Today’s TNA business story comes from something that Dave Meltzer mentioned last night on Wrestling Observer Radio: “They’re probably gonna end up filing for bankruptcy. And then what happens? I don’t know.” After recapping the situation, he also added that “Dixie is still trying to figure out a way to — this is why it hasn’t been sold — to…I don’t know if it’s to stay in control, but the whole thing is she doesn’t want to look bad publicly.” Which is a ship that may have sailed.
First things first, let’s clear up some confusion that’s come up whenever this topic is broached: Does this mean they’re going out of business? No, not inherently.
There are two types of bankruptcy, Chapter 7 and Chapter 11. Chapter 7 is the type that the average person associates with bankruptcy, which is liquidation and pretty much guarantees the end of the company. Chapter 11 is restructuring, and allows a chance for the company to continue operating while settling the debts. For example, when HHG, ECW’s parent company, filed bankruptcy in 2001, it was Chapter 11, but was eventually converted to Chapter 7 for reason that should be obvious. TNA could theoretically file Chapter 11 and come out of this running shows.
With that out if the way, if TNA filed bankruptcy, who would they put down as creditors (the people/companies that it owes money)? Based on what we know, the list would include:
- Audience of One Productions, the production company suing TNA for about a quarter of a million dollars in unpaid fees and interest.
- Aroluxe Media, the production company that replaced Audience of One and has put money into the company yo keep it going.
- Anthem Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of The Fight Network, which airs TNA in Canada, as well as MCC Acquisitions, which is believed to be a shell company related to Anthem. MCC is the company that paid for the last round of TV tapings.
- The state of Tennessee, which has a lien on TNA for unpaid taxes.
- Various wrestlers who have not been paid or not paid in full, including Trent Barreta, who tweeted that the company refuses to reissue a check that he waited too long to cash.
You may have noticed that Billy Corgan is not listed above: That’s because, as we reported last week, while the debts to Aroluxe and Fight Network/Anthem/MCC are on file with the Tennessee Secretary of State, there is no such debt to Corgan. Instead, Dixie Carter is listed as owing him money personally, and that was filed with Tennessee the day before he filed his lawsuit. If that means that TNA has no debt to Corgan, then he’s in trouble if TNA files bankruptcy and Carter doesn’t.
There’s another debt, filed with the state of Delaware, listed in public record databases that we hadn’t mentioned yet. It shows TNA (through previous parent company TNA Entertainment,t not the current Impact Ventures) owing money to Navarre Corporation, their DVD distributor, since 2005. Starting in 2008, Navarre went through both a merger and a subsequent acquisition, and the debt listing itself has not been updated since 2010.
If TNA does file bankruptcy, then the secured creditors (those that TNA offered up collateral to and would have a lien on said collateral) will be first in line to collect. This would leave the wrestlers, Audience of One, and potentially Corgan (who looks like he has a secured claim, just with Dixie Carter and not the company) unlikely to collect. It also means that if The Fight Network wants the tape library (and it’s been reported that they may even have a portion already), they’d be in better position to get it than WWE. It’s long been believed that this is why WWE loaned ECW $587,500 in 2000, to get priority on the tape library and other intellectual property. However, that was a non-secured debt.
What does this mean for Corgan? We may find out Thursday if his lawsuit filings are unsealed by the court as has been rumored. Based on what we know now, though, he may have to hope that Dixie Carter files personal bankruptcy like Paul Heyman eventually did. Otherwise, his only recourse may be through his mysterious lawsuit.
