Steph De Lander and her husband, Mance Warner, abruptly quit TNA Wrestling this week and speaking to TMZ, De Lander explained the reasons why they decided to walk out.
De Lander underwent spinal fusion surgery back in October 2024 and TNA officials made it clear to her that she would not be allowed to wrestle for the promotion again due to her injury.
She had a one level cervical spinal fusion of her C5-C6 vertebrae, which she described as the “most basic straightforward neck injury that so many wrestlers in WWE and AEW have had” before fully recovered and returned to the ring.
“I actually went to WWE’s spinal surgeon to do the surgeries and I got clearance a few weeks ago,” De Lander told TMZ.
But she received a call on Monday where she was informed that the company was not comfortable with letting her wrestle.
“So, then I made the decision to leave, and my husband did too in solidarity.”
De Lander added that she was never evaluated by anyone in TNA following her surgery and the company never looked at her medical history or speak to her surgeon.
“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,” she said.
De Lander also revealed that she paid for her surgery and another one to add some “more hardware” in her neck as well as all her physical therapy.
“My insurance maxed out, so I currently have a $9,000 Advent Health bill sitting there,” she told TMZ.
