Former TNA President Scott D'Amore Announces Return With Relaunch Of Old Promotion
2024 has surely not been the year Scott D'Amore envisioned it to be. The former TNA President was fired from the promotion in February, a move that sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling industry and left TNA in an uncertain state, though the promotion has seemingly rebounded thanks to a partnership with "WWE NXT." D'Amore has been out of the public eye since then, with many wondering what his next move would be.
As it turns out, his next move is to bring back a long dead promotion from the territory days. On Thursday, D'Amore announced the relaunch of Maple Leaf Wrestling, with himself as President, as Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. The promotion will hold back to back shows, titled "Forged In Excellence" October 19 and 20 at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, with TNA stars Josh Alexander, Gisele Shaw, and Jake Something, New Japan star KUSHIDA, Raj Dhesi and Trevor Lee (former WWE stars Jinder Mahal and Cameron Grimes) and more announced.
"For six decades, Maple Leaf Wrestling hosted a who's who of the world's greatest wrestlers," D'Amore said in a statement. "Legends like Lou Thesz, Bruno Sammartino, Ric Flair, Andre the Giant and Rowdy Roddy Piper all competed in Maple Leaf. Now, we're bringing that legacy back with modern-day legends from WWE, New Japan, TNA, AEW and beyond."
Founded in 1930 by Jack Corocan, Maple Leaf Wrestling would later become known for being run by the Tunney family, and serving as a Canadian territory for the NWA from 1948 to 1984, when it was sold and absorbed into WWE. Resurrecting the promotion appears to have been on D'Amore's mind for a little while, as he had filed to trademark "Maple Leaf Wrestling" back in May.