TNA Wrestling’s Scott D’Amore lately opened up in regards to the collaboration between TNA and AEW in 2020 and 2021, shedding mild on each the highs and the challenges of the partnership.
Throughout an interview with Fightful, D’Amore detailed how stars like Kenny Omega, Thunder Rosa, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows performed pivotal roles in the course of the partnership. Probably the most vital storyline noticed Kenny Omega holding the TNA World Championship for over 100 days, a reign that introduced elevated visibility to TNA.
“On the time, IMPACT was actually struggling to achieve traction,” D’Amore admitted. “We had been doing our damndest and placing out the whole lot we might however actually struggling to search out ourselves. Getting Kenny Omega as IMPACT World Champion and that includes the Good Brothers on AEW reveals gave us an enormous enhance.”
D’Amore emphasised the affect Omega’s involvement had on enterprise, saying, “From a enterprise perspective, the 2 Kenny pay-per-views had been two of the three highest pay-per-views the corporate had at that time. There was a carry in enterprise, viewership, and social media buzz. Something involving Kenny Omega monetized effectively.”
Regardless of the positives, D’Amore candidly mentioned the constraints that emerged, which ultimately led to the partnership’s finish. He revealed that Omega was coping with critical accidents all through this era. “He was in such immense ache half the time—there have been occasions when he might barely stroll. They labored on him for 90 minutes simply to get him to the ring,” D’Amore shared.
D’Amore recalled a selected second when Omega was too injured to journey for a scheduled title protection. “Kenny was supposed to return to Nashville for tapings at Skyway, however he was in a lot ache, he simply couldn’t journey. We filmed it at Day by day’s Place as an alternative, which was his title protection towards Moose. Tony Schiavone, a legend, referred to as that match, and it was cool to shoot it at a unique location.”
He praised Omega’s dedication regardless of the circumstances. “Kenny didn’t need to simply have an excellent match—he wished to offer Moose a legendary match. Afterward, Kenny apologized as a result of it wasn’t the match he wished. Hats off to him for the whole lot he did for us.”
D’Amore additionally mirrored on the broader significance of the AEW-TNA partnership, noting, “Positive, there have been restraints. That’s why it finally needed to finish. But it surely had its advantages—financially, with viewership, and with legitimacy. Wrestling is evolving, and that partnership was good for IMPACT, it helped Kenny along with his storyline, and it was useful for AEW.”
Elsewhere within the interview, D’Amore defined how AEW abilities like Christian Cage and Jeff Jarrett have been in a position to make use of their traditional TNA theme songs throughout their appearances in AEW.
What are your ideas on the TNA-AEW partnership? Do you suppose collaborations between wrestling promotions profit the business? Please share your ideas and suggestions within the remark part under.