New information has come to light as to why Scott D’Amore was terminated from his position in TNA.
February 7th saw a press release issued informing fans that D’Amore had been removed from the company with immediate effect. With many members of the roster thinking highly of D’Amore, the firing came as a shock to the wrestlers as much as it did the fans. Taking part in a Zoom call shortly before the world found out about the news, the atmosphere among TNA wrestlers was described as “chaotic.”
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio about the shock departure, Dave Meltzer believes that due to the success of the recent rebrand, D’Amore was looking to increase the budget but was met with resistance by Anthem:
“I think that he thought that it’s time to spend some more money, try to go after more talent to try to build this thing up. We have a little bit of momentum. And the Anthem, people were kind of like, ‘we don’t want to increase the budget’ and maybe even wanted to cut back on the budget, but definitely didn’t want to increase the budget, and had a standoff. And that’s kind of what happened. And I mean, he’d always been trying to get a bigger budget. And he’d always been rebuffed.”
D’Amore’s departure comes shortly after Impact rebranded as TNA once again, reviving the previous name at the Hard to Kill pay-per-view back in January. Continuing to discuss the firing, Meltzer stated that he had heard there was a dispute between D’Amore and management:
(TNA) was coming back, it was getting more popular, but (Anthem’s) whole thing was to just have a product, tape television, fulfill your pay-per-views, your streaming stuff, and do it essentially as cheaply as possible.
Whether that is the reason of the split, that that was it, or there was some other thing that we don’t know, I’m sure it’ll be out in the next couple of days. But that’s the only thing that I’ve kind of been told by people is that was a dispute that he had had with management.
TNA Talent Reaction To Scott D’Amore’s Exit
Multiple wrestlers have been vocal on social media regarding the recent announcement, with many stunned by the news. World Champion Moose stated that he was at a loss for words over the exit. Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace posted a photo of her and D’Amore on social media, calling the former President the heart and soul of TNA and irreplaceable.
During the talent meeting informing wrestlers of the departure, Tommy Dreamer stated that those who wanted to request their release could discuss it with higher-ups.
In the latest update, TNA talent has sent a letter to Anthem to express their frustrations.