PCO Opens Up About TNA Exit, Frustrations During His Time With The Company
PCO discusses the end of his time in TNA and his actions at The People vs. GCW.
PCO’s TNA run ended in controversy as he smashed the TNA Digital Media Championship at The People vs. GCW in what was said to be a shock to company sources. After the show, it was reported that his contract had expired, and he was set to finish up at the following set of tapings, but this wound up not happening.
Speaking with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, PCO discussed the situation and what led him to smash the title. (H/t Fightful for the transcription)
“Of course, I’m very upset at TNA’s new management, but I have to take full responsibility because I should have seen the red flags before, and I should have asked to get off my contract and ask for my release,” PCO said. “I felt like I was in my comfort zone a little bit because this TNA roster is the best dressing room I was part of. No backstabbing, no crazy pranks. Such a nice locker room. The production team, their production is skating on thin ice.
“They do miracles with little. I like them a lot. Creative-wise, the creative team, I got along good with everybody. In 2024, I had the most wins on pay-per-view with Jordynne Grace and Moose with nine wins. That sounds crazy thinking that now I am talking to you without a contract with TNA. That’s out of the ordinary.”
PCO On TNA Slammiversary
A key issue was PCO’s work in promoting Slammiversary, as PCO talked about how hard he worked ahead of the event, even as he had issues with TNA management about the size of the crowd they could draw,
“I go back to Slammiversary because I was trying to cut a promo after I smashed the belt with the sledgehammer and they were trying to take [the mic] away from me,” PCO said. “I said I sold out the biggest house in TNA history, I want to say in Anthem history, since Hulk Hogan in 2012. That was the biggest house. Now, if you say TNA has their biggest house in Dallas, which I don’t think it was, it’s been announced as a partnership with WWE. So from now on, all the houses that grow bigger, it’s WWE. It’s not TNA anymore. It’s been announced they have a deal for three years.
“I go back to Slammiversary, and every day I’m fighting with the new management about going from 2,000 people to 4,000 people. I cannot understand…the building cost the same, the security cost the same, the talent, flight, hotel, you can only increase your revenue. ‘Why aren’t we going to 4,000?’ They would come up with all kinds of excuses. ‘Usually when we get a great start, it flattens out. Usually this, usually that. When wrestlers promise a sell-out, they always do, but they never do. They always promise but never come across with the result.’ Before Slammiversary, when we booked the arena and date, I was in the office and I promised them, I shook their hands and gave them my word that it was going to be a sell-out.
“After the first day tickets were on sale, we had over 800 tickets sold. I said, ‘We’ll see how it keeps going.’ It kept going. When the timing was right, I felt to say that we’re going 4,000 people and a full arena. Now, we’re worrying about Sunday. ‘What if Sunday we have nobody?’ I had to fight for Sunday, on top of selling out Saturday. It was always a fight. ‘When we get more tickets sold on Sunday, then we’re going to open up.’ By the time you open up, you lose the buzz because there is a timing for everything. The timing was right. Not because I told them the timing was right, but I was hear during every TV and radio show and taking the pulse of how the people felt, and I knew what was the right timing to say, ‘We’re going full house,’ that was going to create an extra excitement. They might have waited another three weeks after I was telling them to go to a full house because they were worried about Sunday.”
PCO On His TNA Contract
After explaining that his work in promoting TNA Slammiversary was a struggle every day, PCO explained that in his GCW promo, he meant that he worked to help sell out the venue. He then opened up about his issues with TNA management regarding his contract, as they agreed to a new deal, but he claimed TNA changed their mind.
“In November, we go to Fayetteville, NC for TV tapings. I see the Vice President, and we’re talking about my contract for 2025,” PCO said. “‘Yes. Yes Carl, for sure, we will re-sign you.’ I laid down the foundation and I said simple and clear, ‘I’ll be happy with the same salary and same conditions at 2024. For the inflation, maybe bump me to better seats on my flight.’ He said, ‘Yeah, sure, sure, sure.’ I said, ‘Just work on the contract and send it to me and I can sign it and return it to you.’ On [November] 29, it was WrestleCade.
“I had to miss WrestleCade because I had family personal issues that were really serious and bad. I couldn’t go to WrestleCade, and I got a text message from them, ‘Just called to check in. Missing you at WrestleCade. Hope everything is well with the family.’ Nice message like that. I was pretty confident. The last show of the year, Final Resolution, I called before and said, ‘What about the contract?’ They said, ‘We’ll discuss that on [December 13] in Atlanta.’ I get to Atlanta and see everybody coming in and out of the office. I see some people quitting, and it seems to be like a tough day. I walked in, they told me what we discussed in Fayetteville, ‘We can’t do that anymore. It’s going to be a different deal.’
“They changed it. We had already shook hands on it. I’m very old school. A handshake, you give me your word and look me in the eye, for me, it’s a done deal and a promise, especially if you said, ‘I promise.’ I’m surprised, but I’m listening. I can’t believe what they’re changing the deal to, with the new one. I said, ‘I don’t think I can accept that, but I’m going to think about it tonight. I’ll be back with my answer tomorrow. One thing is for sure, I would like for you to give me your word….’ it was something not about money. I cannot disclose what it is. I said, ‘I need you to help me out with those papers. It has to be signed by the company.’ They said, ‘Of course, Carl, with everything you’ve done. Montreal and everything.’ That was just for the extension for me to go drop the title on the [January] 23rd in San Antonio [TV tapings]. That was just on the promise, besides the money. I shook hands with them and they promised me. Big promise that they were going to take care of that.”
PCO On Taking A Paycut, Dealing With Health Issues
PCO said that he decided that he would take less money in a new deal, but he would want more dates, and TNA agreed to the terms for a one-year extension. However, he said that he got a concussion, and things seemingly changed at this point, as he claimed that he was not treated well.
“They said, ‘It’s important for you to be on.’ I said, ‘Yeah, TV equals money too. It’s a good production and I’d like to be featured on the show. You’ve been taking care of me well and I’m hopeful that 2025 will be as good.’ We shook hands, again, and that was the third time, plus the other side promise from the day before,” PCO said. “We were cool for 2025 for a full deal now, a whole year, and I took a paycut.
“I wrestled the main event and I got concussed. I’m trying to get my sense back, and I gave my body. I gave everything I had for three years. I took bumps on the cerement floor. Bumps from the stage. On the side of the apron. Everything to please the fans and give a great show and have the chant, ‘He’s not human.’ It’s for the people to have that entertainment. I like to give it all and I’m so passionate about the business. I showed my passion by selling out [Montreal]. I could not have sold it out if the production was not a good production. I couldn’t have sold it out if it was a bad roster or any of those things weren’t aligned with everything that I was selling.
“I was selling my name, because I’ve been main eventing a lot of shows in Montreal on many occasions for numerous years, so I know a lot of people and have a lot of connections. Of course, my name was the big thing, but I couldn’t do it on my own. I’m not crazy. It was a great show all over. My match with AJ Francis and me winning the title, the whole card was great. I got concussed and I felt from that point that I was not treated well. For everything I gave, they kind of shoved me into the ambulance. Nobody came with me. No assistance whatsoever. On my own. ‘Put that on your credit card. We’ll reimburse you.’ Like I know how much it’s going to cost. No business card. ‘Give the address of the hospital to registration.’”
PCO On More Health Issues
Furthermore, PCO detailed dealing with a staph infection in 2022 and said that TNA did not pay for it. Likewise, he explained how he got busted open during a match with Jake Something, and this was an example of more issues that he had.
“That brings me to 2022, I had a staph infection in Florida, and they never paid a dime on it,” PCO said. “I spent four days at the hospital for a staph infection because I did a fight in the desert of Nevada against Eddie Edwards, where we were fighting on the rocks. It’s a stiff desert. It’s a lot of rocks and not much sand. It’s a hard ground. We didn’t have any props. We were fighting right on the rocks and soil. I scratched my elbow on a rock and I got infected with a staph infection. It did cost me a lot of money and the company never paid a dime for that. Now, I’m like, I don’t want to go to the hospital if I feel like I’m not going to be covered by the company. I feel it’s going to cost me money again like it did in Florida.
“Another time, I did a dive through the ropes and I banged heads with Jake Something. I got opened up, but I finished the match, did my moonsault, everything worked out good. Me and Jake talked. The physician of the company came up to me and said, ‘You need to go to the hospital for stitches.’ I told him, ‘No. Just put super glue. I’ve been putting super glue for the last four years. Nobody said anything.’ That night, they wanted me to get stitches. They put super glue, and after I showed pictures of how I healed up and everything was good, I was asked to go pass a medical. Why Jake didn’t have to pass medical, but myself, because I needed stitches, I needed medical. Things were starting to go kind of wrong.”
PCO On More Health Issues
PCO went into detail about the health issues he dealt with and claimed that TNA told him they weren’t going to give him a deal after they spoke with their physician, even though he was cleared to return. He reiterated that they previously agreed to a deal, and TNA changed their minds.
“I was trying to get back to my sense, but they were pulling my luggage, ‘Let’s go. Get in the ambulance.’ I got in the ambulance and did everything on my own,” PCO said. “I went through the CAT scan gimmick and while I was lying there, they checked everything and it was positive and good. They checked my cervical, my head, my neck, and my spine. It came out clear. The doctors said everything is good, ‘You can go back to work tomorrow.’ I sent [TNA] the results by text message, we took a picture of all of the reports. Never thought about it after that. December 19, I get a text message, ‘Are you free for a Zoom call?’ I got on a Zoom call at 3pm, and they said, ‘After discussing with our physician, we decided to pull off all the deals. There is no deal.’ ‘What about my paper? You promised me.’ I went to see a neurologist in Montreal and I know everything was fine. They pulled out, and I don’t know why.
“We had the deal when I was going to extend, but now that the deal was up, they still wanted me to extend, but I had nothing in return to extend. ‘Everything promise you made is worth shit. Why should I go to San Antonio now? You’re breaking the deal. I’m not breaking the deal.’”
PCO On GCW
Speaking about The People vs. GCW, PCO said that he booked the appearance himself, and he was angry. He made it clear that he took issues with TNA’s new management. He also said that he felt justified in his actions.
“I booked myself for GCW and I wanted to say something,” PCO said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do, but this is how I felt. Anger, I would say. I should have asked for my release after Slammiversary, but I liked everybody so much. I think that’s the reason I didn’t ask for my release. I could have never seen the curveball coming. I could never imagine in a million years. It took me by surprise. I was able to live with certain things, but there were some promises made that I was not able to. There are a lot of things that I cannot say on the medical side. I have my point of view and I’m very disappointed with how everything was handled by the new management."
“I said Scott D’Amore was the architect of the locker room, the production team, the launching of TNA, and I felt like they ran on his gas and they ran with it because they had great talent, but eventually, two writers; Jimmy Jacobs and Robert Evans left for AEW. Some other people start leaving. You could see that maybe something was wrong, but you always hope you can make it right. I felt like it was justified on my behalf because they know how driven I am. They know that if you put an obstacle in front of me, I’m going to go through them. How passionate I am for this business and how much I want to succeed. I’m not just a piece of carpet you can walk on. I felt I had to stand up for myself."
PCO On TNA Exit
When asked, PCO said that he talked to TNA management, but he didn’t hear from them ahead of the GCW event, so he decided not to work the San Antonio tapings as planned.
“After they pulled everything, me and Tommy Dreamer had a conversation on December 27, a Rhino show in Detroit, I did everything there, all my crazy stuff, tore the house down,” he said. “After that, me and Tommy had a discussion. I texted the Vice President about an idea. Even if I texted them, they said, ‘We’ll talk to you next week and we’ll figure out things.’ I still had no communication. After the 19th, I sent one text message, got a text back saying, ‘We’ll talk next week,’ and we never talked. All the way to my day at GCW, I had no talk about the 23rd in San Antonio. I thought, ‘That’s enough BS.’
PCO also confirmed that GCW wasn’t aware of what he was going to do at the show, and the sledgehammer spot was a “last-minute thing.” He repeated that he had not heard from anyone in TNA, and he briefly questioned how he could trust the company after everything that happened.
PCO Comments On TNA Exit
PCO then said that he was moving on, as he operated by refocusing and re-calibrating. He again said that he was disappointed with TNA’s new management. He then said that he did what he had to do, and he didn’t have any regrets.
“I was discouraged and I am still,” he said. “They put everything on red at the casino, and it’s all on WWE now. I wish them all the best and I wish it works well for them. You can’t be a victim. People don’t care for victims. People like warriors and fighters, people that never give up, and they keep going. That’s the way I am and the way I operate. Refocus, recalibrate, and charge.
“…I respect TNA too much and I have a huge respect for Scott D’Amore. It was different management. It takes time to get to know somebody. It took a year to get to know the new management. I was very disappointed at the end.
“I want them to know that I did what I had to do. I have no regret about it. I feel very good about this. People bought tickets to St. Louis to come see me. It’s not my fault if I’m not there. I had a lot of people swearing at me, ‘I bought tickets for you and you’re not going to be there. You smashed that belt.’ Don’t judge anything before you know the facts. I feel I’m in great shape, super health, and feel good to go for a great run. We’ll stop when we get there, not before. Tremendous support by a lot of fans. I’m touched.”
The full interview can be seen here:
