Scott D'Amore Reportedly Pushed For Bigger TNA Budget, Wanted To Sign WWE Star

Anthem Sports & Entertainment announced earlier this week that Scott D'Amore had been fired as TNA President. While the reason for his dismissal has yet to be disclosed, Dave Meltzer wrote in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that a source close to D'Amore revealed the Canadian had been pressing Anthem for a larger budget for several years. D'Amore, who had been working with TNA since 2003 in various leadership roles, reportedly clashed with management several times over the years regarding the promotion's funds. Furthermore, Meltzer mentioned that "there had been threats to quit," but Anthem saw D'Amore as a key individual they didn't want to lose.

One scenario D'Amore reportedly became frustrated with was ahead of Bound for Glory 2021, where an agreement was supposedly in place to bring in former WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman. The promotion was set to dub the event "Braun for Glory." However, Anthem ultimately pulled the plug because of Strowman's "too high" asking price and their belief that "The Monster Among Men" would not improve TNA's business. Strowman returned to WWE the following year.

D'Amore has since been replaced by Anthony Cicione, who is also President of Anthem. According to the statement released by TNA on Wednesday, the move to terminate D'Amore's deal and assign Cicione the role of President was made to "further integrate TNA Wrestling into Anthem's Entertainment Group." Cicione, who was involved in bringing WWE to Canadian channel The Score several years ago, will now be managing the day-to-day operations of TNA.