There has been a lot of criticism among the Internet Wrestling Community aimed toward TNA and Carlos Silva. TNA recently removed its talents from independent cards over potential conflicts with other partners. This edict saw TNA President Carlos Silva pull their contracted talent from advertised matches. As a result, Nic Nemeth vs. MJF for Create A Pro Wrestling and Leon Slater vs. Ricochet for WrestleCon’s Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow were canceled. After Carlos Silva received backlash, AJ Francis calls out AEW for the same practices.
Carlos Silva Gets Heat Over Pulling TNA Talents from Matches with AEW Stars
TNA received a lot of flak for causing major changes in plans for independent promotions. In particular, Carlos Silva caught heat for canceling Leon Slater vs. Ricochet at a memorial show.
When Carlos Silva cited it as a conflict of interest with his partners, many eyes turned toward WWE. It was believed that the TKO-owned entity didn’t want an affiliate company’s talent to lose to Tony Khan’s talent. However, Carlos Silva insists that this cancellation was due to the show being on the same night as TNA on AMC.
That said, Nic Nemeth vs. MJF was scheduled for Friday, May 1st. Therefore, the conflict certainly becomes a matter of TNA talent losing to AEW talent.
MJF spoke out about the cancellation:
Carlos Silva didn’t take these accusations lying down. The TNA President has insisted that AEW has blocked TNA from venues and moved time slots to compete against iMPACT Wrestling programming. However, MJF doubled down, saying AEW only runs opposed when the NBA causes a preemption.
Suffice to say, TNA, Carlos Silva, and even the WWE are catching heat. However, former WWE Superstar AJ Francis thinks this anger is unwarranted. After all, Tony Khan pulled the same dirty tricks on him once.
AJ Francis Calls Out AEW for Canceling Powerhouse Hobbs Match
While TNA blamed their partners for their decision to pull talent out of matches with AEW wrestlers, AJ Francis insists Tony Khan did the same thing in 2024.
The Fir$t Cla$$ leader shared a scathing clapback on X:
According to AJ Francis, he was supposed to face Powerhouse Hobbs at a 4th Rope Wrestling event the night before he challenged Nic Nemeth for the TNA Title. The only time AJ Francis fought the former Dolph Ziggler for the TNA Championship was on December 13, 2024 at Final Resolution. These two ex-WWE stars clashed in the Main Event of Final Resolution at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia.
In line with AJ Francis’ claim, 4th Rope Wrestling held a show at Center Stage on December 12, 2024. The Westside Gunn-owned promotion brought The Heels Have Eyes 4 to Atlanta the night before Final Resolution.
Interestingly, AJ Francis wasn’t used on the card. That said, Powerhouse Hobbs was in Six-Man Tag Team action. The future Royce Keys teamed with Kenny King and Mike Santana to defeat The System.