This week’s changes at TNA, and the ongoing international wrestling “war” going on between WWE and AEW, CMLL & their partners, have made the currently-Anthem-owned WWE-partner promotion the subject of a lot of talk this week…
What is TNA’s recent shake-up leading to?
TNA and its Canadian parent company position their recent roster and backstage departures as a “workforce reduction” that would be a net positive operational, strategically, and of course to the bottom line.
One of the biggest names tied to TNA agreed. Matt Hardy said on his Extreme
Life pod that talent is leaving TNA “because they’re being offered per-night deals”. That’s happening as a result of president Carlos Silva doing his job, which per Hardy, “love him or hate him, is to streamline money and make the company profitable and maximize profit as much as you can.”
Sami Callihan, one of this week’s departures along with Tessa Blanchard and Tommy Dreamer, agrees that’s Silva’s job. But Callihan told Busted Open he believes the reason he was let go was a straight-up “money thing” despite the fact he “probably should have made more” for the amount of work he did coaching, producing, and promoting Impact and TNA’s PPVs. Sami says his firing came about because “the company lost a lot of money.”
Hardy disputes that, and addressed the speculation TNA’s cost-cutting could be in advance of WWE buying the company as it did Lucha Libre AAA last year:
“So financially, TNA is okay. We’re not about to be bought by WWE right now. I know that’s the rumor. I think down the road in a few years that [could] happen, whatever. But right now that is not happening.”
But it does look like long-time WWE employee Brian “Road Dogg” James (who is also a friend of current WWE execs Triple H & Shawn Michaels) could be taking Dreamer’s place in TNA creative. And it seems like Silva may have been working on that move before he let anyone go this week, and with WWE’s encouragement. Those notions come from this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, where Dave Meltzer wrote:
It was known that Brian James and TNA officials were talking, but nobody knew it was Dreamer’s position he was going to take, only that he would be added to the team. One person in WWE noted to me that James was a “very fundamentals style booker, which would do that product a lot of good. He’s enthusiastic when he deals with talent, which is also a positive.”
Meanwhile, always level-headed pundit Eric Bischoff said on his 83 weeks show that not only does he no longer think TNA will pass AEW to become “the number two wrestling company”, he now thinks the seemingly unsinkable promotion is finally about to go down:
“WWE jumped in, tons of talent and press, oh my gosh, new TV deal — yes, I believed at that point TNA could become the #2 organization under those circumstances. Clearly those circumstances don’t exist. What does it say to me? One step closer to the grave.”
More rumors!
- Speaking of Bischoff and WWE acquiring properties, last week’s WON noted that some believe the Real American Freestyle shoot wrestling promotion Bischoff started with Hulk Hogan last year is designed “to get enough buzz for TKO or somebody else to purchase it and the people starting it will make their money at that point.”
- Former TNA World champ Mike Santana’s exit has been rumored, with WWE said to be interested in signing him. PWInsider recently specified that Santana’s TNA deal is up in “mid-July”. WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select also heard that WWE’s keeping tabs on Santana; it’s not clear what brand he’d start on, but the hope would be to have him on Raw or SmackDown by the end of this year.
- Matt Sydal hasn’t been seen in AEW since losing to Konosuke Takeshita on a May 2024 episode of Dynamite, as the former Evan Bourne had surgery to repair on old motorcycle injury not long after his last AEW match and only wrestled twice last year. There’s no set plan or timeframe for Sydal’s return, but PWInsider says AEW officials have talked recently about bringing the high-flying veteran back.
- Forbidden Door props are up at sites like betonline. Thekla, Cage & Cope, Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and Team Briscoe all opened as favorites at the June 28 AEW/New Japan/CMLL/Stardom PPV.
Mull over TNA’s future, or any of these rumors in the comments below. You can also always offer your takes to your fellow wrestling fans in The Feed!
