As PWMania.com previously reported, TNA Wrestling announced on Wednesday that Scott D’Amore has stepped down as TNA President, and Anthony Cicione will take his place.
This afternoon, management and talent met to share the news and introduce the new President, who will oversee day-to-day operations.
Anthem’s head, Len Asper, was also on the call. Many stars claimed that management said D’Amore had “stepped down” from the company, but this was not the case. In its media statement, the company explicitly stated that this was not the case.
According to PWInsider, several wrestlers informed them that this did not sit well with some of the talents, with one stating, “This wasn’t the way to start” a relationship with talent. Several wrestlers have a close relationship with D’Amore and most enjoy working with him.
Cicone read what was described as a “prepared statement,” which some people disliked while others recognized that he was in a no-win situation. Nothing specific was said about creative going forward, though the rest of the creative team besides Scott D’Amore remains with the company.
The meeting did not allow talents to ask questions, which we can confirm irritated some talents about the changes. When talents learned of D’Amore’s departure before Anthem executives arrived, they were furious with some of them. One TNA personality stated that Anthem “had a lot of work to do” moving forward.
According to one story, Anthem wanted TNA to be more in line with the parent company in the future because they felt the brand had been too “D’Amore-centric with Scott as the face of the company.”
