Summary

Steph De Lander confirmed she and Mance Warner have left TNA after she was told the company was not comfortable clearing her for in-ring competition.

She said she underwent two neck surgeries, including a second procedure she had not publicly disclosed, and stated she had already received clearance and had been pitching stories for a return.

De Lander also said she was informed of the decision by TNA President Carlos Silva, and that Warner chose to leave in solidarity.

Steph De Lander and TNA split after return talks collapsed

Steph De Lander’s account makes the split feel less like a contract expiration and more like a direct break over medical-return confidence, because she says she was cleared and actively preparing for a comeback when the no-return call came in.

Her framing that she holds no personal ill will also leaves open the possibility of future talks under different leadership conditions, but the immediate result is that both she and Warner are off the TNA roster path now.

For added context on the immediate aftermath, see the follow-up on Warner’s exit decision.

Quotes

Quote from Steph De Lander

“Look, it’s been a crazy couple of days. It’s not what I expected my next career pivot to look like, but, I feel confident in my decision and I do believe everything does happen for a reason so yeah, it’s been a whirlwind, but, I feel good, I feel confident.”

Steph De Lander later went on to say:

“So, basically, I’ve had a neck injury for a while, and I’ve actually had two neck surgeries. No one knows that. I only posted about one, but I actually had two. My surgeon wanted to put a little bit more hardware in there. But fully recovered, fully healed. I actually went to WWE’s spinal surgeon to do the surgeries, and I got clearance a few weeks ago, so, I had been pitching storylines and working towards my in-ring return with TNA. But then, I received a phone call on Monday of this week that basically they never wanted to let me wrestle at TNA again. They just didn’t feel comfortable with that. So then I made the decision to leave, and my husband did too in solidarity.”

Steph De Lander later added:

“So I reached out actually to my boss and was like, ‘Look, if there’s been a conversation about me not wrestling again, just let me know,’ and yeah, Carlos (Silva) called me on Monday and told me, ‘Look, we’re just not comfortable with you wrestling,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I’m literally fully cleared’ and he said, ‘Yep, not into it,’ and then I asked, ‘Do you know what my injury is?’ And he didn’t know. He couldn’t tell me what my injury was. It’s definitely based on personal feelings. I mean, I have not been evaluated by any medical professional on the TNA end. They have a chiropractor at the shows and I think one other doctor who I’ve barely spoken with so, they haven’t evaluated my medical history, they haven’t contacted my surgeon, they haven’t looked at any of my medical stuff. It’s just, they made a personal decision and yeah, that’s where we are now.”

Steph De Lander also said:

“I mean, I don’t think there is a bridge that has been burned. I don’t have any personal ill will towards anyone. I enjoyed working there. A lot of people that work there, I really respect. I’m hurt about the situation of course, but I also think that they probably understand and I think a lot of people when they hear this interview and actually hear more of the nuts and bolts of the situation will understand too. So, in a few years time, if they see that I’ve been wrestling and I’ve been fine and maybe they wanna offer me something, we’ll have that conversation, or if there are different people in charge that have different opinions, we can have that conversation again too. I don’t wanna never say never to anything, or to anyone. It’s all just how my journey goes but, I think I’m done with TNA for right now.”