Scott D’Amore Fired As TNA President By Anthem Sports, TNA Stars Pays Tribute & Bid Farewell To D’Amore

Another shake-up has taken place in the world of pro wrestling. TNA Wrestling President Scott D’Amore has been let go, with Anthony Cicione of TNA’s parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment, Inc. taking over as the new President. The company’s press release states that the intent is to further integrate TNA into Anthem’s Entertainment Group, which Cicione is already the President of.

According to a report from PWInsider, it is believed that the decision came directly from Anthem’s owner, Len Asper. As echoed by the official statement, Anthem management will be taking on a larger role in the day-to-day operations of TNA, with Cicione leading that charge.

D’Amore’s termination comes less than a month after the company changed its branding from Impact Wrestling back to TNA, its original moniker. With the relaunch, the company has brokered a great deal of goodwill with fans, making D’Amore’s exit all the more surprising. According to an update on the matter from Fightful Select, Anthem management met with TNA talent over Zoom this afternoon. The report also quoted one talent who understood the reasoning behind the change but credited D’Amore with saving the promotion.

In contrast with D’Amore, Cicione has no direct experience working in the professional wrestling industry. The Anthem press release touted his history of “executive-level management experience,” specifically referring to cable and digital channels. It remains to be seen if the company intends to keep Cicione in charge of TNA long-term or if he will be managing the promotion until Anthem finds a suitable replacement.

Similarly unknown is how the company intends to handle the creative process moving forward. In addition to his management duties, D’Amore was previously a key part of the team in charge of booking TNA’s TV shows and pay-per-views.

Some talent such as Brian Myers crediting D’Amore for helping save the company from closing entirely. Since his termination, many members of the TNA roster have spoken out in support of D’Amore.

“The incredibly painstaking, tedious, and difficult work that [Scott D’Amore] has put in to bring [TNA] to this very exciting moment in time, cannot be understated,” said TNA star Frankie Kazarian. “We all, wrestlers and fans alike, owe him a debt of gratitude.”

TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace, who recently appeared in the WWE Royal Rumble, posted a picture of herself and D’Amore. Grace also called the former executive the “heart and soul” of the promotion.

Former Impact World Champion Steve Maclin posted a picture of himself with D’Amore presenting him with the title belt after a particularly bloody victory. Meanwhile, TNA star Alex Zayne thanked D’Amore for both the opportunities he gave Zayne personally as well as everything he’s done for wrestling as a whole.

“Not all people in leadership roles are leaders,” said Jody Threat. “[Scott D’Amore] was a leader. [Honored] to have been led by him. Thank you for everything.”

TNA star Jake Something posted a video of himself talking about D’Amore and his impact on Something’s career. The wrestler stated that he was “proud to be a Scott D’Amore guy.” Referee Brandon Tolle also referred to himself in the same manner while thanking D’Amore for the opportunities he provided.

Wrestler-turned-announcer Jade Chung posted a series of pictures of D’Amore, including a shot of D’Amore sitting behind the backstage monitors with a young child, presumably his own. Another former Impact World Champion, Josh Alexander, also posted a picture of himself in the ring with D’Amore. Alexander thanked the company’s former President and referred to him simply as “coach.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AEW Dynamite Preview 2/7/2024

AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS from the Footrpint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

  • Tony Khan will make a big announcement
  • AEW Tag Team Championship – Tornado Tag: Ricky Starks and Big Bill (c) vs. Sting and Darby Allin
  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Chris Jericho
  • Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page. The winner will receive an AEW World Title opportunity at Revolution on March 3.
  • Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson vs. CMLL stars Mascara Dorada, Hechicero, and Volador Jr.
  • AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Red Velvet. Deonna Purrazzo will be on commentary

Jeff Jarrett Reacts To The Passing Of Toby Keith

WWE, TNA Hall of Famer and AEW star Jeff Jarrett took to social media to share his thoughts on the passing of his friend Toby Keith.

“I don’t believe in coincidences…only convergences. I woke up at 4am to a message on my phone of Toby’s passing. I just finished my media day in Huntsville, Alabama — for an event in the same arena where I busted his song and he suplexed me on TNA’s 1st ppv. The reason I tell this story is to explain what a friend Toby was to me — after he had already committed to my show, he was asked by the President of the USA to come to the White House to perform his new smash hit, Angry American, on the day of the event, June 19, 2002.

Toby said a “diplomatically no” to them.

Toby was a man of his word, honor and integrity to his core, and I’ll never have a friend like him again.

T, love you my friend, Rest in Peace…”

Country singer Toby Keith died Monday night at age 62, more than two years after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Booker T Addresses Being Sidelined With Medical Procedure

Booker T, on his latest Hall Of Fame podcast, talked about missing WWE NXT Vengeance Day and being replaced by Wade Barrett due to a medical issue.

He will also miss a few weeks of NXT TV. He said,

“First of all, I want to thank everybody for all of the support and all the well wishes, telling me to get well and get back on track. I’m going to get back as soon as I can. I’m going to take a couple weeks off, but rest assured, I will be back live and and in living color, doing it like it’s supposed to be done, but I’m going to take these days off to relax. I’m relaxing.

“I had a medical procedure. I don’t like putting my business out there. If I was dying, I’ll let you guys know. I ain’t dying, I ain’t dead yet or anything like that. It is something that’s going to keep me down for a couple of weeks. I don’t like being down. I like being on the go and working out. That’s been my thing for forever, being able to get up in the morning and being able to train. Before I go to bed at night, getting in the gym to train. This last month or so, I haven’t been able to do that. Right now, I’m on my way back to getting to that point. I feel good. I’m sore as hell. I feel good. I hate I missed Vengeance Day. The action was action packed. I was sitting and listening, and it just didn’t have the same feel. Wade [Wade Barrett] didn’t have enough rhythm, especially to his cadence. As far as the show goes, awesome show.”

Source: eWn

WWE NXT Preview 2/6/2024

Tonight’s episode of WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Performance Center Live on the USA Network: 

  • Fallout from Vengeance Day
  • Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic celebration
  • Carmelo Hayes to explain why he attacked Trick Williams
  • Lexis King vs. Riley Osborne
  • Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade
  • Lola Vice vs. Roxanne Perez

CM Punk Underwent Successful Surgery

CM Punk recently underwent successful surgery for a torn triceps.

On Monday’s episode of WWE RAW, a video package aired confirming that Punk underwent surgery on his triceps.

You can check out the video package below:

Is The Rock vs. Roman Reigns Still Planned For WrestleMania 40?

Here is the very latest on the plans involving The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Please just keep in mind while reading this that the situation is fluid at this point and more will be known on Thursday at the press conference in Las Vegas, NV.

According to a report from Pwinsider, multiple sources claim that The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is still “100% the plan” for WrestleMania 40 despite the strong negative reaction from fans online.

The report states that the match is a “done deal” and is likely “contractually locked in” due to the fact that this is one of the things that was agreed upon with The Rock being appointed to the TKO Board of Directors.

One source went as far as to say there is “no scenario” where The Rock is not facing Roman Reigns short of something like an injury happening. Could they do The Rock vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 (Night One) and Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns (Night Two)? Of course – but that wasn’t the plan as of Monday afternoon.

It is said that Brian Gewirtz, who works closely with The Rock, is expected to be at all major WWE events going forward. This includes the Elimination Chamber 2024 pay-per-view event. He’s also expected to be part of the creative process heading into WrestleMania 40.

While it is said that WWE “definitely took notice” of the reaction Cody Rhodes received, there are several in the company who have pushed for WWE to lean into the situation. The belief internally is that this will all make Rhodes a stronger babyface by playing up the fan support for him. With that being said, there were never any plans to turn The Rock heel or have it come off as if he was taking Rhodes’ spot in a malicious way.

The company can obviously adjust things week-by-week in order to “make it make sense,” as we’re still 61 days away from WrestleMania 40 so there’s plenty of time to change the fan perception.

There are some who believe that with the initial shock of The Rock’s appearance wearing off, the creative team can now work on building everyone as strongly as possible going into the “Showcase of the Immortals.”

It is said that there isn’t a single person in WWE who wants this to hurt Rhodes, as they know how important he is to the company. This includes live events and merchandise sales.

While there were some reports of Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns in a World Heavyweight Title vs. Undisputed WWE Universal Title match taking place at SummerSlam 2024, that is all speculation at this point. That would be six months out and creative is not even being discussed for that show at this point.

Finally, Triple H retweeted the following video of NFL star George Kittle after RAW, seemingly indicating that The Rock could be the special guest referee for a match between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns at WrestleMamia 40. They’re certainty keeping the fans guessing these days as they attempt to pivot away from the negative press involving Vince McMahon.

https://twitter.com/TripleH/status/1754732325869441087

Source: eWn

Cody Rhodes Responds To Fans Booing The Rock Over WWE WrestleMania Match: ‘Trust Me’

It’s only been a few days since Cody Rhodes indicated he’d be passing up a WrestleMania rematch against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, seemingly ceding his spot to The Rock, but the wrestling world has been absolutely on fire over the notion since and Rhodes hasn’t said much in the interim. Tonight, following chants of “Rocky sucks” and “We want Cody” as he interacted with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre on “WWE Raw,” Rhodes took to X to offer fans a bit of comfort.

Friday on “SmackDown,” Rhodes confronted Reigns for the first time since WrestleMania 39 (excusing a brief fly-by on the ramp last year), with fans hoping for “The American Nightmare” to confirm that he and “The Tribal Chief” would indeed be running things back as he attempted once more to “finish the story.” Instead, while he said he was still coming for Reigns and that he wanted to take everything from him, it wasn’t going to be at WrestleMania. Rhodes explained that he’d sought counsel from legends and one in particular who knows Reigns very well, which prompted The Rock’s iconic entrance music.

While the live crowd in Birmingham, Alabama seemed to initially respond positively as that show ended in a staredown between Rock and Reigns, fans took to the internet to voice their displeasure, creating the #WeWantCody hashtag and otherwise voicing their displeasure far and wide, along with many wrestling pundits echoing their sentiments. Still, with a shade over two months left until WrestleMania 40 — and WWE possibly testing fan reactions even still — perhaps trusting Rhodes is indeed the smart move for now.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

I believe we will have definite answers on Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania opponent and more on The Rock vs. Roman Reigns at the WrestleMania 40 Press event this Thursday night in Las Vegas.

WWE RAW Preview 2/5/2024

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

  • Fatal 4-Way Match: DIY vs. The Creed Brothers vs. Imperium vs. New Day – (The team that wins the Fatal 4-Way four-way will go to square off against Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne on Friday episode of WWE SmackDown. Bate and Dunne were victorious in a No. 1 contenders Tag Team Match on this past Friday’s SmackDown. The winning tag team will then move on to challenge Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships at Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia on Saturday, February 24.)
  • Gunther celebrates being WWE Intercontinental Champion for 600 days. (Today has been the champion for 605 days).
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) (c) vs. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter
  • The Miz vs. JD McDonagh
  • Mixed Tag Team Match: Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivar and Valhalla
  • Bull Rope Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

AEW’s Chris Jericho Set To Star In New Psychological Thriller “Self Storage”

According to a new report from Variety, AEW star Chris Jericho is teaming up with author and filmmaker Jay Bonansinga for a new psychological thriller “Self Storage.” Jericho will also have a key supporting role in the film.

Variety also notes the film is based on Bonansinga’s 2016 novel with the same name.

Per the report, the synopsis of the film will center around a heroin-addicted father and his son who accidentally lock themselves inside a self-storage unit. Surviving will depend on a battle with demons both real and manufactured by drug withdrawal.

The lead character named John Fitzgerald is scheduled to be played by Lew Temple (“The Walking Dead,” “The Devil’s Rejects”). Bonansinga, who previously directed the short “City of Men” (1988) and feature “Stash” (2007), will direct from his own script.

“Self Storage” will be executive produced by Jericho’s Babyface Assassin Productions and alongside Bonansinga, Jeff Siegel for Delirium Tremens, and Jason Cherubini for Dawn’s Light.

Source: WrestleView