Scott D’Amore discusses his departure from TNA and reflects on his time as the president of the company.
Scott D’Amore had been with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling since 2023. He was named the president of the company in March 2023. D’Amore helped rebuild the company, and he led the process of the TNA rebrand. In February, Anthem announced that he had been terminated, and Anthony Cicione had been named as the new president.
Scott D’Amore opened up about the end of his time in TN while speaking on Busted Open Radio, D’Amore detailed his final days at TNA. (H/t Jeremy Lambert of Fightful for the transcription)
“It wasn’t a total shock to me because I see all the different moves behind the scenes,” D’Amore said. “We had our build-up to it. Here is your scoop. I found out what was happening with me two days before Hard to Kill. Before we flew to Vegas, before we did that amazing culmination with the rebrand of TNA, which is something I spearheaded. I found out two nights before when I was about to get on a plane. I found out what was in the cards.
“Len Asper and I had a chat about it. Even though I had seen some signs, it still hit me pretty hard. I did what professionals do. I locked that in that place in my brain and kept it there. I flew to Las Vegas with Tommy (Dreamer) and the rest of the team. I hate when people give me all the credit and I hate when people give me all the blame. The team succeeded because of the team we were able to assemble. I’m proud to have led that team and I’m proud to have assembled that team. I went there and did my job. Ultimately, at the end of the day, I can think Len’s decision sucks and that it’s the wrong decision, but Len didn’t show up and push my mother down the flight of stairs. Nobody from Anthem showed up and burned my house down.”
Scott D’Amore On TNA Hard To Kill
D’Amore then noted that he is being paid to sit at home as part of his non-compete clause. He also reflected on the success of TNA Hard To Kill, which marked the official beginning of the TNA rebrand.
“They’re actually paying me a ton of money to sit at home, which is kind of nice. It was gutting, but I went there and we put on those shows,” Scott D’Amore said. “I want to put that exclamation mark on the seven years of what I did. That Hard To Kill show, which they say is the most buys in the history of TNA. I’m happy with Slammiversary’s success, but Hard to Kill sold out an amazing venue in Vegas, the culmination of TNA’s return, the most buys in TNA history, and getting to put on that Will Ospreay and Josh Alexander match.
“Having Tommy force me out to the ring to fill time for the episode, which led to that promo. I went to that ring going, ‘This is my love letter to professional wrestling,’ and saying this might be it for me. I just didn’t know. I’m so proud of Las Vegas. It sucked to go through that with the back of my mind heading where it was heading. We did it and I took it for what it was. I finished out the Florida tapings and left the building thinking, ‘That’s it. I fulfilled my obligations.'”
Scott D’Amore On The Work He Did
Scott D’Amore lastly recalled the day after TNA Hard To Kill. He noted that he put Jordynne Grace in the Royal Rumble. He also commented on the nature of his departure, and he said that he was proud of the work they did during his tenure. D’Amore also said that he was upset that the reigns were taken away.
“I woke up the next morning and did two things. I put Jordynne Grace in the (Royal) Rumble and I started looking about where I could raise funds to acquire TNA. Any of the BS that I tried to buy the company, and that’s what led to me leaving, was not the case. It boiled down to a difference of opinions on how things should be. There was no ‘F you. No, F you.’ I spoke with Len Asper since then. We talked about it the day of the announcement, ‘I hope there is no hard feelings.’ ‘I can’t say there are no hard feelings, but there are no personal feelings.’
“I don’t take seven years of great work, with people I enjoyed working with, and throw it in a dumpster because it took a pivot that I wasn’t looking for. I’m very proud of the work we did there. Len would always get mad when we referenced IMPACT being a dead brand when we got there. It wasn’t a dead brand. IMPACT Wrestling was deader than dead. It was an insult to dead brands in 2017 to just call IMPACT dead. Me and Don (Callis) came in. Tommy joined the team. We got Jimmy Jacobs there.
“So many other people I could list on, and we took it step by step to rebuild it. I took that very personally. It became an 80+ hour a week obsession to me. That was something that I think was unprecedented. Robert Evans and I talk about it. When, in the history of wrestling, has a company ever been that low and then came back? How did I feel? Very conflicted. I was very proud of what we had done as a group and what we accomplished and where we came, and I was very upset that the reigns got taken away from me at a time that I think we were perched and ready to continue to explode.”
Click here to see what Alex Shelley had to say about Scott D’Amore’s departure from TNA.
