Scott D’Amore has offered a candid explanation for one of the most familiar venue choices of the modern IMPACT Wrestling era: TNA’s repeated use of Toronto’s REBEL Nightclub.
From 2017 through 2023, whenever IMPACT Wrestling—now again operating under the TNA Wrestling name—brought television to Toronto, REBEL was regularly the destination. The nightclub and entertainment venue became closely associated with the company’s Canadian dates, providing a distinct visual setting for television tapings and live events during a period when the promotion was rebuilding its business and attempting to establish greater stability.
D’Amore, who served in a key leadership role during that stretch and later became TNA president, said the fundamental reason behind the recurring arrangement was straightforward: the company had to work within a restrictive budget.
“Budget,” D’Amore said with a laugh when asked why the promotion returned to REBEL so often. “It was a tough go at Impact early on when Don and I came in. We were taking over a company that had a long stretch of losing money year over year, and the year before was a terrible, terrible year. We had really tough restrictions on us.”
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The “Don” referenced by D’Amore is Don Callis, who worked alongside him in helping guide the company during a turbulent phase in its history. The former IMPACT executive described an environment where spending decisions could not be made on optimism, projected revenue or future plans. Funds needed to be available and properly accounted for before payments could be approved.
“If we owed you money, ‘Hey, pay Joel,’ the accountant would come back and say, ‘There is no money,’” D’Amore said. “The money had to be in the account and accounted for for us to do it.”
That description supplies important context for why a venue such as REBEL made sense for the company at the time. TNA was not merely searching for a building in Toronto. It needed a location that could suit the available financial model, provide a credible setting for wrestling television and be operated by partners prepared to work with the promotion’s limitations.
REBEL offered a recognizable atmosphere that was notably different from a conventional arena or civic center. Its interior presentation, especially the ceiling and lighting possibilities, helped the promotion create a more polished visual identity than its capacity might have suggested. For a company that could not necessarily fill much larger buildings, creating an environment that appeared lively and important on camera was a significant consideration.
“Rebel is a great venue,” D’Amore said. “It was the kind of venue where we were confident that we could put a decent sized crowd in for the room, and when you’re struggling to make sure you have a look and feel with prestige, that ceiling at Rebel is pretty cool.”
In wrestling, a venue’s role extends beyond simply holding ticket buyers. The building has to work for the live audience, but it also has to work for cameras, entrances, lighting, production equipment and the overall image a company projects to viewers. A packed smaller venue can often create more energy than a sparsely populated larger one, particularly for a televised product. D’Amore’s comments make clear that REBEL’s appeal was rooted in that balance between appearance, atmosphere and economics.
At the same time, he did not portray the nightclub as a perfect long-term solution or the ideal scale for TNA’s ambitions. The central drawback was obvious: there was a hard limit to how many people the building could accommodate.
“Is it the ideal spot? No,” D’Amore said. “But Tony and the people over there who have that property were amazing to us to work with and they also made it appealing for us to go there. They were willing to play within the limited budget we had. We couldn’t put 3000 people into Rebel, and that was one of those things that was frustrating.”
That frustration captures a familiar tension for a rebuilding wrestling promotion. Smaller buildings can be useful for controlling costs and making a show feel full, yet they also cap ticket revenue and can make it harder to demonstrate visible growth. For TNA, REBEL represented a practical compromise: it gave the company a dependable Toronto location where it could produce a strong-looking show without taking on the risks associated with a substantially larger venue.
The relationship with the venue’s ownership and staff was also a meaningful part of the equation. D’Amore credited Tony and the people behind the property for being accommodating. In an era defined by restrictions, flexibility from a venue partner could be just as valuable as the room itself. Wrestling events require specific logistical needs, from ring construction and production load-in to security, talent areas and long taping schedules. A facility willing to accommodate those demands while remaining within a limited financial range could become a valuable recurring partner.
TNA’s Toronto events at REBEL consequently became part of the identity of the IMPACT era. The promotion returned to the venue because it knew what it could deliver there: a decent-sized crowd relative to the room, a visually distinctive setting and a cost structure that could be managed at a time when careful spending was essential.
D’Amore’s reflections also underline how much the company’s leadership focused on preserving and improving the business rather than chasing unsustainable optics. A larger building may have sounded more impressive on paper, but a bigger venue would not necessarily have been the right decision if it increased expense, weakened the visual atmosphere or created pressure the company could not reasonably absorb.
Rather than present the choice as a compromise alone, D’Amore expressed pride in what the team achieved under those circumstances. He said the company was in a far stronger place by the time of his departure than it had been when he and Callis first stepped into their roles.
“[I’m] really proud of the work we did there, and where we took Impact and where we left it,” D’Amore said. “When I got fired there, we had it in a much better position and poised for continued growth. Would’ve loved to continue that path and seen it through. I think we would’ve done great, but that wasn’t in the cards.”
D’Amore was removed from his TNA position in 2024, ending his most recent run with the promotion. His comments about REBEL look back on a period in which the company had to prioritize sustainability while rebuilding its presentation and its relationship with audiences in important markets such as Toronto.
For fans who associated the venue with IMPACT’s Canadian television tapings, the explanation may be less glamorous than speculation about creative plans or tradition. It was, in D’Amore’s words, about budget. But it was also about making the most of what was available. REBEL offered TNA an environment that could look prestigious, house an engaged audience and remain financially viable while the company operated under strict constraints.
D’Amore has since moved into a new chapter with Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. He said he is grateful for how events unfolded because they led him to MLP and its MLP Northern Rising event, which was held at Maple Leaf Gardens. The contrast is notable: his reflections on the REBEL era center on working within the limitations of a rebuilding company, while his current venture has already brought him to one of Canada’s most historic wrestling venues.
Still, D’Amore’s account of TNA’s REBEL years is not one of embarrassment or regret. It is a reminder that the company’s survival and progress were built through difficult practical decisions. The venue may not have been capable of holding 3,000 fans, and it may not have represented the final destination D’Amore envisioned, but it served an essential purpose during a crucial stretch of TNA’s history.
For seven years, when IMPACT came to Toronto, REBEL was often the place where the promotion could put its best foot forward within the reality of its budget. D’Amore’s explanation makes clear that the repeated choice was less about habit than it was about strategy, trust and the difficult work of building a healthier company step by step.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.