Yesterday, the news broke that Scott D’Amore stepped down as President of TNA Wrestling. The internet wrestling community blew up over this news. Below are my thoughts on why all of us should continue watching and supporting TNA Wrestling.

This is TNA

When Jeff Jarrett, Jerry Jarrett, and Bob Ryder founded TNA Wrestling in 2002, they did so with one mission: to provide an alternative wrestling promotion for fans to enjoy. During Jeff Jarrett’s nearly 10 years as the man behind the creative control of the company, he accomplished this feat. TNA secured TV deals with Fox Sports Net and Spike TV. The company released a video game through Midway. TNA iMPACT reached millions of people a week, and the company made tens of millions of dollars in profits. It was a successful alternative brand to WWE.

During this time period, Scott D’Amore was Jeff Jarrett’s right-hand man, studying under the legendary wrestler as a member of the creative team, learning how to write and produce top-tier wrestling storylines that fans cared about. Scott was also a member of Team Canada, making an indelible mark on TNA and the professional wrestling business as a whole.

TNA Dies and is Reborn

The 2010s weren’t so kind to TNA because Jeff Jarrett (and Scott) lost creative control. Dixie Carter ousted Jeff Jarrett and “Jeff’s guys” in favor of a revolving door of people who cared more about collecting a check than producing quality television. During this decade, TNA half-heartedly rebranded as IMPACT Wrestling and made one poor financial decision after another. Not only did the company lose its Spike TV deal, it lost its identity.

In 2018, Scott D’Amore returned to the company he once built to greatness with Jeff Jarrett and resuscitated it, performing a veritable open-heart surgery to make IMPACT Wrestling a viable alternative to WWE. Scott, along with the help of Don Callis, succeded in bringing IMPACT Wrestling back to life.

In 2023, TNA Wrestling was reborn as the company returned to the iconic name that made it famous. At its helm was Scott D’Amore as President, a fitting designation because of his lineage with the company and his tremendous contributions during its formative years and now. Since its rebirth, TNA Wrestling has broken records when it comes to ticket sales and pay-per-view buys. Most importantly, fans are more excited than ever about the future of this company.

Scott D’Amore Leaves TNA Wrestling

Less than one month removed from Hard To Kill, the first pay-per-view of the new TNA Wrestling era and one that put the company back on the map in a big way, its leader, Scott D’Amore, is gone.

When I heard this news, my world was rocked. Scott D’Amore is the greatest thing to happen to TNA since Jeff Jarrett founded the company. He was an integral part of its success and rebirth. The poorly written press release announcing this horrific news gave off the impression that Scott was fired. After doing some primary research, I can tell you that he wasn’t. He didn’t make any mistakes that resulted in his termination.

What happened is that Scott and Anthem had a different vision for the future of TNA Wrestling and how to get there. Whether those differences came down to money or creative is unknown. From what I ascertain, Scott was presented with other opportunities to work within Anthem. He turned down those job offers because the only job he wants is to be President of TNA Wrestling and to do so with a certain level of freedom to make important decisions. Anthem wouldn’t allow him to do this, and he wasn’t interested in being placated by them with other jobs, so he chose to leave.

I heard that there wasn’t any bad blood between Scott and Anthem when the decision was made for him and the company to part ways. Also, keep in mind that Scott runs a successful real estate business in Canada that has made him millions. So, he doesn’t need to work another day in his life (especially in the professional wrestling business) if he doesn’t want to.

Why We Should Support TNA Wrestling

I’m going to continue watching and supporting TNA Wrestling because that’s what Scott D’Amore would want, and that’s what the talent and the crew behind the curtain deserve. Tommy Dreamer, Gail Kim, and everyone else working to make TNA a fantastic product day in and day out are doing an excellent job. We shouldn’t abandon them because Scott D’Amore and Anthem chose to part ways.

I’m attending TNA’s TV tapings in Philadelphia in March, and I’m still writing my book about the first 20 years of the company. Am I doing so at an extremely slow pace? Yes, but I have zero intentions of stopping. Now more than ever, TNA’s story must be told, and I’m happy to be the one to tell it. But for its story to continue, all of us must watch and support this company. We should stand with TNA in support of the vision realized by Jeff Jarrett, Jerry Jarrett, Bob Ryder, and Scott D’Amore. I crossed the line many years ago, and I’m not going back.