Huge Changes for TNA Wrestling.
Last year, the wrestling world was stunned when Scott D’Amore was fired from the promotion in January. D’Amore was the main source responsible for TNA’s latest resurgence, but TNA still managed to get through that full change in their landscape.
This time, several more high level names were released from the promotion. The biggest was Anthony Cicione, who was the TNA President. Carlos Silva has been confirmed as the new TNA President.
Josh Mathews and Christy Hemme were also given their pink slips. Matthews joined TNA in 2014 as a lead announcer, but transitioned to senior producer and Senior Director of Digital Media in 2021. Hemme’s recent run was strictly behind the scenes. The WWE Diva Search winner has worked as a wrestler, announcer, interviewer, and in creative since she first joined TNA in 2006. However, Hemme returned last fall as TNA’s Head of Marketing.
Below is the official statement to Jon Alba:
The new TNA Wrestling President is Carlos Silva.
George Veras is the new Executive Producer of the Anthem Sports Group. George is the 10-time Emmy Award-winning president and Chief Executive Officer of Pro Football Hall of Fame Enterprises, as well as president of Veras Communications, Incorporated.
Josh Mathews and Christy Hemme are no longer with the Company. We appreciate their commitment to TNA throughout the years, and wish them well in their future endeavors.
This is huge news heading into the latest TNA episode, though changes won’t be made until the next round of tapings. If changes happen creatively, of course. Hemme and Matthews have yet to comment on the situation. Thus far, it’s not clear why Cicione was fired from his position.
Reportedly, Josh Matthews and Christy Hemme were let go to make way for incoming Executive Producer George Veras and his own team. Though Cicione is out as the TNA President, his status as the President of Anthem Sports & Entertainment remains the same. There’s no word on how much this will impact the television product of TNA. The promotion has been doing well lately, especially because of their partnership with WWE. Naturally, we’ll see the changes if TNA decides to overhaul their product, though given the current buzz surrounding the company, it would be surprising if there’s a drastic change in the way TNA is presented.