D’Amore is now behind the Maple Leaf Pro promotion.
Seven months have passed since Anthem Sports & Entertainment terminated Scott D’Amore from his role as President of TNA Wrestling. In the time since, D’Amore has relaunched the Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling promotion in Ontario, Canada and their first slate of shows are in October.
Before Maple Leaf Pro came into the fold, D’Amore did attempt to purchase TNA Wrestling. He appeared on K100 w/ Konnan & Disco and stated that after he was let go by Anthem, he presented an offer to buy the promotion.
I was really proud of the rebrand of TNA. It’s something I felt strongly and something that I advocated for and pushed for was to change the name back. Overseeing that changeover from IMPACT to TNA, I was like, I really thought we were, hey, here we are and I was looking forward to taking it to the next level. Didn’t play out that way. So, they’re doing their thing now. When I sat there for a bit, you know, I had to sit there. I had to be, you know, like a miserable, grumpy, old Italian for a while and be upset. I mean, it’s public record, I tried to buy the company. To set the record straight for those who try to say that I tried to buy it and then I got let go. I mean, I got let go and then I tried to buy it which is a more logical series of events so, it’s like, ‘Look, I think I know where I want this thing to go. I think I know where we can take it and I’m willing to put my money and others’ money where my mouth is’ and say, ‘Hey, let us acquire it and see what we can do with it.’ Ultimately, that was turned down so they continued to do their thing so once the bitterness and the hurt feelings and the anger and everything subsides, you sit there and go, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ So, one of the things is I’ve always wanted to be a conduit and I’ve taken heat over it, especially from Glenn (Gilbertti) and others over the years for making sure that Canadians get seen and get opportunities because it is really hard for someone who’s not American. The whole visa process and everything else and I think Maple Leaf Pro with its long history of Maple Leaf Wrestling and we got a great team together.
Circling back to Maple Leaf Pro, among those helping out with the promotion is longtime producer Keith Mitchell. Mitchell is coming out of retirement to provide his assistance and D’Amore is honored by that.
Our production team is top-notch, right? Like Keith Mitchell… I’m super honored. For Keith to be willing to come up and do it. He’s the man. From World Class and taking that show around the world. The first wrestling show syndicated around the world. Nitro and Thunder, was the guy launching TNA, and then AEW, was there as an executive producer and for him to come up — and he looks at it as a great chance to come up, be a part of the team and help pass out knowledge. Keith just has so much knowledge. He’s one of the best.
The Maple Leaf Pro events are on October 19th and 20th. Here are some of the announced bouts that’ll be taking place over the course of those two days:
- ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey vs. Konosuke Takeshita
- ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c) vs. Gisele Shaw
- Josh Alexander vs. Konosuke Takeshita
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit K100 w/ Konnan & Disco with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
