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When Scott D’Amore was released from TNA Wrestling in early 2024, it marked the end of one chapter—and unknowingly, the beginning of another. What could’ve been the exit ramp turned into a new road entirely: one that led to the formation of Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP), a promotion with a bold mission—to rebuild Canada’s position in the global wrestling landscape.
“It was a lot to process,” D’Amore admits to PWInsider.com. “I had dedicated round-the-clock time to TNA. When you give something so much of yourself, it hurts when that ends. But you reflect, you grow. Wrestling is still in my heart—and if the passion's still there, how do you not do something with it?”
The forced pause gave D’Amore time to revisit long-standing goals—one of which was finally realized with MLP.
“I’d been quietly working on this project for years,” he reveals. “It was always there. I just never had time to focus on it. One of the unexpected blessings of being dismissed was finally having the space to breathe life into this vision.”
MLP isn’t D’Amore reviving something old—this is new, fresh, and from the ground up.
“I've done upstarts before, but always on a shoestring indie level,” he says. “With MLP, the goal was always broadcast-level. It had to look professional, clean, polished. That’s why I brought in people like Tim Wahlberg, Keith Mitchell, Kevin Sullivan—guys who have helped build wrestling television for decades.”
D’Amore even enlisted Don Callis and Mauro Ranallo to anchor the commentary team, calling them "a dream pairing from day one."
“From the moment they spoke, you could argue they were the best broadcast team in wrestling. Bar none. It was magical.”
Though MLP’s debut, Forged in Excellence, drew comparisons to TNA in terms of look and feel, D’Amore sees that as both fair and flattering.
“The building was one we used for TNA. The ring was one we used in Impact. And yeah, I built the production model there. So, of course, there’s gonna be echoes of it. But we’re trying to carve out something different.”
He emphasizes that the show’s crisp production was the proudest part of that debut:
“When your biggest critique is that it looked like TNA TV in 2010? I’ll take that. It means we’re already operating on a high level.”
At the heart of MLP is a mission to spotlight Canadian wrestlers who often get overlooked due to visa and border restrictions.
“I nearly had my career ended before it even began because of a U.S. immigration issue. I couldn’t cross the border for over a year and a half,” D’Amore recalls. “If I had been found guilty at the time, it would’ve been a two-year ban. Now it’s five.”
The experience instilled in him a personal mission.
“I know how hard it is for Canadians to break in. You can’t just show up in the U.S.—you need a visa, and to get one, you need to be ‘internationally acclaimed.’ But how do you get acclaimed if no one gives you the chance?”
That’s where MLP comes in.
“Our mandate is to feature Canadian talent side-by-side with the best from around the world—Americans, Japanese, Europeans, Latinos, everyone. The only way to raise the bar is to be in the ring with people who challenge you.”
He cites Bret Hart as a guiding inspiration:
“Bret helped open doors for guys like Edge and Christian when he didn’t have to. That stuck with me. I’m no Bret Hart, but I can pay it forward in my own way.”
By reviving the Maple Leaf Wrestling name, D’Amore is drawing a straight line from wrestling’s golden era in Canada to its next.
“We now own the rights to the Maple Leaf Wrestling library—not that much of it survives—but having that history gives us a direct link to something real,” he says. “From 1931 to 1984, Maple Leaf Gardens was the epicenter of Canadian wrestling. We want to reclaim that place.”
MLP next cornerstone event will be Northern Rising, set for May 10th at the historic former Maple Leaf Gardens. With strong initial ticket sales for the event already over the last week, D'Amore is still working to envision and manifest the perfect balance for MLP's scheduling.
“We’re looking at doing somewhere between two and six ‘tentpole’ events a year,” he explains. “Think our versions of WrestleMania, Bound For Glory, Royal Rumble.”
But he doesn’t just want big shows.
“Not every event has to be a giant TV production. We want to run smaller cards across Canada—Calgary, Vancouver, you name it. Bring the MLP name to people coast to coast.”
Broadcast deals are in the works too, with one major advantage on MLP’s side:
“Our shows are officially classified as Canadian content. That means we meet the federal requirements for broadcasters, which is huge here. It opens the door to streamers and networks who are mandated to feature Canadian programming.”
At the same time, D’Amore remains clear-eyed about what MLP can do better after their initial event.
“Production-wise, we did really well for a first-time crew. But we had hiccups—missed cues, traffic issues. And to be honest, we didn’t support Mauro Ranallo enough,” he says. “He’s the best play-by-play guy in all of combat sports, period. We’ve got to give him better prep, better flow.”
He also wants to add more variety to the in-ring action.
“The wrestling was great, but a lot of it was high-speed, high-flying matches. We want more balance—mat wrestling, big men slugfests, world title-style storytelling. That’s why bringing in someone like Tom Latimer for the NWA title match [on the second round of shows] gave us a different flavor.”
Even after decades in the business, and more than a few scars, D’Amore’s love for wrestling remains strong.
“There are days I think, ‘Why am I still doing this?’ I could be on a beach in Hawaii. But I love it too much. Sometimes, like they say, when I think I’m out, I pull myself back in.”
Now, instead of building someone else’s vision, he’s building his own.
“Nobody’s going to want to help Canadian wrestlers more than other Canadians. This is about lifting each other up, building something that lasts—and proving that Canadian wrestling belongs on the world stage.”
MLW will debut 5/10 in Toronto, crowning Men's and Women's Canadian Champions at MLP Northern Rising. For more, visit mlpwrestling.com.
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