Ex-TNA Employee Accuses Promotion of Desperate Tactics to Hide Low Attendance

Former TNA talent Master Emir is doubling down on his accusations against the company—this time claiming TNA not only exploits indie wrestlers for free labor but also manipulates live crowd visuals to hide poor ticket sales.

On the February 2, 2026 episode of the Café de René podcast, Emir revealed that during his time with the promotion, he witnessed TNA disguising empty seats by directing attendees to one side of the arena and manipulating camera angles.

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Emir said. “You had wrestlers who thought that if they kept going there, they’d eventually get a job at TNA, so they volunteered to work for free as extras. One of the things they had them doing… was ushering people to the side of the arena where the cameras were. That way, that side looked packed while half of the arena was empty. Yeah… damn.”

The story came in response to co-host Rico’s anecdote about WWE sometimes adjusting seating for better visual presentation—but Emir claimed TNA’s motive was desperation, not aesthetics. “They couldn’t even sell out a 5,000-seat arena in California,” he added.

This follows Emir’s January 24 appearance on the podcast where he called TNA “some of the biggest swindlers on the planet” and accused the company of using unpaid labor by luring extras with false hopes of contracts. Emir alleged indie talent are asked to work 14-hour days doing grunt work—like cleaning up blood and serving food to signed wrestlers—with virtually no chance of an in-ring opportunity.

“These indie pro wrestlers go there and work 14 hours a day,” he continued. “They make them do things like serve other wrestlers food—yes, in the canteen, I witnessed it—pick up trash, clean blood off the ring. Of course, they set up the ring and everything else. At the end of the day, do they get a dark match? Maybe one in 50. That’s it. Free labor. Free labor, people.”

As of now, TNA has not responded to either set of allegations. But the timing is critical: the company recently returned to the limelight with its rebrand and national television deal with AMC, attempting to recapture credibility in the wrestling world.

What’s your take on Master Emir’s claims? Do you think TNA will respond—or will this controversy keep growing?

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