Report: TNA may pull back on its wrestlers working with AEW talent
There is growing concern that TNA Wrestling may be pulling back on allowing its talent to work with wrestlers from other companies at independent shows.
Multiple reports on Wednesday indicate that TNA’s Moose has been pulled from Maple Leaf Pro’s Multiverse event on Friday, April 18, and that changes could be made to other shows during WrestleMania week as well. Moose is said to have received approval from TNA Wrestling to appear before the company later reversed that decision. It is believed he would have worked with talent from another promotion, likely AEW.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider wrote that “the rumblings” in recent days suggest TNA has had a change of heart about allowing its wrestlers to work with talent from other companies.
Fightful Select published a similar report Wednesday, also stating that Moose had been pulled from the Maple Leaf Pro show after previously being approved. According to Fightful, “sources familiar with the situation” believe it is possible TNA could move toward not permitting its contracted wrestlers to face AEW talent at all.
The report also noted that Nic Nemeth is pushing for his scheduled match against AEW World Champion MJF at Create A Pro Wrestling’s May 1 event to still take place.
Other matches scheduled for WrestleMania week featuring TNA and AEW talent include Leon Slater vs. Ricochet at the Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow on April 16.
Fightful added that “people close to MLP” indicated TNA president Carlos Silva was unhappy about AEW airing Collision opposite Impact last Thursday night due to NCAA basketball coverage.
Moose previously said in an interview last September that he had been unable to work Maple Leaf Pro events due to the promotion’s relationship with AEW.
Moose said:
“I talk to him (Scott D’Amore) at least once every other week, maybe once a month. He’s doing great. He has his new fed, Maple Leaf Pro. They’re doing awesome. I wish I could work for them but you know how business is with the whole TNA. They have a relationship with AEW. We’re in competition with AEW so you know how all that whole nonsense goes.”
Those comments were later pushed back on publicly by TNA president Carlos Silva, who wrote to our own Dave Meltzer:
“Thanks Dave. Moose knows. And all is good! Scott can call me anytime. He knows that too.”
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.