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Scott D’Amore tried to buy TNA, but it was after he’d been let go buy the promotion.
D’Amore was let go from his role in TNA in February, and he recently relaunched Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. Before he announced plans for Maple Leaf Pro, a report had claimed D’Amore tried to buy TNA from parent company Anthem before he’d been released.
D’Amore appeared on Konnan’s Keepin’ It 100 podcast and confirmed that he did try to buy the promotion, with a slight correction. D’Amore tried to buy TNA after he was released by Anthem, sharing that his offer coming after his release was more logical.
Scott D’Amore tried to buy TNA
“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,” D’Amore said (via POST Wrestling). 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,” he continued. “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?’”
D’Amore said he’s gotten heat over it, but he tried to make sure that Candians got opportunities in TNA. He noted the difficulties, including the visa process for non-Americans in pro wrestling, but feels he can continue to provide opportunities with Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.
Scott D’Amore Didn’t Like The ‘IMPACT’ Name
Scott D’Amore spoke with Busted Open Radio about the TNA revival, noting that he always thought the name “IMPACT” sucked.
“When we first started the reclamation project of IMPACT Wrestling, there was a lot of people against us.” Scott D’Amore said. “It was going out and saying, ‘Just give us another chance. Don’t hate what we do before you see it, please.’ To be able to get that company back on its feet and in the right direction and in a real good spot — truthfully, for me, I couldn’t say this while I was there. I always thought the name IMPACT sucked. I hated it being IMPACT Wrestling. The decision had been made.”
D’Amore couldn’t change the name back to TNA when he first started in his role, but that was his ultimate goal.
“I didn’t disagree at the time and we couldn’t change it when I first took over because it had been bounced around,” Scott D’Amore added. “It was TNA, it was IMPACT, it was TNA, it was GWF, it was IMPACT. In my heart, the company where I made my bones and the company I bled and sweat for was TNA Wrestling. I knew from day one when they handed us the reigns. December 1, 2017. After I had been there for months as a consultant, I knew it was TNA Wrestling that needed to rise, not IMPACT. I never cared if IMPACT lived or died, I cared about TNA. I came there with a mission and a direction to revive it and breathe life into it. With a great team, I think we did that.”
Read More: Scott D’Amore Has No Malice Toward TNA, Had Hammerstein Ballroom On Hold For Rebellion PPV
