Backstage Update on TNA Following Scott D’Amore’s Firing, Rumors on Why He Was Let Go

– As previously reported, TNA Wrestling underwent a major shakeup this week with the announcement of Scott D’Amore’s termination as president of the company. PWInsider has an update that might offer more insight into what led to D’Amore’s recent unceremonious exit.

According to the report, sources close to Anthem Sports & Entertainment claimed there was nothing salacious that happened resulting in D’Amore’s exit. While it’s still unclear why it happened, there is said to be a belief that Anthem head Len Asper and D’Amore came to a crossroads and disagreed on how TNA should be operated moving forward.

Additionally, there is said to be a rumor in the last day or so that in recent weeks, D’Amore reportedly approached Anthem with an offer to outright buy TNA from Anthem. The offer is said to have been backed by a letter from a major banking institution. However, the offer was rejected. Some within Anthem said that the offer was seen as a legitimate one that was worthy of consideration, but the decision was made to turn it down.

D’Amore was said to have been aware at least 7-10 days ago that the change was coming, and he was not shocked by the announcement. However, that was reportedly not the case with the roster, who all found out about the news yesterday when TNA and Anthem informed them shortly before it was made public. D’Amore’s termination was reportedly in the works for the last several weeks.

The report also notes that there have recently been numerous meetings planning out how things will work in the company with the new regime. This includes Anthem looking at everything internally and what could be improved upon by integrating TNA Wrestling under Anthem’s entertainment wing.

Additionally, if Anthem wanted to offload TNA, they could’ve sold it off to D’Amore or sought bids from other wrestling organizations, such as WWE, AEW, etc. There’s been no evidence of this. Also, PWInisder notes that Anthem is fully prepared to continue promoting TNA and that the termination of D’Amore is not a sign of TNA folding. Anthem is reportedly prepared to spend big money on the right talent or event for TNA.

The report states that the current belief among the roster is that while D’Amore is gone, the remainder of the creative team who worked under him and the support staff will remain in place. While D’Amore was terminated, no one else has exited or been fired. RD Evans is still part of the creative team, and Lou D’Angeli remains as part of the logistics department, etc.

PWInisder reports that based on sources within Anthem and the locker room, it was never brought up in conversation in either company meeting that no one is being released and no one was offered a release from the company in light of D’Amore’s termination. While it’s possible a frustrated talent may have blurted out they wanted a release, since D’Amore was very well-liked and respected by the roster, it’s reported that no rep for the company offered anyone under contract a release from their current deal. While it’s reportedly possible someone might request and receive one, some type of blanket release was not offered.

TNA will return to action on February 23 with No Surrender on pay-per-view.