MLP's Scott D'Amore: Wrestlers and Social Media Drive Our Talent Scouting
The short version
- MLP founder Scott D'Amore relies on wrestler recommendations and social media clips to scout talent.
- MLP aims to develop performers and graduate them to AEW, CMLL and other promotions by 2031.
- D'Amore says MLP is not trying to compete financially with WWE and AEW.
- MLP Mayhem launched on TSN, and MLP partners with AEW's MyAEW service.
- MLP Northern Rising is set for Saturday at Mattamy Athletic Centre, formerly Maple Leaf Gardens.
MLP founder Scott D'Amore says word-of-mouth from wrestlers and online clips shape his talent search, with the promotion aiming to graduate stars to AEW and CMLL.
Scott D'Amore, founder of the Canadian professional wrestling promotion MLP, says his most useful scouting tool is the wrestling community itself. In an interview with Heavy Sports for the outlet's program The Game Plan, D'Amore described how performers working the circuit function as an informal talent network, and how online content has sharpened his read on how a performer works.
Wrestlers appearing on shows across Canada, the United States and around the world regularly pass along recommendations, he said, whether for someone who impressed on a particular card or a promising trainee a veteran has been working with. "The best way to look at things is through the people you know," D'Amore said, noting that the tips often describe a young wrestler who is "a little raw" but has "something special."
Social media has widened that pipeline considerably, in his view. Wrestlers can now circulate their own footage, and D'Amore said far more material reaches him because people see clips online and forward them, leaving him to say, "Well, that's interesting," and follow up from there. He described the platforms as valuable for promoters and performers alike, and said the online shift "changed the game" for getting wrestlers' work seen.
D'Amore added that every promotion approaches talent evaluation differently. WWE, with its extensive resources and its own developmental system, operates on a scale that MLP — a Canadian-based company without the financial resources of WWE or AEW — cannot match. Rather than treating the two industry giants as direct competition, D'Amore said his aim is for MLP to be a trusted, high-quality product built around performers with star potential.
For many wrestlers breaking into the industry, WWE and AEW are the ultimate goal, and D'Amore said that dynamic can work in MLP's favor. He views his promotion as a development platform, and argued that graduating a wrestler to one of the larger companies would further establish MLP as a place where talent is built.
He put a timeline on that ambition. If he is giving the same interview in five years and MLP's roster is unchanged in 2031, "well then we fail," D'Amore said, because the company should be sending talent on to AEW, CMLL and other promotions around the world. "This platform is really to develop and showcase talent," he said.
He also expects a longer-term payoff. Wrestlers who move on to bigger stages and appreciated their time in MLP, he said, will often "come back and give back to wrestling, to the company, the community, and help lift up the next generation of wrestlers."
MLP has been expanding its audience in the meantime. The company launched MLP Mayhem on TSN, and its partnership with AEW's MyAEW service has continued to attract new fans to the product.
D'Amore is now gearing up for the promotion's next milestone: MLP Northern Rising takes place Saturday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, the arena formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens.
