More Changes have taken place in TNA Wrestling.
Unfortunately, this means that the likes of TNA Hall of Famer Gail Kim is no longer working behind the scenes. Sean Ross Sapp first reported an email that was sent out regarding the release of Gail Kim, Ariel Shnerner, Rob Kligman, and Michael Shewchenko.
TNA issued a statement in regards to the recent releases:
"Today, we announced a restructuring, resulting in staffing changes at TNA Wrestling. These decisions are always difficult, but it became apparent that we needed to make adjustments to our business strategies. We are grateful for those who worked here and thank them for their years of dedication to the company. Finally, we want our fans to know that we are committed to producing the absolute best product and highest-quality content that we can, and we appreciate their continued support."
Kim was working as Talent Relations and producer. Shnerner was the man overseeing the content and worked closely with former TNA president Anthony Cicione on all talent/creative decisions. Kligman was the chief revenue officer (CRO) at Anthem Sports Group.
TNA has been cleaning house since the shocking release of Scott D’Amore last year. Back in February, Anthony Cicione was relieved of his duties as the TNA President and Christy Hemme and Josh Matthews were let go in the midst of the change.
The recent firings all came from the new President himself, Carlos Silva. No reason has been given on why he opted to release all the names listed above.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that the new head of creative will be Hunter Johnson, who’s also known as Delirious in ROH. Tommy Dreamer will still have his role in TNA’s creative. He’s also the head of Talent Relations now that Kim has been released.
David Clevinger will start as The Senior Vice President of Digital in April. Nicole Rachine has already started her role as the Senior Vice President of Sales. There’s no word on whether there’s any other names that are expected to be released. Then again, TNA's latest firings have all come out of nowhere, so it’s doubtful that more hints will drop about anyone’s firing.
It’s an odd decision to fire so many talents when TNA Wrestling is on such an upswing. As you can imagine, the wrestlers backstage aren’t particularly thrilled with the changes. According to a Fightful report, Kim was beloved backstage and the news of her firing did not go over well with the talents.
That statement seems true based on some of the social media reaction from some of the talent on the roster.
There’s no word on where Kim and the other released names could go next. The former TNA Knockouts Champion reportedly has interest from AEW and WWE (it’s not specified if the role is backstage or not), though there’s nothing that indicates that she has been in talks with both sides. Here’s wishing the best of luck to everyone who has been let go from TNA.