TNA Happy With Slammiversary, Latest On Creative Shake-Up (TNA News)
TNA "very happy" with Slammiversary and the reception to it.
After a tumultuous few weeks for TNA, things seem to finally be going in a more positive direction for the Anthem outlet.
Of course, earlier this month saw the departures of Tommy Dreamer, Sami Callihan, Tessa Blanchard, Steve Maclin, and Myla Grace. The Dreamer exit was initially stated as a mutual decision by both parties, but subsequent reports note that TNA chose to let Tommy go from his role as Head of Creative and Talent Relations after plentiful creative unrest amongst talent. Likewise, Callihan, who had been working backstage and with marketing since retiring from the ring last year, was fired, receiving a call that he thought was to offer him a spot on the creative team, only to be told he was being let go. In the case of Blanchard, Maclin, and Grace, all three requested and were granted their releases, with Tessa being asked to choose between her TNA and CMLL commitments, and various reports that Maclin was frustrated with the creative direction of the company and its pay structure.
So, with TNA Slammiversary this past Sunday, it was hoped that PPV would usher in somewhat of a new era for the promotion. And to be fair, it actually delivered pretty strongly from top to bottom, including a fantastic opening Ultimate X match, a brilliant Mustafa Ali vs. Rich Swann vs. Uhaa Nation (fka Apollo Crews) for the International Title, and a great main event where Nic Nemeth dethroned Mike Santana for the TNA World Championship.
On Slammiversary, Fightful Select reports that, from TNA sources they'd spoken to, the company was "very happy" with how things went at the PPV and with the reception to it.
Fightful also has a little more information on how things now look for the TNA creative team. As previously noted, Hunter Johnston, aka Delirious, has become the new Head of Creative, and one long-time TNA name was excited to see what Johnston would do in that role. A source also said that Johnston was never in danger of being let go with Tommy Dreamer, as Hunter wasn't viewed as part of the company's "creative problems."
Responsible for the recent AJ Francis segment that was extremely well received, Eric Tompkins is stepping up to have a larger role in TNA's creative direction, too, with TNA talent telling Fightful that Tompkins had contributed to "a ton" of other segments over the years.
As for the reported arrival of Brian 'Road Dogg' James on the TNA creative team, Fightful notes that it had been "planned for quite some time", and certain past TNA regimes had spoken well of James and thought he'd be a good fit for TNA if he became available. While Road Dogg was backstage at Slammiversary, it's not known whether he actually contributed to the creative of the event.