Allie recently spoke with Sportskeeda to talk about various topics. Here are the highlights:
Jeff Jarrett no longer being with Impact Wrestling:
“Well, I had a really good relationship with Jeff. I knew Jeff when Braxton [Sutter] and I actually worked for Global Force in the UK. We did a tour, and we also did some of his shows around the US, so both Karen and Jeff we knew pretty well. They’ve really been great with us. I’ve had a great relationship with both of them for a while. We haven’t been back at TV, so it’s gonna be different without them, but I know the company is in really good hands, so I’m not too worried.” Working with Gail Kim: “Well, I’ve looked up to Gail since before I started wrestling and I actually heard so many stories about her at the school I was training in — Squared Circle Training – Gail also did some training at that school. So, I heard so much about Gail, how athletic she was, how amazing she was. Then to be able to debut for Impact Wrestling against Gail, and now flash forward to Bound For Glory to be able to share the ring with her during her retirement year, it’s kinda like mind-blowing for me and it’s an honor to share the ring with her.” You can read the entire interview here.
– The main event of the upcoming WrestleCade Supershow has been announced. Former WWE Superstar Ryback will square off against former TNA World Champion Jeff Jarrett.
WrestleCade Supershow takes place on Saturday night, November 25th from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This is the card going head-to-head with WWE Starrcade, being held locally from Greensboro.
– Per a report from PWInsider, ex-TNA Knockout Madison Rayne has been at the WWE Performance Center this week. WWE has been showing interest in inking her to a contract for the past several months.
According to a report by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Anthem Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of Global Force Wrestling, is “hemorrhaging funds” on the wrestling promotion and is looking to cut bait.
“GFW is hemorrhaging funds, and sources close to the situation have confirmed that Anthem is ready to withdraw itself from the wrestling industry and sell GFW. Anthem even needed to gut the Fight Network in order to finance GFW.” (SI.com)
When Anthem swooped in (like an owl) late last year and purchased a majority stake in Impact Wrestling from Panda Energy and the Carter family, the purchased an asset deeply in debt and facing lawsuits on several fronts (Billy Corgan, the Hardy family, the Audience of One production company).
In an effort to alleviate the financial burden they acquired, Anthem has been aggressively cutting talent and scaling back on television tapings.
The news comes on the heels of Tuesday’s announcement that Jeff Jarrett is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the company due to ‘personal issues.’
Another dynamic at play is the fact that Jeff Jarrett reportedly still owns the “Global Force Wrestling” trademark. Anthem’s decision to rebrand the company without owning the rights to “Global Force Wrestling” is ‘questionable’ at best. As such, Anthem would technically be selling “Impact Wrestling.”
At this point, the biggest asset under the Impact Wrestling umbrella is the TNA Wrestling tape library. WWE seems like the most logical buyer of this tape library, which includes years of matches from the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle, Sting, Eric Young, Drew McIntyre and more.
Discussion: Which GFW stars would you want to see in WWE?
Global Force Wrestling (GFW) issued the following statement announcing that Jeff Jarrett will be taking an ‘indefinite leave of absence’ from his role as Chief Creative Office for the company:
“Effective immediately, Jeff Jarrett is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his position as Chief Creative Officer to focus on personal matters. Jeff will be available on a consultative basis as needed.”
GFW has yet to make a decision on who will take over Jarrett’s duties in his absence. Original plans had Jarrett taking on Alberto El Patron at the GFW Bound For Glory pay-per-view (PPV) this November. That match is now likely off.
Sports Illustrated recently published an article on their Extra Mustard blog about the ongoing legal battle between Matt and Jeff Hardy versus Anthem Sports and Entertainment over the rights to the ‘Broken’ gimmick. The new report notes that this stems back to when Matt and Jeff were renegotiating their deals with Impact Wrestling before they departed from the company. Anthem reportedly offered Jeff a very lucrative multi-year deal, but low-balled Matt Hardy with their offer. The new report also states that Matt Hardy was also offered a role on the creative team at Impact Wrestling, but the offer was later rescinded by Jeff Jarrett.
It was also revealed in the new article published on Sports Illustrated that The Hardys and Anthem were close to agreeing on a deal for the ‘Broken’ gimmick. The Hardys reportedly would have paid between $10,000 and $15,000 to acquire the rights to the gimmick. The report also confirms that there was a non-disparagement agreement involved in the deal, which would see Reby Hardy pay $1,000 fine for the first offense and $5,000 after that for every time Reby Hardy posted something about Anthem on Twitter. Reby recently took a couple of shots at Anthem and Jarrett on Twitter after Jarrett claimed that The Hardys had not acquired the ‘Broken’ gimmick.
The agreement also was said to include The Hardys signing off on a press release that stated that both sides settled on good terms. According to the report, Anthem then wanted 50% of all of the Hardys revenue, which would include Jeff’s art and music. The Hardys saw it as “a monumental heist and money-grab”. The report also notes that GFW is looking to profit off the use of the gimmick by creating “Broken” Hardys DVD or digital series. That would be difficult to accomplish because the Hardys would not endorse the products and would encourage fans not to purchase them.
Global Force Wrestling issued the following statement to Sports Illustrated:
“WWE has clearly stated via email that they do not want the ‘Broken Brilliance’ IP [intellectual property],” GFW said in a statement to SI. “GFW has been and always will be open to a licensing agreement for the IP to all parties, which is customary in the music and entertainment business, but revolutionary in the professional wrestling business.”
After walking out on the promotion, ex-WWE Champion CM Punk decided to sign a multi-fight deal with the UFC back in 2014 and embark in a career in mixed martial arts (MMA). Despite dedicating two years of his life to prepare for his inaugural bout, Punk dropped a first round submission loss to young welterweight prospect Mickey Gall at UFC 203 this past September.
Although he seems to be fully dedicated to his new career choice, there is currently a high demand for “The Cult Of Personality” in the professional wrestling world. Global Force Wrestling’s Jeff Jarrett recently took part in a media call earlier this week and was asked if he has reached out to Punk regarding a possible signing. Check out what he had to say here:
“No, CM Punk, to my knowledge, no conversations that I’ve certainly had,” Jarrett said. But also [inaudible] my understanding he’s signed to a UFC situation and that’s where his energy is heading. Unbelievable talent. And I’ve said it when it first came out, hats off to the guy to step into that Octagon. Win, lose or draw, he’s a winner in my book for chasing his dreams.”
Jeff Jarrett says The Hardys haven’t acquired the “Broken” gimmick
Jeff Jarrett took part in a media conference call this afternoon and was asked by Raj Giri of Wrestling, Inc. if the Hardys have acquired the “Broken” gimmick. Jarrett simply replied “no they haven’t”. On this past week’s episode of RAW, The Hardy Boyz dropped some references to becoming “obsolete” and “broken”. Time will tell if Matt and Jeff bring the gimmick over to WWE, but it appears that they are still locked in a legal battle with Global Force Wrestling over who has the rights to it.
Reby Hardy responds to Jeff Jarrett on Twitter
Reby Hardy, wife of Matt Hardy, disagreed with Jeff Jarrett’s comments during the conference call earlier today and responded to Jarrett’s answer on Twitter. Reby claimed that there is an agreement in place and that the agreement also included a non-disparagement clause where they would have to pay Anthem Sports and Entertainment $5,000 for anytime she tweets something about GFW.
It’s been a big week for Jeff Jarrett. The man who helped create NWA: Total Non-Stop Action in 2002, has now reached a deal to rebrand the company into Global Force Wrestling. The promotion returns to PPV this Sunday.
Jarrett recently sat down with Sports Illustrated to speak on the upcoming PPV, the Hardys, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi32bKLPgO4
Jeff Jarrett Interview Highlights
On keeping a promotion’s roster fresh:
“The old saying is familiarity breeds contempt, so my philosophy is to refresh the roster. The brand took a lot of hits over the past 36 months, and the quickest way to rebrand is by bringing in new talent and giving new opportunities.”
On his relationship with the Hardys:
“My family and Jeff Hardy’s family have taken vacations together for several years, and Jeff’s been one of my best friends for a long time, but business is business.”
“Whether it’s a song you write or a television show or a movie or professional wrestling, there are three components to IP law. There is publishing, there are writers, and there are performers. The publisher is always the owner.
The discussions have really gotten twisted, but IP law is real simple. The publishers are the owners. I’ll leave it at that because I want to take the high road. I think very highly of Jeff, and I respect Matt Hardy’s ability, quite frankly, more than he ever will know, but business is business. I’m very happy for their success, and they’re kicking butt in WWE.”
On Slammiversary:
“I can tell you about the heavyweight title, the women’s match between Rosemary vs. Sienna, or the X-division match between Sonjay Dutt and Low Ki. We have a star from the NFL in DeAngelo Williams wrestling. From top to bottom, you will be thoroughly entertained by this show.”
On Expansion to India:
“We were the first wrestling organization to ever produce content on Indian soil, and that is something we’re very proud of. Airing on Spike in the U.K. is another milestone for us, and we got in our ratings from Africa, where there has been a constant, steady growth.”
It has been an up-and-down battle for the “Broken” gimmick over these past few months between Impact Wrestling and The Hardys. Matt and Jeff made the decision to leave Impact earlier this year, in favor of returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33 where they won the RAW Tag Team Championships in a Fatal Four Way Ladder Match. Although Matt has still been using some “Broken” mannerisms and chants, he hasn’t been able to fully utilize the gimmicks potential due to the ongoing legal battle of the character’s rights with Impact.
Both sides have made arguments as to why the rights to the character rightfully belong to them, and Impact Wrestling’s Jeff Jarrett was the latest to chime in during a recent interview with Wrestle:List:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs_E-quJdiE
“I always take the high road because there is legal squabbles or potential legal squabbles but I have said this to a couple of outlets, and I say this with very broad strokes – I am from Nashville so I am around music which is intellectual property and I have been in the business 30 years,” Jarrett said. “Intellectual property laws are very simple, there are two sides to it; there are publishers and the writers, then there are the performers as well.”
“Jeff Hardy has been one of my best friends for 20 years, you can look on my social media and their social media, and we take family vacations together but business is business,” Jarrett continued. “So when it relates to IP it’s real simple, there is a publisher who owns the property, there is a writer who gets credit and can monetize it, then there is the performers. There is no question that Broken Matt and Brother Nero’s performances were off the charts good. But when it comes to ownership to me it’s almost a silly squabble, it’s never been in question. Impact are the owners.”
You can read Jarrett’s full interview with Wrestle:List here.
Jeff Jarrett recently did an interview with Sportskeeda during Impact Wrestling’s tour of India. Jarrett talked about India being an important market for Impact to tackle, ‘Slapnutz’, and a possible in-ring return. Here’s what he had to say:
Where the term ‘Slapnutz’ originated from:
“Oh Slapnutz. That is a legendary term that, to this day, continues to garner quite a bit of interest. Whether it’s Beetlejuice or Mae Young and Moolah, they’ve all been smacked on the head with a guitar and called a Slapnut. I remember in the early days of Slapnutz, we were in Detroit, Michigan and I was working for WCW where I was pulled into a small room, and Standards and Practices looked at me and said, ‘Jeff, we want you to explain something to us.
“We really want to know what’s going on, because we have been called from the North Tower of the Turner Organization and asked what actually is a Slapnut, We feel this needs to be censored.’ So, Slapnutz was derived from my grandmother Christine Jarrett and she used to call people slappy. A slappy was someone who slapped their gums together. She would say, they know more and more about less and less every day.
“Let that sink in. So you put that in 1999 language and you turn it into a slapnut, with a Z. It sort of just took off, sold a lot of t-shirts, had a lot of fun. It’s funny. Here we are in 2017, in Mumbai, India and you’re asking me about Slapnutz. You’re the crazy one (Laughs).”
If he’ll be getting in the ring again:
“I’ve got my promoter cap on. Firstly, my wife doesn’t want me in the ring. Karen is like- ‘Stay out of it’. Obviously, being inside the ring and wrestling is my first love. It’s something I grew up dreaming about and then [I] got to step into the ring with all the greats. Before I was a wrestler, and certainly before I was a promoter, I was a wrestling fan. It’s something I still love. You know, I’m just past my 31st year in the business…that does make me feel old…but no, my in-ring days are far behind me. [However, you can] Never say never in this business.”
India being an important market for Impact:
“It’s very important. You know, we are here at The Westin, minutes away from Film City (site of the Impact Zone in Mumbai) and this isn’t my first time in India producing professional wrestling but it’s very obvious that over the last 120 days, Anthem Wrestling and the new ownership and the new regime…it’s a rebuilding of the brand and it’s a priority. With the United States, it’s our home base but with the United Kingdom and India, both of them are our top priorities. Impact coming to India and producing content has been talked about for a long time and here we are.
My family’s been in the business for over 70 years, so to do something that is a first is very hard. And so producing Impact on Indian soil is truly history making. It’s something that no one takes lightly. We are very, very excited, from the production to the administration to the talent, every facet of our organisation is truly excited. How ironic is it that we’re producing 4 episodes of Impact that lead up to our fifteen year anniversary. In the States, Slammiversary coming up on July 2nd, is a pay-per-view. Around the world, it is premium content. We’ve been here two days and couldn’t be more excited.”
You can read Jarrett’s full interview with Sportskeeda here.
IMPACT have announced that Bobby Lashley will be appearing for WOS (World of Sport) during their first run of TV Tapings on May 25th/26th.
The partnership between IMPACT/WOS was announced at the recent ITV press conference by Jeremy Borash and Jeff Jarrett.
Other confirmed acts for the tapings include:
WOS Champion Grado
Magnus/Nick Aldis
Davey Boy Smith Jr
El Ligero
Dave Mastiff
Zack Gibson
Have your tickets for @WOSWrestlingITV yet? Better hurry! @fightbobby is coming to Preston Guild Hall on May 25th and May 26th. pic.twitter.com/Fu2ghWFAsq
Famed UK Wrestling series World of Sport will be making its return later this year. UK TV network ITV ran a pilot show on New Years Eve and while the reported ratings of that show were lower than hoped for, a a full series has been officially sanctioned.
IMPACT Chief Creative Officer Jeff Jarrett will act as Executive Producer and bring his talents to the revival of British wrestling: “The World of Sport brand is etched in professional wrestling tradition. My family’s lineage in the industry dates back 70-plus years, so I am honoured for the opportunity to work on reviving the legacy of this historic British series.”
A launch event is planned for this Monday. Jarrett and Jeremy Borash will be on hand to discuss the working relationship that WOS and iMPACT Wrestling have agreed upon.
The new 10-part series is currently set to be recorded in the Preston Guild Hall on Thursday 25th May and Friday 26th May with tickets going on sale at 9 am on Friday 7th April from gigsandtours.com, ticketmaster.co.uk, and prestonguildhall.co.uk.
After being brought back into the fold by Anthem Sports, Jeff Jarrett met with an executive from Spike TV about Impact Wrestling. According to a report by Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet.com, Jarrett met with a high ranking executive from Spike on Saturday, and Impact’s new Spike UK deal wasn’t the only thing they discussed.
There’s no word how the talks played out, but Jarrett and Spike Senior Vice President and Executive Producer Scott Fishman reportedly discussed the possibility of Impact Wrestling returning to Spike in the U.S. Fishman worked closely with the show during their early days on Spike.
Spike will reportedly be rebranding as Paramount TV this year.
TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett issued the following statement regarding the departures of Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy and Drew Galloway.
“For the record, it’s @IMPACTWRESTLING ‘s corporate policy not to make any comments on talent contractual matters. I personally wish nothing but continued success for @JEFFHARDYBRAND @MATTHARDYBRAND @GallowaySpeaks . All three of them are fantastic talent and wherever they land they will obviously do very well.
Wrestling business can be tough at times, but one thing is for sure, the business is ALWAYS changing! Ready for @UniversalORL and can’t wait for Thursday! #MIGA”
It will be interesting to see what is different about TNA’s presentation after Thursday’s tapings. Anthem took over TNA right before the last round of tapings, with the idea being they wanted to ‘get through’ those shows without making any immediate changes to the product. Now that Anthem has had a couple months to get situation, these are expected to be the first episodes that reflect Anthem’s vision for TNA moving forward.
On Monday night, WWE tweeted the following hyping Sasha Banks’ match against Nia Jax this Sunday at Fastlane. Sasha Banks took notice of WWE’s wording that Nia Jax claims to have “Broken” her.
TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrettis once again running the promotion. According to the Wrestling Observer, Jarrett has officially replaced John Gaburick as head of Impact Wrestling. The change happened approximately two weeks ago. Dutch Mantel and Scott D’Amore are also back working creative.
Several years after co-founding TNA back in 2002, Jeff and his father Jerry sold 71% ownership of the promotion to Panda Energy. The deal gave controlling interest of the company to Bob Carter, who put his daughter Dixie in charge. Jeff Jarrett would continue to play a large role with the company both on and off-screen for several years.
Jarrett ended up having a falling out with the company over his relationship with Kurt Angle’s wife, Karen, who would later divorce Kurt and marry Jeff.
In 2013, Jarrett and country music star Toby Keith attempted to purchase TNA, but the deal fell through when Bob Carter insisted that Dixie remain President. Jarrett resigned from the company and created Global Force Wrestling (GWF) after the deal fell through. Jarrett’s new promotion failed to gain much traction however.
In 2016, when Anthem Sports and Entertainment purchased the company, they began consulting with Jeff. 2 weeks ago it appears Jeff was put in charge. He has now brought in Dutch Mantel and Scott D’Amore to help with creative.
While Jeff Jarrett has signed a new deal to return to TNA as Anthem Sports & Entertainment takes over the company, PWInsider reports that Jarrett will not be appearing on TV.
Jarrett has contractual obligations elsewhere as he continues working to land a TV deal for Global Force Wrestling and those obligations are preventing him from appearing on TNA programming. This was a specific topic of negotiations with Anthem for the TNA return.
Jarrett is not written into tonight’s script for Impact and is not scheduled to appear on TNA TV at all, according to PWInsider.
Ahead of tonight’s “live” Impact Wrestling tapings from Orlando, PWInsider reports that TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett has come to terms with Anthem Sports & Entertainment to return to the company. Jeff and wife Karen are scheduled to attend this week’s tapings.
Anthem announced on Thursday that it has acquired a majority stake in TNA Wrestling, with Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm assuming the role as President of the newly formed Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC. Dixie Carter is out as Chairman of Impact Ventures and join the Advisory Board of Fight Media Group.
Dutch Mantell, a longtime Jarrett lieutenant, is also in Orlando and will also be helping out with this week’s tapings. He previously worked on TNA’s creative team from 2003-2009.
As for Jarrett’s upstart Global Force Wrestling, that project is still alive and Jarrett will continue shopping around their taped shows in hopes of landing a TV deal.
Here are a few news items concerning this week’s Impact Wrestling tapings from Orlando, FL:
– Don’t expect to see any major creative changes, despite the new ownership. The word going around is that Anthem is looking to keep things running “business as usual” until the next set of tapings, which are scheduled for March.
– In recent weeks it’s been widely reported that Anthem has been talking with Jeff Jarrett in an effort to get a wider perspective of TNA’s history. For those expecting a possible return from Double J, he’s on vacation with his family in Florida this week, which has some speculating about his involvement.
– There are rumors of Davey Richards and Angelina Love returning soon. Angelina gave birth to their first child together last year around the same time Richards suffered an ACL injury. Richards announced last year that 2017 will be his last year wrestling.
– Anthem Sports & Entertainment continues to talk with Jeff Jarrett but no official deal for him to work with TNA has been reached. PWInsider adds that Jarrett is still working on potential GFW TV deals in Los Angeles.
– Regarding Anthem officially announcing ownership of TNA and their parent company, PWInsider reports that the change is expected to become official on January 1st and an announcement will be made then. A backstage meeting with talents at next week’s tapings is also expected.
– Anthem officials are working on re-signing several TNA talents who have deals expiring in early 2017, including The Hardy Boys and Drew Galloway.
– Tonight’s Impact on POP will be a Hardy New Year special with footage from Matt’s compound in North Carolina. Below are a few preview videos:
Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of TNA and The Fight Network, has reportedly had talks recently with TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett hasn’t been offered a role nor has he been doing any advising, but rather talked to them about TNA’s earlier years. According to a report by John Pollack of The Fight Network, Anthem reportedly brought Jarrett in to give “background information” about TNA.
Anthem is preparing to revive the TNA brand, and they started bringing in Jarrett earlier this month. Anthem executive Ed Nordholm is overseeing TNA, and he reportedly wanted first-hand information about how the promotion operated throughout different periods in it’s history.
Jarrett and Nordholm’s talks were originally considered top secret, but when Pollack heard rumors at the office and asked Anthem higher-ups to confirm, they did and allowed him to run with the story as he saw fit.
Yesterday, a curious link popped up on Wrestling Twitter which also showed up on Reddit an hour later: GlobalForceGold.info. Someone, and I’m not sure who it was, must have gone to the Global Force Wrestling website and seen the pop-over ad that it now serves up:
For starters, whatever it is, in the welcome video (embedded above),Jeff Jarrett calls it “GlobalForceGold.com,” which is not a good sign when the domain is actually GlobalForceGold.info. In the video, he says that he, his family, his friends, and his fans are all joining “Team Jarrett” and that we can, too! The website explains that if you enter your name, email address, and phone number, you will be contacted about getting a free autographed photo and get an opportunity to watch a seven minute video.
So what the heck is it? If you just put in dummy information, you get this video, called “Karatbars Explained”:
What the heck is Karatbars? Well, their website has a frequently asked questions page. Apparently, they’re a German company that is a “bank-independent trading houses [sic] for merchandise and precious metals, especially Gold bullion in form of a card in small denominations.” Uh Oh. It looks like just one of many businesses trying to capitalize on various myths, conspiracy theories, etc. about owning gold…but with some kind of multi-level marketing layer added in. It doesn’t sound completely on the level, does it?
There are a number of websites proclaiming it to be a scam, with one self-proclaimed “scam buster,” Ethan Vanderbuilt, even calling it a “ponzi scheme.” Technically, it sounds more like a pyramid scheme, as it’s based on recruiting affiliates who will recruit more affiliates, with promises of unrealistic financial returns. On top of that, among many other red flags, Vanderbuilt claims that one purported “scam busting” site that’s pro Karatbars is actually a Karatbar affiliate in disguise, and he has this to say about the “Business Packages” that they sell:
[You get a] cardboard box. That’s it! A large, FedEx delivered cardboard box with less than 10% of the value of gold actually contained in the box. For example, the VIP box is almost U$ 2,300 (shipment and transaction ‘fees’ are extra charges) and you get 3 grams of gimmick gold (approximately U$ 180 in value) therefore 90% of what you paid for is the card board box.
There’s a whole lot more at his site and others, but you probably get the gist. Karatbar’s own site has an incredibly convoluted “marketing plan” (PDF) that makes it pretty obvious to anyone with a discerning eye what’s actually going on here. Being involved with something that sure sounds like a pyramid scheme is an absolutely terrible look for Jarrett, especially in 2016 when the general public is more educated about what to look for to identify scams than ever before.
As much skepticism as there’s been about him the last couple years, especially with how nebulous a concept Global Force Wrestling was early on, it’s not entirely surprising to see Jeff Jarrett doing something like this. Still, t’s still a bit sad to see him mixed up in such a blatantly suspicious venture.
Global Force Wrestling founder Jeff Jarrett recently appeared on the In The Room podcast. During the interview, Jarrett discussed the Global Force revolution, his time in Memphis and working with his father, balancing his private and public life and more.
When asked to compare GFW to TNA, Jarrett said, “Wrestling fans love to compare everything that they can get their hands on. That’s okay. I love it. You can compare title runs, you can compare feuds, you can compare promos … everybody has in their minds a comparison or a pecking order or what have you. I know that certain times in TNA’s history, I’d love to be compared to that company. Other times, not so much.
He added that wrestling fans pick and choose what they want to watch, which he’s happy about. He threw some shade at his former company by stating,”When you come a Global Force show, you immediately know this is not TNA.”
Jarrett was also asked about a possible WWE Hall of Fame induction. Jarrett sounds interested, but knows the decision rests with a guy named Vince. “That is up to one man. You can’t predict a man’s mind. I’ll leave that up to the wrestling fans to discuss and debate and everything that goes with it.”
Global Force Wrestling owner Jeff Jarrett recently spoke with Darren Paltrowitz of DownTownMagazineNYC.com about his dad being a promoter when he was a child, his new upstart Global Force Wrestling promotion and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On if his Dad protected him from wrestling secrets when he was younger:
“Yeah, to a certain level, the unwritten rule was that you didn’t discuss. Although you hear conversations in his office, when he’s sitting on the couch, on the phone and all that. It’s a family business, some folks are electricians, lawyers, plumbers, doctors, it’s family conversation.”
On Global Force Wrestling evolving:
“There’s no secret in whether you ran the concession stand, which I did in ’82 or ’83, or you’re talking about 2015, 2016 — your bottom line. Businesses, if they’re not profitable in the long-run, everyone understands start-ups…[These days] sports franchises are loss-leaders. They paid way too much for it, but it created that exposure, created that demand, look at where all the major networks are. You have to calculate your business, but at the end of the day, you have to have more black ink than red ink. You’ve got to be profitable. In The Masked Saint, they’re promoting to their audiences, it’s going on X amount of screens. They’re already got plans for week two, week three, week four, expanding into other screens.
“It’s no different than our business. We started last summer with that Grand Slam Tour, branding awareness was through the roof. Did we make a fortune? Absolutely not. The winter baseball meetings were in Nashville this week, all the major and minor league teams were here, so I had meetings, back to back days, talking to owners and general managers about our Grand Slam Tour next year. One guy sat back and he just said, “So tell me what your thoughts are, your feedback.” I told him, “I just had one of your cohorts tell me that in the Summer of 2015, Global Force Wrestling’s marketing department, if you have each team with about three people in the marketing department times 20 teams, that’s 60 people who worked on Global Force Wrestling over the summer.” So our brand awareness and our digital numbers show it, our social media, our views on YouTube, so the barometer’s there that show the awareness.
“Like you said, everything is so much more niche now, so it’s much harder to cut through than it was when I lost TNA. WWE and Vince McMahon are no longer the 800-pound gorilla, they really are the 8,000-pound gorilla. They’ve got a company that’s been around 50, 60, 70 years, their [WWE] Network is just doing phenomenal. When you really sit back and look at it, how success that is, it’s one of the top 10 over-the-top services in the world, and you’re talking about professional wrestling. So when we’re starting on a step by step basis, we went to Las Vegas in July, August and September and filmed a total of 16 one-hour episodes, and the shows we’re launching in January, our first two live events of 2016. It’s no secret that the northeast has always been and always will be a real, real hotbed of professional wrestling…and Poughkeepsie, both of these shows, have a personal attachment to myself. When I started for the WWF in 1993, the first time “Double J” appeared on TV it was in Poughkeepsie, New York out of the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. We’re coming back and having our first shows of Global Force Wrestling in the northeast starting at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center on January 22nd. It was a part of promotional mentality that we wanted to partner with all kinds of promotions, no matter how big and how small, because I truly believe it’s a win/win for the wrestling fan. Pro Wrestling Syndicate, based right there in New York City, we’ve got a show in Rahway, New Jersey on that Saturday night right after Poughkeepsie. We’ve partnered with them as well, with their stars and our stars. I’m excited, if you couldn’t tell, about 2016 for Global Force.”
Jeff Jarrett defeated Matt Hardy to become the new WrestleCade Heavyweight Champion on Saturday night at WrestleCade IV from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was actually the first time the two had ever squared off in singles action.
Hardy got busted open the hard way at end of the match when Jarrett cracked him over the head with a guitar that did not break. Hardy had a huge gash on his head (graphic)and was hospitalized after the show, where he received 38 stitches to close the wound.
Here are the complete results from WrestleCade IV: Showcase of Champions:
Reality of Wrestling champion Mysterious Q wrestled AML champ Greek God Papadon to a ten-minute time limit draw.
AML/NWA tag champs the Heatseekers defeated The American Wolves.
CW Anderson pinned 2 Cold Scorpio.
Shelton Benjamin beat Ken Anderson (w/Armando Alejandro Estrada) 2-1 in a best of three falls match.
Team ODB (ODB, Tessa Blanchard, and Taeler Hendricks) beat Team Havok (Havok, Barbi Hayden, and Amber O’Neal/Gallows) in a six-woman tag match.
GFW Nex*Gen champ Sonjay Dutt defeated Matt Sydal with a top rope splash.
Gunner beat Luke Hawx in a steel cage match by escaping through the cage door.
EC3 won a battle royal to earn a future AML Title shot after last eliminating Raj Singh (f/k/a Jinder Mahal).
John Morrison pinned PJ Black after hitting Starship Pain.
Jeff Jarrett (w/Karen Jarrett) defeated Matt Hardy to win the WrestleCade Championship.
Legendary wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett, who co-founded TNA with his son Jeff Jarrett, noted via social media that he is currently preparing to get back into the business. He wrote the following on Facebook:
“Don’t you just live it when a plan comes together. I once stated that I would get back in the wrestling business when hell froze over. I’m feeling a chill in the air. It is a bit early to announce the plan, but the contracts are with the attorneys. If you wishes for wrestling like it was, you will have a chance to tune in.”
There is no word yet regarding what Jarrett is getting involved in, however he and his son Jeff are on speaking terms these days, so a role of some kind with Global Force Wrestling is a possibility.
According to PWInsider.com, Jarrett could be getting involved with the Classic Wrestling Revolution promotion based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the promotion that is planning to give wrestlers benefits and also has plans to have legends like Jake Roberts teach old-school wrestling.