Just days after finalizing their dramatic exit from TNA Wrestling, Mance Warner and Steph De Lander have already resurfaced on the independent scene. The duo made a surprise and highly impactful return to Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) during the main event of the GCW So Alive event on Saturday night.
A Statement Made Following TNA Exit
Their arrival occurred during the climax of the show, where they immediately aligned themselves with the Second Gear Crew (AJ Gray and Matthew Justice). Warner and De Lander helped fend off an attack from VNDL48 (Atticus and Otis Cogar). The chaotic brawl quickly transitioned into an impromptu six-man tag team match, pitting the newly reunited Second Gear Crew against the Cogars and Christian Napier. Although the Cogar-led team ultimately scored the victory, the true story was the defiant return of Warner and De Lander.
Following the broadcast, De Lander took to social media to explicitly address their appearance and the controversial circumstances surrounding their recent departure from TNA. In a video posted online, she declared, “I’m not gonna let a businessman with a hat tell me when my career is over. Mance & SDL are back in GCW.”
The “businessman” reference is aimed at TNA President Carlos Silva. Earlier in the week, it was revealed that De Lander quit the company after Silva informed her that TNA would not allow her to wrestle for them again, despite the fact that she had been fully cleared for in-ring action by her spinal surgeon following two neck surgeries. “I made the decision to leave, and my husband [Warner] did too in solidarity,” she explained in a recent interview. De Lander, who previously wrestled in WWE as Persia Pirotta, seems eager to prove her medical clearance is legitimate on the grueling GCW circuit.
