Summary

Carlos Silva says he made the call to pull Nic Nemeth and Leon Slater from independent matches that also involved AEW talent, and he is standing by the decision as one he believed was necessary for TNA.

The controversy centered on Nemeth's planned match with MJF at Create-A-Pro and Slater's scheduled WrestleCon bout with Ricochet. Silva said those decisions were difficult, but added that his role sometimes requires him to prioritize what is best for TNA.

The situation also led to follow-up fallout outside the ring. As previously noted in a report on Leon Slater's cancelled WrestleCon booking, WrestleCon promoter Michael Bochicchio said Silva reimbursed Slater's flight and hotel costs after that match was called off.

Quote from Carlos Silva

While speaking on Busted Open Radio, Silva said:

"It was super tough. All of these business decisions are tough. I don't like being called a little bitch on social anymore than anyone does. But it's okay, yeah you do take the goods with the bads and you've gotta make some hard decisions. My job sometimes is to make hard decisions. For the fans and all of you and Mike and our locker room, we're gonna make decisions that are good for TNA. We've gotta protect TNA. You know, Kevin Plank and Under Armour used to say, you've gotta protect this house. It's a real slogan. We've had some other folks come at us and they've moved into our nights, they've made some decisions, they've tried to block us in arenas and venues. That stuff is real and it's out there and it's okay because everyone's gotta make decisions for their business. But, we're also not just gonna lie down and not make decisions that are good for our business. Unfortunately, sometimes those decisions are tough. We're very thoughtful about them and we try to do the best to make good when we have to make those decisions. In the case of Nic and Leon and a few of the matches that had to get shut down, we tried to make good and make calls and take care of the business as best as we could."

Silva later took direct ownership of the move and said:

"It was. It was my decision and I take full ownership. Look, we've got a great team and we talk about these things together but sometimes, I'm a guy that has to make that decision and then you move on. You go to work the next day and you work hard again and get stuff done."

What Silva's comments mean for TNA

Silva's remarks make it clear that TNA viewed these cancelled bookings as more than isolated indie dates. By publicly saying he wanted to protect TNA, he framed the Nemeth and Slater decisions as part of a larger effort to defend the promotion's business interests when AEW-related matches touch talent already under the TNA umbrella.

That also puts more weight on any future cross-promotional appearances involving TNA names. If TNA is willing to step in on outside bookings tied to AEW talent, promoters and wrestlers now have a clearer sense of how closely those situations may be watched.

Sources

Carlos Silva on Busted Open Radio