Of all the possible PR moves ahead of TNA’s hastily assembled Rebellion PPV, pulling its wrestlers from previously announced AEW matches was unlikely to be the wisest choice. The decision, which developed rapidly this week after a period of seemingly stable collaboration, has shaken the wrestling landscape and drawn a notably frosty response. But who is responsible, and what impact will it have on TNA? In this article, I will outline what we know before exploring why TNA may be less in control of the situation than it appears and why other forces at play could ultimately backfire in the long run.
What Happened?
On Wednesday, Create-A-Pro Wrestling owner Bryan Myers took to Instagram to announce that the dream match between MJF and Nic Nemeth, scheduled for their May 1st show, would not go ahead. Both men would still participate on the card, but in separate matches, with Nic Nemeth facing Bear Bronson and MJF issuing an open challenge.
It was a bitter blow not only for fans looking forward to the encounter, but clearly to the wrestlers themselves. Nemeth told Youngstown Studios on Friday he was “crushed” the match had been pulled, while MJF called into Busted Open Radio and delivered a foul mouthed tirade against the decision, labelling the move “disgusting” and arguing it stunts young talents opportunities for growth and limits opportunities for wrestlers to provide for their families. “If anyone supports him (Silva) or that company at this point” he proclaimed “it is very hard for me to wrap my head around.”
Nemeth was not the only TNA talent to have his upcoming match pulled. Initial fears of a changing relationship began on Tuesday when Fightful Select reported Moose had been pulled from an upcoming appearance at Maple Leaf Pro on April 18th. The situation worsened again as Wrestlecon announced on Thursday that the advertised main event of next week’s Mark Hitchcock Memorial show between Ricochet and Leon Slater would also not go ahead, despite, as they argue, it having been previously agreed to by both parties.
TNA President Carlos Silva in a statement to Fightful attributed the decision to “Partner Conflicts”. Wrestlecon appeared to take aim at TNA’s stated reasoning by separately posting to X “it may be partner conflicts and politics to you, but it’s very personal to us” alongside a video of Hitchcock’s memorial package from a previous event. Maple Leaf Pro have yet to address the decision publicly as of this article’s publishing.
Why Has This Happened?
The parties involved have confirmed the facts above as we currently understand them. The reasons for this decision, by contrast, are much more up in the air and, beyond the public statements, can only be a matter of speculation and opinion. There has been no official word from TNA that the decision is a blanket ban on TNA vs AEW matchups, but given the pattern of cancelled matches that conclusion is what many, myself included, have come to.
Extrapolating from Silva’s assertions of partner conflicts, the immediate assumption I would draw would be WWE, whom TNA have had a formal working relationship with since January 2025, and a seeming collaboration since then TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace appeared at the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble. With TNA’s new AMC TV deal bringing fresh eyes to the product, and amid its hostility toward AEW, WWE may seek to avoid portraying affiliated talent as weak against its competitor.
It is worth considering how WWE might benefit from this decision for TNA to sever working ties with AEW entirely. Not only would it be a blow to their biggest rivals, but would also allow TNA talents to be more protected in the world of the independents, which if WWE wished to use their talents or bring them in at the end of their contracts, would keep them looking stronger against their own stars and demonstrate superiority. That said, TNA talents have not fared especially well against WWE talents in past collaborations, as Randy Orton memorably squashed then TNA World Champion Joe Hendry in just over 3 minutes at Wrestlemania last year. Nemeth himself suffered a loss to Solo Sikoa when returning to face him in the Last Time is Now tournament in December.
I have consistently felt frustrated that TNA has not received more reverence in the partnership and has clearly played second fiddle to its larger partners. If therefore WWE have in fact made this decision to halt TNA associating with AEW it is a perhaps bullish indication that the only stars WWE have no problem with continuously and convincingly going over the TNA talent is their own.
The same could be said of AMC, another potential partner that would want to keep its property as strong as possible. Last Thursday saw AEW Collision air on the same day as TNA Impact due to a one off schedule change forced by Warner Brothers Discovery because of NCAA Basketball. The result? TNA dropped from 256,000 viewers the previous week to 200,000 thousand viewers, the lowest Impact rating since January. There has been speculation that this could have given Silva heat with AEW that influenced the decision, prompting MJF to respond on X calling Silva a “dumb motherf****r”.
Silva has not confirmed or acknowledged this himself and I personally find it hard to believe that even if it is true it would’ve influenced such a drastic decision from Silva. Instead, based on his statement I think it is far more likely to be an imposed decision than something bore from the spite of TNA’s president. Therefore, could it instead be an act of revenge not from Silva, but by AMC for AEW encroaching on their territory. Unlikely but certainly not impossible.
What Impact Could This Cause?
The question I would propose, quite simply, is whether the perceived harm that this stance could cause TNA outweighs the benefit gained. Does it cause huge harm to the TNA brand for Leon Slater to fight, and potentially lose to, Ricochet on a memorial event as part of a slew of other shows on Mania weekend. Is it detrimental to the selling potential of 45 year old Nic Nemeth to lose to the AEW World Champion 15 years his junior. Just last week Jody Threat scored a huge victory over Mercedes Mone to reclaim the WPW Women’s Championship in Winnipeg, demonstrating that the TNA vs AEW matchups are not a dominant one way streak and present huge potential benefits for TNA.
Some may argue that such matches create slippery slopes for bigger, more harmful TNA losses down the road, but companies sign off interpromotional matches for which their athletes are contracted. If a match does more harm than good for a company, they are well within their rights to refuse it. In this case though, signing off on these matches and then furiously backtracking because of some form of outside interference is frustrating and makes TNA as a company appear untrustworthy, when I honestly firmly believe that their influence on the decision is more limited than the surface suggests.
This is already coming to fruition with West Coast Pro Wrestling’s owner Scott Bregante remarking of the situation “Working with talent on an independent level, after clearing everything, and doing business, only to have said talent pulled after the fact, high or low profile, gives me zero reason to work with anyone from said company making said arrangements.” With WWE’s deal with TNA locked in it is hard to see TNA crying into their cornflakes over this right now, but for TNA talent it demonstrates a potential future resistance to the company’s workers being booked for crucial independent dates, which could worsen their possible takings.
I would question whether talents eyeing up future contracts would be willing to go to TNA over, say, AEW who have demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with other promotions in a way TNA are publicly showing themselves unwilling to do. In his press conference for AEW Dynasty Tony Khan seized the opportunity to play up his own relationships with New Japan and CMLL and express confusion at the decision from TNA to pull the matches. Those relationships are certainly imperfect, but this display will do little to endear fans or promoters to the idea that TNA is a welcoming and forthcoming place for displaced talent to seek refuge, especially with the wealth of collaborative options available elsewhere in the industry
What Could TNA Stars Lose?
If this decision is indicative of a blanket ban on the interpromotional relationship between TNA and AEW then the most affected party will almost certainly be the talent. Many younger stars like the recently debuted Ricky Sosa could gain so much from the additional exposure against a variety of big name stars in their native independents. While some, like Leon Slater, will no doubt get huge opportunities against top WWE stars in the future, WWE seems to see many TNA stars’ ceiling as bodies for NXT talent or low-level main roster talent to defeat.”
Those such as Moose, Mustafa Ali, Rosemary, and Kazarian may all be veterans at this stage, but they can still develop their own standing and reputation, and WWE shows no interest in using them as main roster acts.. Yet this decision has or could freeze them out of massive paydays elsewhere, instead consigning them to a ceiling of NXT if they wish to branch beyond TNA’s borders.
This is not mutually exclusive to talent benefit either. I honestly believe allowing Nemeth and MJF’s match to go ahead would, quite the opposite to damaging Nemeth’s stock, instead put his name in the spotlight in a way that, with utmost respect to his talented new opponent, Bear Bronson is unlikely to do. Nemeth, who is currently in a program with AJ Francis heading into Rebellion, could’ve benefitted hugely from the additional publicity already raised by the match even in defeat. Nemeth already has name value and can still go at a high level, so an encounter of that magnitude would’ve reminded people of his talent and hopefully brought fans back to TNA, raising Nemeth’s domestic stock within the company further. Instead he is returning to a program that, while I’m sure will be fine, won’t scratch the sides of the potential exposure left on the table.
Conclusion
Whoever is responsible for severing TNA’s ties, I believe TNA itself will be the biggest loser in this situation, as I cannot imagine it imposed this restriction on its own talent and prospects without influence from another party, a point the company’s president has all but confirmed. I fear the result will damage TNA’s reputation in the wrestling sphere, which is crucial if this partnership breaks down, as well as its image for future prospects and potential defectors.
I struggle to foresee enough benefit for TNA and its alliances in WWE to make up for the potential setbacks. Most of all, it sucks for fans who want to see top quality wrestling, as we have lost out on current and future dream matches. With those prospects shattered, let’s hope Rebellion delivers a top quality product, otherwise TNA could quickly find itself in a sticky situation in and out of the ring.
