Steph De Lander on TNA exit: ‘They made a personal decision’
Steph De Lander spoke about her departure from TNA Wrestling in a new interview.
De Lander told TMZ on Thursday that TNA president Carlos Silva informed her on Monday that the company was not going to allow her to wrestle again in the promotion following her spinal fusion surgery in October 2024. She added that her surgeon has fully cleared her to return.
“I actually went to WWE’s spinal surgeon to do the surgeries and I got clearance a few weeks ago,” she said.
“I received a phone call on Monday of this week that basically they never wanted to let me wrestle at TNA again. They just didn’t feel comfortable with that. So then I made the decision to leave, and my husband did too in solidarity.”
De Lander said TNA made the call that they were not comfortable with her wrestling again without evaluating her medical history or speaking with her surgeon.
“I was like, ‘Well, I’m literally fully cleared.’ And he said, ‘Yep, not into it.’ And then I asked, ‘Do you know what my injury is?’ And he didn’t know. He couldn’t tell me what my injury was.”
“It’s definitely based off personal feelings. I have not been evaluated by any medical professional on the TNA end.”
“They haven’t evaluated my medical history. They haven’t contacted my surgeon. They haven’t looked at any of my medical stuff. It’s just they made a personal decision.”
De Lander also mentioned during the interview that she had a second surgery that was not previously known, saying that her surgeon “wanted to put a little more hardware” in her neck. She said she paid for both of her surgeries and physical therapy.
“I’ve paid for both of my surgeries. I paid for PT for both of them.”
“My insurance maxed out, so I currently have a $9,000 Advent Health bill sitting there.”
De Lander also mentioned that she had a one-level fusion, something many wrestlers have had before making full recoveries and returning to the ring.
“I had a one level cervical spinal fusion of my C5-C6 vertebrae which is like the most basic straightforward neck injury that so many wrestlers in WWE and AEW have had before fully recovered and returned to the ring.”
“I did not break my neck. That’s not what happened,” she added.
De Lander’s full conversation with TMZ is available below:
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.