Posted on 3/06/126 by Colin Vassallo
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.