Report: Scott D'Amore's TNA Contract Could Have Kept Him From Launching Maple Leaf Pro

This weekend will see the return of one of Canada's most notable promotions as Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling hosts its first event in 40 years, with former TNA President Scott D'Amore now acting as owner. D'Amore was let go by TNA earlier this year after spearheading the company's rise in popularity, which culminated in them dropping the Impact Wrestling name in favor of the three letters that made them famous at the company's Hard to Kill pay-per-view in January. However, those three letters almost prevented MLP from even happening.

Fightful Select reports that D'Amore has still been getting paid by TNA as part of his severance package, and will be getting paid by the company until February 2025, as that would mark one year since his original dismissal. His firing also came with a non-compete clause of the same length that would have stopped him from pursuing reviving MLP. Fortunately for D'Amore, both he and TNA were able to come to an agreement that would allow him to make it happen.

A number of TNA stars are set to appear across the two-day "Forged in Excellence" event on October 19 and 20, including "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Josh Alexander, who will both face AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita in singles matches, with Alexander's match against Takeshita being for the AEW star's newly won championship. Elsewhere on the show, ROH Women's World Champion Athena defends her title against Gisele Shaw. AEW stars Don Callis, Rocky Romero, and Harley Cameron will be appearing, as will WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, who is set to go one-on-one with Raj Dhesi, the former Jinder Mahal, with former WWE and PRIDE commentator Mauro Ranallo heading up the commentary team.