The void left by Scott D'Amore is impossible to ignore

Let’s call a spade a spade: TNA wrestling has been in a weird spot since the front office pulled the plug on Scott D'Amore in early 2024. If you were watching the product during his tenure, you saw a promotion that finally felt like it had a pulse again. Then, POOF, he was out, and we were left wondering if the ship had hit an iceberg.

Frankie Kazarian recently broke his silence on the matter. He painted a picture of a guy who felt the impact deeply. Losing a leader who actually understands the business mechanics of the ring is like losing the head chef right before the lunch rush. The transition to the leadership of Carlos Silva was never going to be seamless, and frankly, the product has felt like it is lacking that specific North Star ever since.

Is Carlos Silva the right guy to steer this ship?

The transition under Carlos Silva has been under a microscope for a reason. Kazarian didn't hold back on the difficulty of that pivot. When you go from a veteran presence who spent decades in the trenches to a figure with a different background entirely, the locker room culture suffers. It is not just about changing the logo back from Impact to TNA; it is about the soul of the creative process.

Reports indicate that the locker room is trying to hold it together, but you can feel the instability. Frankie Kazarian's comments on the shift highlight that when you remove a centerpiece, the whole furniture set feels off. You don't just replace that kind of institutional knowledge with a spreadsheet.

The booking and the blowback

Let’s talk about the booking. Since the change, the television product has lacked the consistent spark that made people stop scrolling past TNA highlights. We are seeing matches that lack stakes and storylines that feel like they are written by someone who caught the final five minutes of the previous show and tried to guess the plot. Remember when Kazarian was doing the best work of his career? Now he is spinning his wheels while the brass tries to figure out how to exist in a post-D'Amore world.

The fans aren't stupid. We track the trajectory of these companies. If the leadership doesn't start producing more than just 'fine' television, the audience will move on to the next shiny thing. The current TNA leadership under Carlos Silva has a zero percent margin for error if they want to keep their current viewership base engaged through the rest of the summer.

It’s hard to watch a promotion that survived the Hogan-Bischoff era and the various reboots only to trip over its own shoelaces at the finish line of a rebuild. You have a veteran like Kazarian who is willing to put his body on the line, but he needs a map. Right now, the map looks like a blank sheet of paper with a coffee stain on it.

The bottom line for TNA

I would love to be optimistic here, but I have been burned before. TNA is the classic 'too tough to die' company, but even cockroaches eventually run out of luck if they keep walking into flyswatters. If they want to get back to the buzz they had during their peak resurgence, they need to stop experimenting with their management structure and start focusing on the talent that keeps the lights on.

Watching the TNA locker room leaders navigate the D'Amore departure is like watching your favorite bartender get fired for a minor clerical error. The beer still tastes the same, but the vibe is ruined. Until they get someone in that chair who commands actual respect from the guys in the back, the product is going to feel like a house show that accidentally got a national cable slot.

Maybe they turn it around. Maybe they find a new voice. But until then, they are just another promotion drifting in the Atlantic, waiting for a storm that might finally force them to sink for good. Don't act surprised when the ratings reflect exactly what the guys in the locker room are clearly feeling.