Former TNA President Scott D’Amore spoke with Fightful on a number of topics, including how he has a good relationship with AEW.
D’Amore said, “I have a good relationship with AEW over a lot of years, just like I’ve had with most companies out there. It was a matter of going there, and when we approached AEW about having talent on the show, we made a talent request, Athena being one of them, and it was a pretty simple request to have the title. I think they looked at it and saw Gisele Shaw, a worthy opponent, and a great opportunity to showcase the Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship outside of that box. Getting that a title match was pretty seamless. With the International Title and Takeshita, it came together pretty quick. Takeshita won the title and it was, ‘Would you be interested in something like that?’ I love having collaboration like that. Obviously, if someone says, ‘Do you want one of the hottest stars in wrestling right now, who is already appearing on your show, to defend this newly won title where he just beat arguably the greatest wrestler on the planet right now in Will Ospreay?’ Yeah, I think we’re okay with that.”
On working with other promotions:
“I’ve said for a long time that in wrestling, collaboration is key. When wrestling companies work together for a mutually beneficial outcome, it’s not just a win-win, it’s a win-win-win. Both sides win and the fans win. The WWE stuff was great to be involved in and I’m honored to have played a role in that. If you look at traditional Maple Leaf Wrestling, it was one of those places where it was mutual ground. AWA, NWA, WWWF, everybody came to Maple Gardens. With this relaunch with Maple Leaf Pro, it’s a great chance to continue that tradition that Maple Leaf Wrestling had in its previous existence. With Maple Leaf Pro, we put a new spin on it and we’re excited. You have Takeshita defending the International Title that he just won at WrestleDream. Athena, who is unbelievable, defending the Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship. Classy Ali and QPW. We have things we’re working out with Australia and OPW. Building relationships worldwide gives you the opportunity to….our mandate is Canadian wrestling. If you look at this card, it’s 50%, maybe slightly more, Canadian. It’s pretty close to even breakdown because we want to give Canadian talent and opportunity to stand side by side and compete with the best in the world, and we want to do it on a grand stage with proper oversight, production, and everything else. That’s our mandate here. Beyond that, with collaboration, we can help give opportunities to our talent here, in Australia, Qatar, and other places in the world. Same goes for there, having Classy Ali compete at Forged in Excellence is a great opportunity for him. As we build this relationship, the Pro Wrestling Alliance will grow and start to take shape in 2025. It’s the opportunity to give people outside of the US — in the US, if you’re going to be a star, you have to be in the US. To get into the US as a wrestler, there is a giant hurdle when it comes to immigration. Events like this, collaboration, and building that portfolio is what is going to help talent overcome that hurdle. We look to be a huge part of that.”
You can check out D’Amore’s comments in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
