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Major TNA shakeup, Night of Champions predictions, shocking AEW tournament upset

The Uncrowned Wrestling Show1h 12m

The episode covers major shakeups in TNA Wrestling including creative team changes and talent departures, previews WWE's Night of Champions with King and Queen of the Ring finals, and discusses AEW's Forbidden Door tournament with surprising finalist matchups.

Summary

Salamonster opens with a historical retrospective on Stone Cold Steve Austin's 1996 King of the Ring victory and the famous "Austin 316" promo, clarifying misconceptions that this speech alone launched his career—his real elevation came through the feud with Bret Hart. The show then pivots to significant TNA Wrestling news: the company announced workforce reductions including the departure of Tommy Dreamer from his creative leadership position (described as "mutually agreed" but appearing forced based on Dreamer's emotional response), the loss of former world champion Tessa Blanchard who chose to prioritize her CMLL commitments over TNA, and the release of Sammy Callahan who expected a creative promotion instead. These cuts suggest TNA may be tidying operations ahead of a potential sale, with owner Len Asper reportedly valuing the company at $40-50 million despite concerns about actual worth given weak attendance (under 2,000 seats sold in a 6,000+ capacity venue for Slammiversary). The analysis notes TNA's identity crisis as a third-tier promotion lacking brand distinction, functioning primarily as a WWE feeder system, with numerous talented wrestlers choosing to leave despite the AMC television deal that was supposed to boost the company. Road Dogg Brian James is being discussed as Dreamer's potential replacement. WWE's Night of Champions coverage includes Raw from London where the Street Profits won the tag team titles from The Judgment Day, setting up a steel cage match between Seth Rollins and Braun Breaker on Saturday. The King of the Ring finals will feature Jey Uso versus Obafemi, with analysis suggesting Obafemi should win but predicting possible Brock Lesnar interference. The Queen of the Ring finals matches Liv Morgan against Io Sky, with the preference for Io Sky to win. The main event features Cody Rhodes defending the WWE Championship against both Gunther and Sami Zayn in a triple threat, with analysis favoring a Sami Zayn title victory as the most compelling story. AEW's Forbidden Door tournament features two shocking finalists in the women's Owen Hart Foundation tournament: Mercedes Monet and Maya World, neither of whom was in the original bracket. Mercedes was a recent returning entrant replacing injured Willow Nightingale, while Maya World was emergency replacement talent who has improbably advanced from being enhancement talent less than a year ago to tournament finalist, creating a feel-good underdog story complicated by her brother's recent tragic death. The men's final matches Will Ospreay against Swerve Strickland, with Ospreay strongly favored to win and challenge for the world title at Wembley Stadium. The show concludes with a tribute to Joe Doering, the former All Japan and TNA wrestler who is entering hospice care at age 44 after multiple battles with brain tumors.

About this episode

Solomonster speaks on talent leaving TNA and their creative shakeup, who’s winning King and Queen of the Ring, why Sami Zayn should win the WWE title, and a Forbidden Door preview

Key Insights

  • The speaker argues that Stone Cold's famous 'Austin 316' promo at King of the Ring 1996 did not launch him to superstardom—this is a common misconception—as he wrestled Yokozuna on the SummerSlam pre-show two months later, and his genuine elevation came through feuding with Bret Hart.
  • TNA's current valuation claim of $40-50 million by owner Len Asper is unrealistic given that Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor's assets including IP and tape library for approximately $4.2 million, the same price Vince McMahon paid for WCW 25 years ago.
  • Despite securing a reported $30 million, three-year television deal with AMC—the company's highest visibility since Spike TV days—TNA has experienced a creative stagnation with ratings that have not grown meaningfully since initial modest gains following the announcement.
  • Tommy Dreamer's departure from TNA creative leadership, described as 'mutual,' appears to have been forced based on his emotional response on radio where he sounded devastated; multiple wrestlers subsequently posted negative social media accounts about him, but this timing suggests people only felt safe speaking after he lost power.
  • The speaker identifies TNA's core problem as lack of brand identity: WWE owns sports entertainment, AEW specializes in match quality with strong booking, NXT develops green talent, but TNA occupies no distinct niche and functions primarily as a WWE feeder system.
  • Tessa Blanchard faced simultaneous distance from both WWE and AEW due to longstanding racism allegations stemming from a 2020 incident with wrestler La Rosa Negra, plus bullying allegations from multiple wrestlers, making her essentially unhireable at major American promotions regardless of talent level.
  • The speaker predicts that WWE may eventually access Tessa Blanchard through their ownership stake in AAA (where CMLL talent occasionally works), allowing her to appear in WWE-related content without the direct PR nightmare of signing her to a contract.
  • TNA's workforce reductions and staff cuts suggest the company is preparing for sale rather than pursuing growth, with short-term talent contracts and limited resources indicating financial constraints despite the supposedly major television deal.
  • Sammy Callahan, upon learning Tommy Dreamer was removed from TNA creative, expected to be promoted into that position based on conversations with talents; instead, he was released from the company entirely, reflecting broader organizational dysfunction.
  • The speaker argues that younger professional wrestling talent understands analytics and audience preferences better than older generations, and creative teams should blend generational perspectives rather than having one generation gatekeep positions from the next.
  • In the AEW women's Owen Hart Foundation tournament, neither finalist was in the original bracket: Mercedes Monet returned as a wildcard entry after Willow Nightingale's shoulder injury, while Maya World entered as emergency replacement talent when Serena Deeb couldn't compete due to a neck injury.
  • The speaker predicts Maya World will win the women's Owen Hart tournament as the feel-good underdog story, despite Mercedes Monet being the more established competitor, creating narrative momentum for Maya to challenge for the world title at All In in Wembley Stadium.

Topics

TNA Wrestling workforce reductions and creative changesTNA talent departures and retention problemsWWE Night of Champions King and Queen of the Ring finalsAEW Forbidden Door Owen Hart Foundation tournamentStone Cold Steve Austin's 1996 King of the Ring historical contextTommy Dreamer's departure from TNA creativeTessa Blanchard's exit from TNA to focus on CMLLTessa Blanchard racism allegations and career impactRoad Dogg Brian James as potential TNA creative replacementAEW women's tournament surprise finalistsMaya World's underdog story in Owen Hart tournamentJoe Doering's terminal illness and hospice care

Transcript

Welcome to the Uncrowned Wrestling Show, Salamonster with you for Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026. And as we head into the King of the Ring Finals this Saturday at Night of Champions, and I'm going to have a preview and predictions for you a little bit later. It was 30 years ago to the day today that something historic took place at that year's King of the Ring, and it was never even supposed to happen. That's the crazy part. Triple H was supposed to take the crown that year, until the curtain call incident in Madison Square Garden happened the month before. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, they were leaving to go to WCW, and on their final night, they…

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