TNA News: Bobby Lashley pulled out of Indie event
TNA have taken control of the independent bookings of their top star Bobby Lashley resulting in a cancellation at an event, with Teddy Hart’s name being reported to be drafted instead of Lashley.
Lashley was reportedly pulled from an upcoming tournament promoted by Mexican promotion Lucha Libre Elite. One promoter who had Lashley booked says that with TNA Wrestling taking control of Lashley’s outside bookings, the company wanted to charge him $6,000 per match to book Lashley which is much more than what he was previously charging. With that being said, the promoter decided to pull Lashley from the tournament. Teddy Hart is reported to replace Lashley in the Elite event.
As a consequence of TNA taking over the duties and raising his fee, Lashley has reportedly lost at least two more bookings in the recent past. The cancelled bookings also included a show in Puerto Rico.
TNA’s business model here is to offer talent a higher dollar amount on their contracts, then make it back by booking the talent to independent promotions. In the case of new TNA signee Moose, for example, TNA is expected to book him for 110 non-TNA dates over the next year. This model has helped them generate revenue in the past and the company is expected to stick with it for the near future.