Backstage Details on What Led to Bobby Roode and Eric Young Leaving TNA

– As noted, former TNA World Heavyweight Champions Bobby Roode and Eric Young are now free agents as they both were granted their releases and finished up with TNA this weekend. The two good friends, who signed their TNA contracts together 12 years ago, will face each other in the main event of Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore event on May 7th in Niagara Falls.

While they signed with TNA and left at the same time, their departures had nothing to do with each other. There are rumors going around saying the two decided to leave after being turned down on pay raises. PWInsider reports that those rumors are incorrect. Both departures came as a surprise but Young leaving shocked a lot of people as he’s been one of their most loyal talents throughout the years.

Young actually signed a new deal recently but was reportedly upset with what he was offered. Young was also believed to be frustrated with how wrestlers who hadn’t been with TNA as long, or had left and come back, were being offered deals better than his or at the same level. With that said, it’s also believed that Young had freedom to do outside projects without TNA’s involvement while a lot of talents being signed are 100% exclusive to TNA.

Young reportedly spoke up about being unhappy and TNA officials told him to decide on if he wanted to leave or stay. Young didn’t want to be locked into a deal and wanted freedom to pursue other projects as he’s approaching 40. The two sides negotiated his release, which included him working last week’s Impact Wrestling tapings in Orlando.

Regarding Roode’s departure, it’s being described as similar to what led to AJ Styles leaving a few years ago. Roode was under a contract that saw him being one of the highest-paid wrestlers, if not the highest paid wrestler, in the company. That deal expired in February. Apparently TNA felt like they couldn’t continue paying Roode, who was back in a tag team with James Storm, what he had been making and he wasn’t being used at a level where they felt they could make enough revenue off him to justify the pay. PWInsider described it as Roode working himself into a position that made him too expensive for TNA to retain in their current state. There had also been issues between Roode and TNA officials for months now as he was very upset with TNA getting behind on pay, and he was reportedly very vocal about it.

Roode also recently agreed to a new contract but changed his mind and requested the release due to “more frustrations.” No word on what caused those issues but multiple sources reported to PWInsider that TNA had already caught Roode up on pay. Like Young, Roode’s release included him working last week’s Impact tapings.

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