In the midst of one of the wildest wrestling news weeks in some time, Jeff Jarrett announced his new promotion; Global Force Wrestling.
The announcement came on Monday the 7th of April, with the group’s name, logo and website unveiled. Not much else is known, but a further announcement is scheduled for the 14th of April. There has been much speculation as to a potential TV deal for the group, which may be the follow up announcement.
In theory, the day after Wrestlemania is as good a time as any to make such an announcement. Fan interest is at its annual peak, wallets are open, and the mainstream media is casting an eye over the wrestling realm, if only for a weekend.
In reality however, the announcement was largely overshadowed by the bevvy of news stemming from Wrestlemania weekend. Perhaps more information was needed to really grab people’s attention with a huge first announcement, but within a few hours of the reveal there was no real buzz to speak of. Whether it was the unexpected passing of the Ultimate Warrior, Brock Lesnar ending the Undertaker’s streak, Daniel Bryan’s success story or the future of the WWE Network – it seems people are buzzing about current goings on in WWE, not ‘wrestling’ in general. I feel like the announcement being overshadowed is a perfect allegory for where wrestling is right now – people shouldn’t misconstrue the success of the top dog as a sign of changing times for everyone else.
In the months leading up to his announcement, Jarrett put out a number of teasers to get people talking – one such video saw him remark that he feels wrestling is on the cusp of another boom period, citing the WWE Network and AAA’s arrival in the United States as evidence. While I appreciate his optimism, I almost feel like ‘boom period’ is an antiquated term, and won’t be applicable in wrestling again for some time, if ever again. Not because I think the genre is doomed to be in the doldrums forever, but rather the world is such a different place now, that we’re unlikely to see anything like the late 90’s period again.
When you see how little traction TNA have been able to garner in their 12 year existence, you have to wonder what exactly is left for Jarrett’s group to shoot for. Admittedly TNA has been their own worst enemy in that time and perhaps an older and wiser Jarrett has an ace up his sleeve – but it doesn’t feel as though wrestling fans in 2014 are in need of a third promotion masquerading as ‘major league.’
WWE is getting a lot of things right currently and given they have three hours of primetime TV and an unrivalled ‘over-the-top’ streaming service; I don’t see fans pining for an alternative.
Furthermore, when WWE was producing weaker programming, at no point did TNA or anyone else enjoy any kind of influx of new viewers. Again, a lot of that is down to them, but given that they have a sweet TV deal and some marquee names; I do think it speaks to the mind-set of fans these days. You have the niche of people who enjoy indies and international wrestling, and you have those who just don’t look beyond WWE, even during the darkest days. The idea of major league wrestling being a competitive sphere where more than one company can reside just feels like a very ‘of the time’ notion. And that time is gone. It wasn’t just the big names and creative innovation of Eric Bischoff that launched WCW into the stratosphere; it was also the (seemingly) never ending money pile and the assistance of a media giant. Without similar resources, my concern would be that GFW would merely dilute the already weak core of TNA’s second-by-default position – ultimately feeling like more of an overgrown indie than another wrestling behemoth.
I should clarify that I don’t feel the GFW has nothing to offer fans – we don’t even know anything about the promotion beyond Jarrett’s involvement. My concerns don’t apply just to this group but anyone else entering the fight in this day and age.
All of my reservations and skepticism stem from the nature of wrestling right now or at least my perception of it. I just don’t feel like people are clamouring for more. Maybe that’s misguided. Maybe the aforementioned inability of TNA to get anywhere is no indication of what fans want. Maybe GFW will be firing on all cylinders right out of the blocks and they’ll be the promotion to watch in the years to come. While his tenure in TNA had its foibles to say the least, I’m excited for what Jeff has in store. I’m hopeful the next announcement will pertain to a TV deal and maybe even reveal some names involved in the project. The fact Jeff has taken on this endeavour after a long and turbulent decade with TNA is indicative of his love for pro wrestling and his determination to succeed in offering fans an alternative to WWE’s monopoly. That’s admirable. And from a fan perspective, if this means new names in new matches, while everyone collects a (hopefully) bigger pay cheque, I’m totally on-board.
Let me know what you think; is wrestling ready for a third major league group? What are your hopes for GFW? Optimistic? Pessimistic? Tweet me some thoughts. I’ll be back with another column next week. Until then, thanks for reading.