Why? Anthem, you hair-brained idiots, why? This is single-handedly the easiest and most efficient way to take any hype away from the rebuild you have going on. Scott D’Amore (with the assistance of Callis) saved Impact from near-death and brought back the feeling to TNA after all these years. You’re getting some of your highest PPV buys in years and the highest ticket sales in eight years, yet you still sack him? Let’s just dive into how stupid of a decision this is.
Saving TNA From The Depths Of Hell
Let’s list what D’Amore was coming into when he first became president:
- Constant management changes
- A complete failure of a rebrand under GFW
- Times when they were struggling or unable to pay talent and were facing lawsuits.
- The overall company was in a state of complete disarray.
The odds were not only against D’Amore, but they were against the survival of the entire company. Then, Scott comes on the helm and shows everyone why TNA is hard to kill. We haven’t heard about contract issues in years; he’s recently pulled off a very successful rebrand, and the company was clearly on target to achieve big things and finally get onto a decent level again.
TNA/IMPACT Under D’Amore
It’s been a fun ride with Scott as president, with the highs definitely outshining the lows, in my opinion. There’s a lot I could cover when talking about how much he improved the product from the depths of hell it sank into, but I feel like no event shows it better than Slammiversary XVI (which took place in 2018, the first year when he was fully at the helm).
While the previous year’s Slammiversary was a decent show, it was really nothing special. So now you may be wondering, “How does Scott D’Amore book his first Slammiversary?” He makes it one of the best events in the history of the company, of course. We had great matches from top to bottom this year. Callihan vs. Penta? Incredible. Moose vs. Aries? Incredible. LAX vs. OGz? Incredible. The five-way X-Division opener? Incredible. This is one show that exemplifies everything I loved about the Scott D’Amore era. Great matches, great storylines, and a great eye for international talent (with Taiji Ishimori and the Lucha Bros having prominent roles on the show).
The Backstage Environment
To the surprise of no one, Scott has garnered a groundswell of support from TNA roster members since his termination. In recent years, the TNA locker room has been described as a family, with it being one of the least reported backstages in wrestling. His attitude and ways of managing were so good that he was able to keep sought-after talents like Moose and Josh Alexander around. For guys like them, the latter has confirmed that he has received other offers to stay with the much smaller company, which speaks volumes about how important the treatment of talent was to him.
Side note: You have to feel terrible for Moose in this situation. He signed the longest contract in TNA history and recently credited Scott D’Amore as one of his main reasons for staying on. With Scott gone, he’s now stuck in a long contract without the boss he wanted to be with. You have to feel for him here.
Fan Reception:
With a somewhat clever spin on the Cody Rhodes and The Rock controversy, TNA fans have taken to Twitter to voice their displeasure over D’Amore’s unfair firing. The hashtag #WeWantScott has garnered more than a thousand posts, which is pretty high for TNA’s online community. In general, I don’t think I’ve seen one tweet supporting TNA’s decision. Every TNA fan I have heard the opinion of about this is rightfully livid at the decision, and with everyone voicing their displeasure, I’m slightly hopeful that we can see a change made.
Overall
The message you can take away here is that Anthem are complete morons. You could not have made a more ungrateful decision if you tried. I cannot put into words how weird it is. It’s like dumping your girl, who you’ve been with through the toughest times, as soon as you get money. The definition of an ungrateful and stupid decision.
While I am evidently angry about this decision, Scott did love TNA, and he would want fans to stay positive. So, while I am desperate for Anthem to reverse there decision, I’m willing to give the new guy a chance if they don’t. Hopefully, the new guy can impress, but for now, we will just have to wait and see.
Thank you for reading this article; it truly means a lot to me. If you want to check out my previous article, click HERE. Also, #WeWantScott.
DISCLAIMER: All opinion articles here at Wrestling Republic are the opinion of the writer, and may not reflect the opinion of the brand itself. Wrestling Republic is a space for wrestling fans from all perspectives to give their opinions.
