Scott D’Amore bringing Maple Leaf Pro back into the forefront
“We are going to be the heart of Canadian wrestling and a force in the global wrestling landscape.”
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The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Scott D’Amore intends for Maple Leaf Pro to be a factor in 2025 and beyond
Scott D’Amore is making his intentions clear: within the next year, Maple Leaf Pro is going to become a factor in the pro wrestling realm.
The spiritual successor to Maple Leaf Wrestling, which ran from 1930 to 1984, MLP is owned and operated by D’Amore. The promotion ran its inaugural show this past October at Forged in Excellence, a two-night affair at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario. It will return in the first quarter of 2025, when D’Amore plans to unveil more about its upcoming schedule and how frequently their events will run.
“We have a lot of moving pieces right now, and it all leads to an exciting 2025,” said D’Amore. “We are going to be the heart of Canadian wrestling and a force in the global wrestling landscape.”
A familiar name in professional wrestling, D’Amore, 50, first broke into the business at the age of 16. Against the odds, he pulled off a remarkable feat over the last six years overseeing Impact/TNA, swinging the wrestling pendulum back in their favor. He embraced the task in an exceptionally difficult manner, vowing to earn back one fan at a time. More than a half-decade later, he exited TNA over creative differences, leaving the company in a position where it was once again relevant in pro wrestling.
When I first met D’Amore in April of 2018, my relationship with Impact was frosty. Impact and parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment were less than enthused with some of my reporting surrounding the Hardys and their contract dispute, denying reports that I ran only after verifying legal documents from people within the company. There was a clear divide between the two sides. During that year’s WrestleMania week in New Orleans, I met face-to-face with D’Amore, who had recently returned to the company after nearly eight years.
D’Amore vowed to be upfront, accountable, and honest. Over the next six years, he lived up to his word. He helped transform Impact (which later changed back to TNA) into a wrestling destination, building relationships with AEW and AAA, and repairing a broken relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, even bringing NJPW stars like Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay to TNA.
Earlier this year, TNA decided it could continue to flourish without D’Amore, and the two parted ways. D’Amore made an attempt to buy the promotion, but was rebuffed by Anthem Sports & Entertainment CEO Len Asper. As TNA moved in its new direction, I couldn’t help but think back to that original conversation with D’Amore. At the time, he was running his Border City Wrestling promotion in Ontario, as well as working in construction.
Why, I asked, did he want to tackle all of the issues in Impact? D’Amore smiled and shared an anecdote from retired wrestler Jody Hamilton, who was one-half of the Masked Assassins.
“Jody used to say, ‘The great workers don’t look to go to the territories that are on fire, the great workers want to go to a territory that is on their ass because they can build it up,’” D’Amore told me. “Coming back here is a chance to build something, it’s a chance to make a difference.”
With TNA in his rearview, D’Amore became energized by his new plan. He would revive Canadian wrestling by creating a brand-new promotion.
A native of Windsor, Ontario and all-around expert on the history of Canadian wrestling, D’Amore had acquired the rights to Maple Leaf Wrestling back in 2012 from the Tunney family, which included all the archived footage. He believes there is no better time than the present to rejuvenate wrestling in Canada.
“This is a way to honor tradition of the past and forge a new path for Canadian wrestling,” said D’Amore. “I’m proud of my time at TNA, and I hold my head high for what we accomplished there in my time at the helm. We took a company from death’s doorstep and revived it into an exciting and viable alternative. Now we are going to focus that hard work, vision, and passion into Maple Leaf Pro.”
The focus for D’Amore has always been to invest in the fanbase so that the fans invest in the product. That is the exact approach he is taking as the owner of Maple Leaf Pro.
Just like a drenching rain begins with a single drop, D’Amore has long term plans for this Canadian wrestling reawakening. The roster he assembled for the two-night Forged in Excellence show is indicative of the talent he plans to feature in 2025.
The inaugural MLP weekend showcased wrestlers from AEW, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Ring of Honor, TNA, and the NWA, as well as Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, Oceania Pro Wrestling from Australia, and Qatar Pro Wrestling. That international feel will be embedded into D’Amore’s shows, an element that benefits the fans–and the wrestlers.
“The immigration laws in Canada allow non-Canadians to come perform and compete, which allows our Canadian talent to be in the ring with the very best in the world,” said D’Amore. “This helps both Canadian and other international talent show major United States companies that they can be valuable members of those rosters, as well as build their resume to better qualify for a US work visa when those opportunities present themselves.”
Prior to leaving TNA, D’Amore helped set up a partnership with WWE that led to Jordynne Grace entering the women’s Royal Rumble. When asked if WWE talent could ever be part of MLP events, he didn’t close the door open on that possibility.
“We are very happy and excited about our existing partners,” said D’Amore. “But we have an open-door policy. If WWE wants to join the party, we’d be open to exploring it.”
Powered by the broadcast team of Mauro Ranallo and Don Callis, MLP will offer a distinct alternative in the new year. The promotion does not have a world title, but rather a Champion’s Grail that will be defended around the world.
The Champion’s Grail is built around the images of Rikidozan and Kenny Omega. Built on 60 years of tradition, it was modeled after Rikidozan and Omega for very specific reasons.
“They are all-time greats from two different eras, just like the original Maple Leaf Wrestling and the revitalized Maple Leaf Pro,” said D’Amore. “Rikidozan is the first wrestling superstar in Japan. He is what all Japanese pro wrestling stems from, renowned as a great warrior from a past time.
“Kenny Omega is one of the greatest wrestlers in wrestling history. He is a Canadian wrestling star who stands alongside the all-time greats like ‘Whipper’ Billy Watson and Bret Hart. Kenny is at the forefront of revolutionizing wrestling in this current era, and that’s why he and Rikidozan are the perfect bookends to represent our past and bright future.”
Rohan Raja defeated Jake Something to win the Champion’s Grail at MLP’s inaugural event, and he will make his first title defense later this month in Australia. In addition to his Champion’s Grail and a host of women’s wrestlers from Japan hungry to make their way to North America, expect D’Amore to continue featuring Josh Alexander and “Speedball” Mike Bailey–the former who is about to be a free agent, the latter having just entered free agency–as often as possible.
“Josh Alexander and Mike Bailey are the faces of modern Canadian wrestling,” said D’Amore. “It felt right that one of them opened the show on our first night and the other closed it. Plus, it gave Josh the unique spot of opening Night One and closing Night Two, which is pretty cool.”
MLP’s inaugural show streamed live on Triller TV, though it remains undetermined where it will air moving forward. The promotion is also expanding its social media presence, uploading archival footage of the original Maple Leaf Wrestling and content from Border City Wrestling on its YouTube page and various platforms.
While we wait to see what happens next–monthly events, or perhaps something on an even more consistent basis?–D’Amore is thrilled to soon share his MLP plans with the world.
“Forged in Excellence was our mission statement, our proof of concept for what Maple Leaf Pro is going to be,” said D’Amore. “The plan all along was to come out and have two nights of an amazing debut to show people what MLP is all about. Now we’ve taken a step back to set up our infrastructure, and we’ll be ready and prepared for an unbelievable 2025.
“I said this many times in the past with Impact or TNA events–we value so much when a fan invests in one of our events. Whether it’s an investment of money or whether it’s an equally important investment of their time, we want to reward that investment. If anybody invests their time or money in Maple Leaf Pro, we are going to give our heart and soul to you in return.”
This past week…
Seth Rollins and CM Punk were spectacular on the microphone on Raw.
Welcome back, Drew McIntyre. He is the forgotten member of the main event picture, but he’ll be heavily involved in the build to WrestleMania.
Recommended reading: Big E wrote an exceptional piece for the Players’ Tribune. The timing was apropos, as The New Day celebrated its tenth anniversary on Raw. It was a reunion with Big E returning, and he succeeded in uniting his New Day brethren–just not how anyone expected. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods turned heel with a vicious verbal assault on E, starting a new era for The New Day.
WWE’s monumental stretch will reach a new high point at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December, which now features Gunther defending the world heavyweight title against Finn Balor (what are the odds this ends with Damian Priest costing Balor the match?).
This past Saturday, AEW ran Collision, which featured a Continental Classic match pitting Kazuchika Okada against Daniel Garcia. Wisely, the match was a time-limit draw, as neither of the two respective champions should be booked to lose this early in the tournament. But it was an important match for Garcia, who looked like he belonged in the same ring as Okada.
Worth noting: Damian Williams, the United States District Attorney overseeing the investigation on Vince McMahon, announced his anticipated resignation from the Southern District of New York. Even if the federal criminal case and investigation are dropped, McMahon is still being sued in civil court by Janel Grant.
Eric Bischoff is in the midst of a memorable week: before his MLW appearance tomorrow, he spent last night in the ring for NXT.
CM Punk breathes new life into WWE
CM Punk is headed to WrestleMania.
Before he arrives at his intended destination, it’s the rest of us who get to enjoy the ride.
Punk has been spectacular over the past year since returning to WWE. Despite suffering an injury that took him out of the ring and prevented him from wrestling at WrestleMania 40, he continued his program with Drew McIntyre–making it that much more meaningful when he closed out their vicious feud inside the cage at Hell in a Cell this past fall.
Every Punk promo contains that familiar edge. And it’s not that he didn’t have the same aura in AEW–his feud with MJF ranks as one of the finest in his whole career, and though they didn’t see eye to eye, his storyline with Jon Moxley was also very gripping. But there is a different kind of magic with Punk in WWE.
Perhaps it is easy to explain the reason behind that. Punk wrestled in WWE for nearly a decade before the two sides split, so there is the history of seeing him succeed in a place where it seemed he was never going to make it. Punk was an indie darling when he first signed with WWE in 2005, and there were many within the company at that time who would have been delighted to see him fail on the grand stage and scurry back to the independents. That never happened, as Punk created a lasting bond with the fan base–one that still resonates nearly two decades later.
Plus, it was a near certainty that Punk was never coming back to WWE. He was fired on his wedding day. He’d reach the point of no return with WWE. So when he did come back, there was an altogether divergent magic involved. And that’s what we’re witnessing now. Punk is exactly where he should be, beginning the build to his date at WrestleMania with Seth Rollins.
Punk is the gift that keeps on giving. Put him in the ring with Rollins on Raw, and all of a sudden, Rollins’ next segment with Sami Zayn instantly becomes that much more intriguing. Drew McIntyre is back? We wonder if he’ll attack Punk. Punk and Roman Reigns teamed together at Survivor Series–will Reigns talk about it this Friday on SmackDown?
To no one’s surprise, his run in AEW ended in controversy. But it was for the best, as Punk needed to finally attend to his unfinished business in WWE.
Tweet of the Week
Somehow, I’m both surprised and soothed by the sight of Cal Ripken Jr. beside the Stinger.