA Wrestling was terminated. He was replaced by Anthony Cicione, who had worked in TNA’s parent company, Anthem, in the past.
D’Amore has moved on, now focusing on relaunching the historic wrestling brand Maple Leaf Pro. He has been on a media tour in the lead-up to an October doubleheader of events, and of course, the topic of his TNA exit has come up many times since then.
When appearing on the Talk Is Jericho podcast this week with AEW’s Chris Jericho, D’Amore opened up about the departure. He mentioned understanding why the call was made to part ways and has seemingly made peace with the decision.
“At the end of the day, business is business. I think a lot of times people lose sight of that … A business decision was made. Did we have a difference of opinion on how to tackle things? Yep. Had I stated my thoughts on things and what I saw for where the brand was going? Yes. Were we aligned on some things? Yes, on some things no. I really thought 2025 was the year to really take some major shots and I think they’ve done some of that now. After I left, the first thing they did was put the next major tentpole pay-per-view back at The Palms in Vegas. And that was a terrible decision, not my call. We planned on being at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and actually had it on reserve. Part of our plan was to go to Montreal for [Slammiversary]. They did that and it was a success. Part of our goal was to be in either Tokyo or London for Bound For Glory. They’re going to Detroit. I think they’re going to do fine in Detroit, it’s a great wrestling market. I’m sure they’ll have a good crowd and I think it’ll be a success. Ultimately I wanted to make some moves and do some things that I think didn’t quite align with Anthem’s vision for things. And that goes on a few different levels, not just the shows, not just the talent, but on everything. And ultimately the decision was made that they wanted to go in a different direction. As I was told, they wanted to have a seasoned television operator run the business.”
Despite no longer being connected to the TNA brand, D’Amore remains supportive of the promotion and doesn’t hold the move against Anthem’s Leonard Asper.
“Can I say there’s no hard feelings? That’s tough. But there’s no malice. I know Len Asper didn’t wake up in the morning and go ‘I’m going to do this because I’m gonna get Scott.’ He made a business decision, it’s his decision, it’s his company. He made that call. It’s like a coach getting fired or anybody else. Decision was made, cool. Do I like it? No. Do I agree with it? No. Len and I have communicated since then. Len’s not the devil. His family has been instrumental in taking Winnipeg through some tough times over the years. I move on, they do their thing. I don’t want that brand to die or go away. That brand, those three initials TNA are so ingrained in me.”
D’Amore has high hopes for Maple Leaf Pro, which will return with “Forged In Excellence” next month. The card will feature talents like Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, El Phantasmo, Miyu Yamashita, and many others.
Looking beyond their first pair of shows, D’Amore has bigger goals for the brand. This includes heading to Maple Leaf Gardens, a venue synonymous with the Maple Leaf Pro brand. While the location is no longer the entertainment giant that it once was, he believes it would be big for the promotion to head there.
“Maple Leaf Gardens, for those who don’t know it, doesn’t exist [anymore] as a 17,000-seat arena, but the structure’s still there,” he said. “The building is there, the facade’s the same, the marquee is there, it says Maple Leaf Gardens. The main floor is a grocery store. But one of the things they have there is an ice rink. They have a 3,000-seat ice rink. I think it’s apropos that 2025, Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling makes its return to the building it’s most synonymous with. To me, after Madison Square Garden, it’s the most iconic building in wrestling history.
