TNA blocked yet another MJF match, this one from last month. Fightful Select reports that MJF was set to face Bear Bronson at a GCW event in March, but TNA blocked the match. The news adds to a growing list of independent bookings involving AEW talent that TNA has stepped in to prevent.
The broader situation came to a head Wednesday when Fightful reported that Nic Nemeth was pulled from a May bout with MJF and Leon Slater was removed from a match against Ricochet at the WrestleCon SuperShow in Las Vegas. Both Nemeth and Slater are TNA roster members. Leon Slater vs. Ricochet and Nic Nemeth vs. MJF had been planned as marquee matchups for the event. Sources familiar with the situation told Fightful that things appear to be trending toward an environment where TNA talent cannot wrestle AEW talent anywhere.
According to Fightful sources, TNA President Carlos Silva was unhappy that AEW Collision ran head-to-head with last Thursday’s Impact. That scheduling decision was made by Warner Bros. Discovery due to NCAA tournament coverage and was not an AEW call. Despite that, the fallout has landed on talent working independent dates involving AEW wrestlers.
Fightful also noted that TNA had been pulling talent broadly due to “partner conflicts.” WWE is a current TNA partner, which sources believe is a factor in the restrictions being applied to AEW crossover bookings specifically.
One situation that did not appear to be affected by these restrictions was Jody Threat, who defeated Mercedes Mone last week in Winnipeg for Mone’s final championship. It remains unclear why that match was treated differently from the others that have been blocked.
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