Anthem Fires TNA President Scott D'Amore
In a hugely surprising move, Scott D'Amore has been fired from his role as TNA President.
With TNA Wrestling riding a huge wave of positivity lately, it comes as a major shock to hear that Anthem has fired Scott D'Amore. D'Amore had been serving as TNA President since March 2023.
Via PWInsider, Anthem Sports and Entertainment - the parent company of TNA - has released D'Amore, with this decision said to have been made by Anthem owner Len Asper. Anthem is looking to become more hands-on and involved in the day-to-day management and strategies of TNA, and the promotion will now be folded into Anthem's entertainment arm rather than TNA existing somewhat on its own.
The idea behind this is that TNA would be "embraced" more by Anthem and be more in-line with the wider synergy of the company in a way that should maximise what both parties bring to the table. As part of this, Scott D'Amore has unfortunately been removed from his position and released, effective immediately. In his place, Anthem President of Entertainment Anthony Cicone has been named the new President of TNA Wrestling.
TNA wrestlers and staff were addressed on this matter yesterday during a Zoom call. While it was said that D'Amore stepped down from his role, that wasn't the case. That suggestion wasn't received well by talent, and neither was them not being afforded the opportunity to ask questions during this call. Some talents were "extremely angry" about D'Amore's firing, while others are taking a more wait-and-see approach.
While he'd served as President since March 2023, Scott D'Amore's history with TNA goes back a lot further than that. This most recent stint with the organisation dates back to 2017, when Jeff Jarrett brought D'Amore into the fold as the Vice President of International Relations. The Canadian would later become Head of Creative and an Executive Vice President. Prior to all of that, D'Amore was a regular presence in TNA between 2003 and 2010, both as a wrestler and as a backstage agent.
Of course, this comes on the heels of Impact Wrestling being rebranded as TNA Wrestling, the Hard to Kill PPV being one of the company's most successful weekends in years, the arrivals of Nic Nemeth/Dolph Ziggler and Ash by Elegance/Dana Brooke, the hugely positive response to recent TNA TV, and the buzz caused by TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace being a part of the WWE Royal Rumble.
The Anthem statement on this situation reads as below:
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc., a global multi-platform media company, announced today the appointment of Anthony Cicione as the President of TNA Wrestling. The move aims to further integrate TNA Wrestling into Anthem’s Entertainment Group, of which Cicione is the President, leveraging the entire Company’s resources to add more value in areas including production, distribution, marketing, viewership, customer acquisition, digital revenue streams, ad sales and sponsorships, digital tech operations, and more.
Cicione replaces Scott D’Amore, whose contract with Anthem has been terminated. D’Amore has been a part of TNA since 2003. He held many key leadership positions and played a vital role in the growth of the company leading to its strong industry reputation today, including the successful return of the TNA Wrestling brand in 2024. Anthem thanks him for the commitment he brought to the business, the talent, and the people who work outside the ring.
In addition to these duties as President of Entertainment, Cicione will now manage the day-to-day business operations for TNA Wrestling. He brings more than 30 years of executive-level management experience to the organization. Cicione has been with Anthem for the last 16 years, managing technical operations and multiple cable and digital channels. Prior to his time with Anthem, Cicione was a producer of sports content including catapulting The Score to success by bringing WWE to the channel.