Former TNA Wrestling President and Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling owner Scott D’Amore spoke with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp about several topics, including providing a platform for Canadian talent.
D’Amore said, “I think that’s a great question and that gets to the core of our mission statement or mandate and that is we want to provide a platform specifically for Canadians, but also for other people from anywhere in the world to go out there and to get an opportunity to showcase their talents for people to see. Because when you are outside of the United States, it’s so hard to get opportunities at times in this industry. So this is a chance without all of the immigration hurdles and all the troubles that come with that to be on a platform, that I’m very proud that we’re putting together, that it is really getting eyeballs and getting people talking about it and watching it so that we can showcase that young talent and also develop it, right?”
On the crew who works the shows:
“That’s why we have so many good people behind the scenes, both working on the wrestling side and the production side to help tutor, mentor and help this talent, this next generation of talent get TV ready. I think you have to find the right combination. People want to see established stars, they want to see stars within their prime and then they want to see the up and comers.”
On putting together Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling’s roster:
“One of the things we found over the years is that people really love, after the fact, and you probably know this Sean to be able to say, ‘I saw so and so when…’ So like when you look at this event and you look at Kaito Kiyomiya, who’s the Ace of NOAH, three time GHC Champion and had that feud with Okada last year. Here he comes back. This is a return for him because this is the guy who lived here in Windsor. If you were around in 2017 / 2018, you saw Kaito Kiyomiya when he was just starting out as a teenager. Same thing with Kushida, right? If you were here in 2007 / 2008, you got to see Kushida when he was just a baby. To me, it’s so hard. I see Kushida and in my brain he’s still this 20-year-old kid, but really, he’s an adult. He’s a man. He’s a husband. He’s a father. But these wrestlers who cut their teeth here years ago come back and help provide the platform and help teach and elevate the young talent. So for every Mike Rollins you have, for every Michael Allen Richard Clark, every Kevin Knight, as you mentioned, these young guys, you wanna have people that have been there and are still there, and you wanna have people that have real knowledge in and out of the ring. So having a guy like Bishop Dyer, who formerly Baron Corbin coming here in one of his first big matches since leaving WWE, that’s huge. Having a guy like Billy Gunn, who’s been around for decades now and seen so much and has a mind for teaching and mentoring. Having him around is so helpful.”
On the mix of talent on the roster and backstage:
“Just like it’s helpful to have a Vice President like QT Marshall here, not just wrestling, but keeping an eye on talent and helping and having it called by Mauro Ranallo and Don Callis. I think it’s a great mix when you have guys that have been there, done that, and are kind of looking more so at just kind of like having fun in the, I’ll say, the latter third of their career, and having guys like Kaito and Bishop Dyer / Baron Corbin, who are in their prime, and having up-and- comers, Zoe Sager, and Bhupinder Gujjar, and like you said, Kevin Knight, and all these people that are just coming up, and you’re just gonna see more and more from them over the next five and 10 years. To me, it’s really when we do wrestling, like Jimmy Hart told me years ago, wrestling is like the circus. There’s something for everybody and you may like the acrobat. Somebody else may like the person being shot out of the cannon. Somebody else may like the clown car. But we just find ways to entertain people and have fun and hopefully when we’re doing it right, create moments that people remember and cherish.”
You can check out D’Amore’s comments in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
