Former TNA Wrestling Scott D’Amore spoke with PWInsider.com on several topics, including starting Maple Leaf Pro.
D’Amore said, “I’d been quietly working on this project for years. It was always there. I just never had time to focus on it. One of the unexpected blessings of being dismissed was finally having the space to breathe life into this vision… I’ve done upstarts before, but always on a shoestring indie level. With MLP, the goal was always broadcast-level. It had to look professional, clean, polished. That’s why I brought in people like Tim Wahlberg, Keith Mitchell, Kevin Sullivan—guys who have helped build wrestling television for decades.”
On MLP Forged in Excellence being compared to TNA in look and feel:
“The building was one we used for TNA. The ring was one we used in Impact. And yeah, I built the production model there. So, of course, there’s gonna be echoes of it. But we’re trying to carve out something different… When your biggest critique is that it looked like TNA TV in 2010? I’ll take that. It means we’re already operating on a high level.”
On wanting to spotlight Canadian wrestlers:
“I nearly had my career ended before it even began because of a U.S. immigration issue. I couldn’t cross the border for over a year and a half. If I had been found guilty at the time, it would’ve been a two-year ban. Now it’s five… I know how hard it is for Canadians to break in. You can’t just show up in the U.S.—you need a visa, and to get one, you need to be ‘internationally acclaimed.’ But how do you get acclaimed if no one gives you the chance? Our mandate is to feature Canadian talent side-by-side with the best from around the world—Americans, Japanese, Europeans, Latinos, everyone. The only way to raise the bar is to be in the ring with people who challenge you.”
On Bret Hart being an inspiration:
“Bret helped open doors for guys like Edge and Christian when he didn’t have to. That stuck with me. I’m no Bret Hart, but I can pay it forward in my own way.”
On his vision for MLP’s schedule:
“We’re looking at doing somewhere between two and six ‘tentpole’ events a year. Think our versions of WrestleMania, Bound For Glory, Royal Rumble… Not every event has to be a giant TV production. We want to run smaller cards across Canada—Calgary, Vancouver, you name it. Bring the MLP name to people coast to coast.”
On potential broadcast deals:
“Our shows are officially classified as Canadian content. That means we meet the federal requirements for broadcasters, which is huge here. It opens the door to streamers and networks who are mandated to feature Canadian programming.”
On what the company can do to improve from their first shows:
“Production-wise, we did really well for a first-time crew. But we had hiccups—missed cues, traffic issues. And to be honest, we didn’t support Mauro Ranallo enough. He’s the best play-by-play guy in all of combat sports, period. We’ve got to give him better prep, better flow… The wrestling was great, but a lot of it was high-speed, high-flying matches. We want more balance—mat wrestling, big men slugfests, world title-style storytelling. That’s why bringing in someone like Tom Latimer for the NWA title match [on the second round of shows] gave us a different flavor.”
