TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater is set for the biggest match of his career this weekend, as he’ll team with “NXT” star Je’Von Evans to face WWE World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee on WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. It’s a match that doesn’t come without controversy, however, as Slater was forced to pull out of two bookings this weekend, including Austrian promotion wXw’s 25th Anniversary show. The short notice of it all has reportedly left wXw annoyed with WWE’s handling of the situation, feeling it put Slater in a tough position to cancel a booking they claim he had agreed to in March.

At least one promoter doesn’t agree with wXw’s position. Taking to X on Tuesday evening to respond to a tweet aggregating a report on Slater’s situation, GCW owner and promoter Brett Lauderdale defended the way the situation was handled, pointing out that Slater was contracted to WWE’s promotional partner TNA, and as such would have to make TNA and their partners a priority over other promotions.

“When you book a contracted talent, you do it with the understanding that the talent can be pulled at any time for any reason (or no reason),” Lauderdale tweeted. “In this case, it’s inconvenient but you have to be thrilled for Leon and realize he will now be that much more valuable when he returns.”

Lauderdale is connected to several of the parties involved, having used Slater on GCW shows since 2022, including seven times in 2025. GCW has also gotten more involved with WWE this year, including hosting a WWE ID showcase show in early August, which featured matches for the WWE ID Women’s Championship and the WWE ID Men’s Championship.