Key to the (Alleged) Boom

When he was doing initial interviews to hype Global Force Wrestling last April (yeah, fourteen months on and they've still not run a show) Jeff Jarrett talked about how it was a good time to start a wrestling promotion. He predicted another boom period. I was sceptical of that claim. While I don't think it's come to pass on quite the level 'Double J' seemed to be expecting wrestling does seem more popular, more exciting, now than it did fourteen months ago. Or at least wrestling fans have become more feverous with their praise. That's pretty much the same thing, right?

The so-called Wednesday Night Wars are a good example of wrestling being more exciting. ROH is now the lead-in show for TNA's Impact Wrestling on Destination America, in direct competition with WWE's white hot NXT show and the weekly one hour cinematic masterpiece that is Lucha Underground. All of those shows but Impact are great. They have their own distinct tropes and identities and they feel fresh, new and exciting. Impact, despite its numerous flaws and the fact that it's just flat out not good, has a dedicated fan base who will tune in (and, perhaps more importantly, defend it) every week. It's a concentration of shows that illustrates the variety of styles and approaches that can be taken within the pro wrestling format.

Calling it a rise in popularity rather than a definitive boom period also neatly covers the issue of WWE's dominance. The phrase boom period conjures up an image of another wrestling promotion becoming successful enough to challenge WWE's status as top (big) dog. That won't happen. WWE has so much cash flowing in and so many draws and talents at their disposal that they're going to be on top until some sort of major, unpredictable catastrophe befalls them. The company best placed to challenge them, New Japan, are years away from even trying in North America, although they're comfortably smashing WWE to pieces in Japan.

No, a rise in popularity makes it clear we're discussing the status of the wrestling biz as a whole, particularly the non-WWE segment. And this finally brings me around to my point: I think the company that will do best as wrestling gets a little more popular in mainstream culture is the company that makes the best use of female talent.

Give this woman a women's division to head up. Watch the money roll in.

Looking back it's clear that the last few years have seen the status of women's wrestling progress considerably. The prominence of Ivelisse Velez and Sexy Star in Lucha Underground and the entire women's division of NXT has simply helped to highlight the point, because they're TV shows. SHIMMER has been going for ten years now and has, along with Florida-based Shine, helped to create an environment in which all-women companies are a viable option for promoters.

These promotions being in a position to continue running shows illustrates that there's an audience for women's wrestling. So does the reaction that the performances of the wrestlers above get on TV. Just look at the response to the Banks versus Lynch match from Takeover: Unstoppable. WWE and TNA have been letting us down for years with shoddy women's divisions booked as afterthoughts, despite each group having had a solid division at one time or another over the last fifteen years¹. Ring of Honor doesn't even have a women's division at all.

There's a gap in the market for a wrestling TV show that emphasises women's wrestling. NXT has made a lot of headway but so have LU, and it wouldn't be impossible for ROH to look at hiring some more women to go along with Maria, Veda Scott (who never seems to wrestle in ROH despite doing so elsewhere) and ODB. Global Force could theoretically launch with a fantastic women's league if Jarrett wanted to, there's enough available talent to be signed up. You can turn on any wrestling show and see guys killing it great matches. Making women min event attractions would be new and something wrestling fans are ready for. More importantly it would be a way to hook non-fans with something different. That's why I think good quality women's wrestling is going to be of increased importance in wrestling's future, whether there's another boom period coming or not.

***

¹ For TNA it was the Knockouts. In the mid-00s they, along with the X Division, were a reason to watch TNA in the mid-00s. Then the writers decided to revert to the WWE approach of focusing on the world title scene, keeping women and cruiserweights as a side attraction.

A few years earlier WWE had Trish Stratus, Molly Holy, Ivory, Lita, Victoria, Gail Kim and others in a competitive women's division that produced good matches. It's not clear why they decided to scale the division back and reduce it to the filler role it occupied for about a decade. At least the company as a whole remained profitable and had other, enjoyable things going on instead. Which can't be said for TNA.

America's Number Two

The wrestling landscape in North America has changed a fair bit since the beginning of the year and it's going to continue changing for a while yet. The disappearance of TNA from Spike, the debut of Lucha Underground, and the charismatic enigma that is Global Force Wrestling have had and will have their parts to play. The only constant has been WWE at the top of the pile. That's unlikely to change. No wrestling company, established or entirely new, can come close to touching WWE. They have access to the biggest names, they have the most hours of TV exposure, they run multiple events per week, and they have their own online streaming service. They even have a mostly autonomous satellite group that operates on a similar scale to most of the "competition".

Most importantly WWE simply is wrestling to the average guy or gal on the street. It would take a colossal external effort and a series of massive blunders for WWE to be toppled.

Can these guys help TNA remain relevant?

Until recently the consensus number two promotion North America had was TNA.  Their Spike TV deal not being renewed has been cited as the main reason this is no longer considered to be the case. Personally I've always felt uncomfortable with TNA having this status. They've had it by default really, due to their access to ex-WWE guys (looking for a payday) and being on a TV channel accessible in more North American homes than any other wrestling company save WWE. It all stems from the initial choice the company made to use ex-WWE and -WCW guys prominently.

TNA has certainly never been an alternative though, and that what I feel a number two company should at least in part strive to be. I've always felt that Ring of Honor are more deserving of being at least a spiritual number two due to their markedly different presentation and the rarity of former WWE (and to a lesser extent, TNA) employees on their roster. That lack of famous names has hurt their general perception though, as has their lesser degree of availability. Since 2002, the year both ROH and TNA were founded, ROH have been pegged as Americas number three. Had ROH done the same as TNA and used some of the readily available big names when they were running their first shows they may have been considered a bigger deal across the following decade.

ROH has always tended  to run shows more regularly than TNA, especially over the last few years. And for the most part those shows have drawn bigger audiences, indicating that they actually have a greater following. They were also a profitable entity for far longer than TNA was. I'm not sure how they're fairing under current owners SBG but before the buyout ROH operated at some sort of profit as they were able to stay in business. TNA has famously been losing money, practically since the day it was formed.

TNA's move to Destination America has forced a change of this perception. Ring of Honor is now more readily available in a larger number of US and Canadian homes. They will continue to run shows more frequently. They have a return to televised pay-per-view announced (it’s entirely possible that TNA won’t produce pay-per-views at all once they debut on Destination America). I also think ROH have made progress at closing the gap in name recognition between themselves and TNA. Over the last two years they’ve made decisions designed to make more people aware of their existence, from using MMA personality Tom Lawlor to running a show at a baseball pitch (a gig picked up after TNA was unable to run the event as they had done in previous years).

John Morrison versus Ricochet? I'm down with that.

But what we can't say about ROH is that they will be the only promotion that offers an alternative to the WWE style. Lucha Underground has done a very good job in its first month of showing that it's a very different prospect in the ring to WWE (although they've fallen into the old heel authority figure trap). They put a strong focus on actual wrestling and promote a style which is significantly different to WWE’s. The storyline’s they’ve presented so far have revolved around the matches, rather than who’s in charge of booking the matches. And it’s also worth noting that everyone who appears has a character.

It's possible TNA will take their move to a new channel as a chance to make some changes. Producer Bryan edwards has already tweeted that "everything" will change and Dixie Carter has wheeled out her staple gimmick of promising big announcements. Usually I'd say these things should be taken with a grain of salt (or a fistful in Dixie's case) but it's too logical for it not to be true here.

Realistically a new logo and a new set, with or without the six-sided ring, are not going to determine TNA's success. What they script and who they sign is going to do that. Unfortunately a change to the writing staff is not something TNA has promised so far, and they’re unlikely to. Presenting something different to WWE and the myriad of other competitors is what's going to attract eyes to a wrestling promotion in 2015.

Of course, to present something different you have to be presenting something to begin with. Which brings us to GFW. Despite being announced on April 7 nothing tangible has actually happened with the company yet. Yeah, they've announced an assortment of partnerships with existing outfits and confirmed that they'll broadcast NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 9 on pay-per-view but that's not much for nearly eight months’ work. Nor is it anything that makes Global Force look like something other than a glorified streaming service.

GFW cannot become a number two promotion without a lot of work. So much work in fact that it's impossible to envisage it happening from where we are now. There's too little to the company. If GFW manages to get some sort of TV deal and brings together talent from Japan, Mexico, Europe, Canada and the US for extravagant TV tapings and continues to air foreign shows then it could earn itself a following. If it just sticks with the foreign shows then there's no way it will become North America's number two promotion.

As things stand right now the battle for the number two spot is set to be between TNA, ROH and Lucha Underground. TNA has been on a downward spiral over the last four years. It would be nice if that changed with a reboot on Destination America, but going on their track record it’s unlikely. Which would leave Lucha Underground and ROH to vie for the spot. Right now I think ROH has the better position, with a more established name and a niche in the market all their own. But Lucha Underground has everything it needs to grow, and if it gets Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio on its shows in 2015 then the promotion could be a very big deal in a year’s time.

The Global Announce Team

A few weeks ago Jeff Jarrett announced that his e-fed would be airing New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom 9 on pay-per-view in the US and Canada. It was a significant announcement followed up by instructions for people to stay tuned for news. 'Double J' has to promise news instead of providing it because he doesn't have a promotion of his own and is reliant on New Japan making decisions before he can release information. It’s a less than ideal way to run a business.

But a week ago Jarrett struck a deal that will see Jim Ross provide English language play-by-play commentary for the show, something he was able to tell the world himself. It was presented as big news when announced on November 11. And it is.

Slobberknocker! Sauce it! Bah GOD! Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!!

As the voice of WWE when it was at its hottest Ross is a known quantity to many lapsed and casual fans, a market Jarrett is probably interested in attracting. He's also an experienced wrestling commentator, with a solid knowledge of moves, an understanding of how to convey a match's story to an audience, and an unparalleled level of passion¹. He was the best choice to lead an English language broadcast and, considering his promotion's completely hypothetical status at the moment, Jarrett was lucky to get him.

But 'Good Old JR' is not flawless. Even at his late 90s-slash-early 00s peak he was prone to frequent minor mistakes. This usually took the form of confusing names of guys he was less familiar with who kind of but not really looked alike. Hardly the worst thing in the world but it presents an obvious problem for WK9. NJPW's roster is almost entirely new to Ross, and a lot of the guys he's already familiar with will be using different names.

Obviously there's ample time for Ross to familiarise himself with the roster. And being a professional I'm sure he will. While he's in prep mode it may be a good idea for someone to warn him about the flagrant anti-psychology that plagues Young Bucks matches. Better than him finding out on the air.

The other issue with JR is that he does his best work when being needled by an antagonistic colour commentator². His work alongside Paul Heyman in 2001 and Jerry Lawler in the years before (but not really after) that was so good because both Lawler and Heyman knew how to interact with Ross's on-air personality to get the best out of him. They knew to prick his ego every so often and provide him with anti-babyface material to get riled about. Basically, they knew how to be very good heel commentators and Ross knew how to be a very good babyface one.

It's not that JR's commentary will be bad without a good heel colour commentator with him but it’s likely he'll be better with one. Thinking of suggestions for the role is pretty much a waste of time because there's no defined Global Force roster in existence to draw names from. The only realistic suggestion to make is Jarrett. He's been established as a heel within New Japan storylines and would be easy enough to accept in the role for an English language audience. I've never heard him on commentary but Ross could coach him and help him prepare. Plus he's already going to be in Tokyo for the show and it would cut down on costs. I’m sure that’s a factor for an imaginary company like Global Force.

Whether they go for Jarrett or a more left field but probably better choice like Colt Cabana or Chris Hero (I would be astounded if they got CM Punk³) I hope the pairing gets adequate time to prepare. If English language commentary is to become a thing⁴ for NJPW (and less importantly if GFW is to succeed) Wrestle Kingdom 9 needs to be a success in North America. And rightly or wrongly a lot of that is on the shoulders of Jim Ross.

***

¹ I’m particularly looking forward to him shouting “Okada! Okada! Okada!!”

² Ideally with that colour commentator being fed digs by Vince McMahon over a headset, not that that's an option here⁵.

³ Though he'd be ideal, obviously. He knows the product and Ross and has a fair amount of commentary experience. Plus he's a big enough name to generate some US interest in the pay-per-view, New Japan, and GFW. But it won’t happen.

⁴ I hope English language commentary catches on because the lack of it is the biggest barrier for plenty of people (including myself) following New Japan more closely.

⁵ Although if Vince were to ever to get involved with production of a rival promotion's commentary I'm sure it would be solely to take shots at Jim Ross.

Global Wrestling Alliance

It’s been nearly four months since Jeff Jarrett announced the formation of Global Force Wrestling. They’ve still yet to announce their first show or any sort of formal roster. These are the two most key things any wrestling promotion needs. Without wrestlers or a venue it’s hard to argue that what you actually have is a wrestling company. At the moment it’s more accurate to say that ‘Double J’ is running a niche T-shirt company.

While Global Force don’t have a roster or a show announced they have announced a number of partnerships with other wrestling promotions. The most noteworthy of these are Mexico’s AAA and Japan’s New Japan Pro Wrestling. Behind them are the Inoki Genome Federation, Revolution Pro Wrestling, Premier British Wrestling, New Generation Wrestling, and Westside Xtreme Wrestling.

That’s considerable support, especially for a company yet to actually do anything. A partnership with New Japan alone is a big deal. Although it’s worth noting that the European promotions are not big operations and operate on scales more similar to smaller US indies than AAA or New Japan.

The emphasis on partnerships, as opposed to signing talent and promoting shows, has made me think about an approach I think Global Force could take when it finally starts up (if it starts up). In fact it’s the approach I want to see them take. I think GFW could do a lot worse than pattern themselves after the National Wrestling Alliance during its heyday.

This was during the NWA championship's last
bout of relevance. In, of all places, TNA.

Do I need to summarise how the NWA worked? Probably not but I will anyway. It was an organisation comprised of wrestling promoters from around the United States. Each member ran their own promotion, had their own rosters and had their own championships. The NWA had a variety of purposes, many of which were logistical. For our purposes the most interesting thing about the group was the NWA world championship. It was created as the world championship in wrestling, with each promoter’s top singles title taking a back seat to it and being more of a regional accomplishment.

Each member of the NWA had access to the NWA world champ and got to vote on when a champion would lose the championship and to whom (based on the size of their territory, the champ’s home promotion, and so on). This approach meant that seeing the NWA world championship felt like an occasion. That in turn meant better business for all involved.

In 2014 it would be naïve to think that a world champion touring around a variety of promotions would have the same appeal. The world’s moved on and the nature of viewing wrestling has changed, thanks to both cable TV and the internet. But the idea of GFW champions visiting smaller promotions holds a certain appeal. And I’d like to see it happen.

My ideal Global Force setup would be for most shows to be held in the US, with tours every few months to Europe, Japan or Mexico. The tours would be co-promoted by the partner promotions under the Global Force banner, featuring a mixture of talent from all (or most) of the GFW partner promotions. Naturally the partner league promoting the shows locally would provide most of the talent, but with this approach Global Force would routinely be able to offer a roster on, well, a global scale.

What’s this got to do with champions? That should be obvious. Once GFW has been up and running for a year or two a tournament could be held to crown a world champion. They could go on to be one of the key figures on every tour GFW promotes, eventually being joined by tag champs and perhaps junior heavyweight and women’s champions too.

Inaugural Global Force world champ?

This approach would make the focus on partnerships make sense and allow GFW to neatly sidestep the issue of having a roster nailed down. It would be a fluid approach that lends itself to the inevitable comings and goings that are bound to occur. For that matter it wouldn’t adversely affect the current approaches of any Global Force partner. Every federation from New Japan to Andy Quildan’s RPW could operate as normal and just take on extra dates once or twice a year when Jarrett feels frisky.

This approach would also work well for online streaming, both live and on demand. That’s something Jarrett’s not addressed yet but if he intends to make GFW work on the scale he claims it’s something he’ll have to look into. People will need to be able to access shows online. Not necessarily live, but within a few days of them taking place.

I can’t think of any other way Global Force Wrestling could function while getting the footage it needs and taking into account its various limitations. If Jarrett doesn’t do it this way I’ll be disappointed.

Total Non-Stop Extreme Action Championship Wrestling

Remember back in late 2000 and early 2001 when ECW had a loyal fanbase but couldn’t get a television deal for love nor money? That’s basically like TNA now.

This isn’t to say that Total Nonstop Action is as popular or as influence as the Extreme outfit was. It isn’t. Even at the end of its life ECW was doing things that would influence the wrestling business at large and had access to numerous wrestlers who would go on to greater significance in other promotions. If TNA were to shut down tomorrow some of their roster would move on to work in other places and probably achieve more than they have under their current employer but there’s nothing being done by TNA that’s going to influence any other wrestling promotion.

Yet I still make the comparison between ECW and TNA. Because the situations are similar. TNA’s contract with Spike TV expires in October. A new deal has yet to be announced, which means it’s not been struck because if it had been Dixie and co would be crowing about it. The situation’s very ECW. Without a new TV deal TNA isn’t going to survive, because once a wrestling promotion has made the leap into producing regular television shows and become reliant on the level of notoriety and revenue that brings it’s very difficult to reformat.

This will be particularly true for TNA, who have never really been anything other than a promotion built around the idea of weekly broadcasts. Even when they started out with their weekly pay-per-views in 2002 this was the case, they were just making themselves available via a (slightly) different medium. If ECW, a company that had for a significant amount of time existed running monthly shows at a single venue, couldn’t overcome the lack of TV exposure and the inability to pay debts that that entailed TNA doesn’t stand a chance.

This is not exciting wrestling programming in 2014.

TNA has, bafflingly, a small but incredibly passionate and loyal fanbase. But that still won’t be enough to save them. Unless said fanbase organises some sort of Kickstarter project to keep TNA funded. But that’s unlikely and would require an obscene amount of money to work. To be honest I think most of TNA’s loyalists are smart enough to know that TNA simply isn’t worth that amount of bother. Maybe they could find a new home, but at this point that’s looking pretty unlikely too thanks to their humdrum viewing figures and uninspired creative direction.

There’s a very real possibility that Spike have, for whatever reason, decided to go with Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling as their new provider of wrestling programming. I imagine there’s some sort of contractual stipulation in place that allows a new deal being announced before a current one is expired. The closer we get to October the likelier I think it is that GFW are set to replace Impact. Ideally with a show called Feelin’ the Force.

This brings up the question of why Spike would want an untested group like Global Force over an established entity like TNA. The argument for TNA is that it can be relied upon to attract a regular viewing figure to the channel every week, and that it’s had success in the past which could, in theory, be regained at some point in the future with enough work. The argument for Global Force is that it’s something new, which means it can be presented as fresh and exciting without being tied to the preconceptions that come with TNA. Company founder Jeff Jarrett has a business history with Spike and, perhaps most importantly, could argue that he has plans and ideas that will attract fresh eyes to wrestling on Spike TV, something that TNA has failed to do in their years of struggle to present themselves as a worthwhile number two promotion.

Spike probably wants to keep wrestling on the channel. It’s relatively cheap to produce and will always get viewers. I suspect they’ll go with GFW. TNA have demonstrated that they only know how to tread water. With GFW there’s a chance of change for the better. And who doesn’t want that?

The Incredible Shrinking Roster

I’d start this off with a list of the wrestlers who have left TNA over the last year because of the budget crackdown but you should all be familiar with them by now. If you’re not then you can find a list on Google easily enough.

The latest guy to go is Chris Daniels. Which is a particular shame. As Bad Influence he and Frankie Kazarian were one of the best acts TNA had access to. They could have done some good stuff with The Wolves. And I don’t just mean matches. If anyone in TNA is (or was) going to get a decent verbal exchange out of Davey Richards it’s Christopher Daniels.

Coming to a company not named TNA soon!

The bright side is that he could return to Ring of Honor or go and work for EVOLVE Inc. The former would (maybe) help ROH with their imminent proper-pay-per-view venture. Both would give us some fresh matches, especially if Kazarian were in tow. Personally I’d quite like to see Bad Influence against reDRagon.

Kurt Angle is the next significant name TNA will be negotiating with. Going on years of service Angle is actually a TNA guy more than a WWE guy. His eight with TNA beats his seven with WWE. That’s not likely to play a factor in his re-signing or departure though. Basically TNA can only afford to pay peanuts (literally according to some fictitious reports I’ve just made up) and Angle, being in his forties and a legitimate draw for any wrestling company on the planet, is unlikely to accept that. In fairness he shouldn’t have to: despite being worn down physically he remains a talented wrestler willing to and capable of helping to create new stars.

Angle is almost certainly leaving. My assumption is that he’ll return to WWE, although if his physical condition is so bad that he can’t pass their strict medical tests to wrestle (and going solely on his current appearance that’s not impossible) and convince people he’s not as barmy as he seemed a few years back he may go elsewhere. Like ‘Double J’s’ Global Force Wrestling.

At this point it seems obvious that guys like Angle are out of TNA’s price range. To be honest I don’t think they should be that worried about losing him. If Kurt Angle was capable of attracting viewers to Impact Wrestling he’d have been doing so since 2006. He’s been away from WWE for so long that he has no cache left with which to attract non-TNA viewers.

The people TNA should be concentrating on securing for their roster are young talents capable of putting on great matches. The time for having a bundle of stars from another company hanging around are gone. TNA has built up enough of a core fan base (it doesn’t rival WWE’s and probably only barely rivals that of ROH, but it’s there and it’s loyal) that it can rely on a base rating without supposed big names. Frankly I’d be surprised if they’re not already at that base level: it’s hard to imagine a wrestling show with the support TNA has drawing figures that are much worse than Impact’s.

The trouble is that prospective signees can see the trouble TNA’s in. They’ve probably got friends in the company telling them about it too. There’s very little good will left for TNA, and that’s only going to get worse when GFW launches. It’s unrealistic for TNA to expect wrestlers to agree to exclusive deals with little money on offer (which we know is the case because of the cost cutting) and with house show tours being sporadic. Sign with TNA and you’ll work a few times a month and be forced to turn down other appearances from which you could be earning some cash.

Those other appearances are something that would actually help TNA. Their wrestlers would be getting seen (and they would be TNA’s wrestlers because they’re the ones with the national TV deal), spreading the TNA word. Just as importantly it would help every wrestler keep improving and honing their craft.

The answer to me, a non-corporate outsider with no contract negotiating experience, seems pretty simple. TNA should sign wrestlers to contracts that guarantee them the pittance they want to dole out but give them the freedom to accept non-televised work elsewhere. If this is actually the case for everyone now I’d be amazed, because the only TNA performers I can remember making an indy appearance in the last year (besides the AJ Styles storyline special case) were Daniels and Kazarian doing a dark match main event for Dragon Gate USA.

Add a stipulation that wrestlers must make themselves available for TNA shows before any others and plan schedules out in advance and TNA could have a workforce of not inconsiderable size at their disposal. If wrestlers with very little experience could be signed on minimalist retainers the roster could potentially even be expanded. Not that that’s a great direction to start in.

If TNA did this they could combat their ever present money worries. They could even drop house shows altogether (let’s be honest, it’s not an area they’ve ever excelled at, even during what could generously be called “the good years”) and work with indy promoters to promote TNA shows, offering the concession that a local guy or two get to beat low card TNA regulars in exchange for keeping costs low or not insisting half the card becomes an ad for the smaller league.

This is what I’d do if I were in charge of TNA. And right now I think I’ve got about as credible a track record of running a wrestling company as Dixie Carter does.

Global Boom

You’ve probably noticed that Jeff Jarrett has a new wrestling promotion under construction. It will be called Global Force Wrestling and it’s being created for a number of reasons. First and foremost it’s because Jeff no longer holds a position with TNA, the company he founded with his father (Jerry) in 2002. Despite selling control of the company to the Carter family’s Panda Energy Jeff kept a position with the group for a number of years, including the years after he stopped being a TV presence. That changed a few months ago when he announced he was leaving. It seems fair to assume, given his new venture, that Jarrett was tired of being a bit part player in a company he’d intended to be North America’s number two wrestling league. Jeff Jarrett wanted to be the boss again.

Secondly, he feels that another wrestling boom period is imminent. While promoting his new league he’s said that now is the best time to start up a wrestling company because it’s due to shift back into the mainstream. He seems tuned in enough to realise that WWE is going to be the focal point of such a boom (should it materialise) but understands that being a new group while people are just getting interested in wrestling again (or for the first time) will help him build a fan base. A new promotion will feel fresh and new and be more capable of providing jump-in, introductory points than even WWE. There will be a certain dynamism that companies that have existed for more than a few years (basically the entire crop of meaningful indy feds) won’t be able to create.

It’s actually timing that may have doomed TNA from the very start. Wrestling’s last major period of significance started in the mid-nineties and ran through to 2001. It was characterised by the innovative ECW, the Monday Night Wars between the WWF and WCW, and the WWF’s Attitude Era. It was never going to last forever and in hindsight it was always going to wind down after either WCW or the WWF folded. The natural conclusion, basically, was always going to be an invasion of the WWF by WCW talent (or, in some alternate universe somewhere, an invasion of WCW by WWF talent).

Even if that storyline had been expertly handled and booked with no expense spared it was never going to stretch much beyond the early months of 2002. That it was so badly presented only helped to drive less enthusiastic viewers away sooner than would otherwise have been the case. By March 2002, a year after the closure of WCW, the WWF was the only game in town and it was not providing storylines anywhere near as compelling as it had two years before.

Setting up a wrestling company just a year after a hot streak had finished and while the market leader (which dictates how wrestling is perceived in general) was being particularly uninspiring was not the greatest move. But it’s the one the Jarretts made. And in fairness although it was ill-fated it did make sense. They couldn’t sit around waiting for the WWF (soon to become WWE) to get hot again. If they wanted to start a promotion they needed to do it then because there were still significant names floating around from the boom period that had only just ended, plus newcomers wanting a break that McMahon Corp weren’t going to provide.

This time it appears that Jarrett’s timing is better. While I’m not as confident as he is that wrestling’s about to explode into mainstream pop culture again, it is at least a positive sign that WWE’s doing better than when he started TNA. It creates an environment in which wrestling is taken as more acceptable. There’s also the fact that the viewing habits of fans have changed over the years. The internet has made it easier to watch wrestling from all over the world, and old footage too. People’s tastes have become more sophisticated and they understand the business better (whether the people in the business want to admit that or not). It’s easier to present a product that’s less storyline driven and more about athletic ability than it would have been ten years ago because fans at large have become more accepting of the variety of styles that make up professional wrestling.

And it seems as though that’s the approach ‘Double J’ is planning to take. We’ve heard that he’s “created a database” (a pretentious way of saying he’s got a list of names and numbers) with over five hundred entries on it. Obviously you’re not going to have five hundred main event calibre performers on any list. But equally you’re going to have a list that long and have no main event calibre names. Looking beyond the specifics of who Jarrett has and hasn’t signed we can say confidently that he will have some worthwhile talent available to him.

He’s also linked himself to a production company in California. That’s a good move in itself for the obvious reason that he’ll need to produce some sort of show to air and sell. Going with a company in California is a particularly good move. That’s the US’s entertainment mecca, making hobnobbing with other companies that could cross promote far easier than it would be if they were based in, oh, I don’t know, Baltimore, Maryland (cough, ROH, cough!). It also means that they’ll be promoting in an area that has all the technical equipment and venues (of all sizes) they could need. It also sets them up nicely to promote shows at next year’s WrestleMania weekend without going outside of what will I imagine will still be their comfort zone, although that’s more a happy coincidence than planning.

At first glance the idea of Global Force Wrestling has a lot of potential. That Jarrett appears to have worked out deals with talent from around the globe (presumably the name is intended as a literal reflection of his promotion’s scope as opposed to being an all too common bit of hollow wrestling wording) will allow him to present a variety of styles that will provide something for everyone watching. Theoretically it will help viewers discover new styles they enjoy too. As WWE only promotes the sports entertainment style (although in fairness it should be pointed out that this is far more flexible than many make out and does change with the times), DG USA and ROH don’t venture much outside their own comfort zones, and TNA are a complete shambles with no definitive style to speak of, that gives him something unique to offer anyone watching.

I think it’s safe to assume he’ll get some working arrangements sorted out with other promotions too. Jarrett was the man credited with getting TNA deals with AAA and Wrestle-1. As soon as whatever contracts are in place with TNA expire it’s entirely possible Jarrett will be able to swoop in and negotiate something for GFW in their place. In fact TNA itself is on shaky legs: should they go under Jarrett would have access to a wide selection of reasonably well-known names to feature on his shows.

Not everything about GFW inspires confidence. While Jarrett has been involved in wrestling for his entire adult life he’s not exactly got a string of successes to his name. I’ve already mentioned TNA, which is the closest thing we’ve got to a track record for Jarrett as an owner-operator-booker, is not in a good way. While the absence of former WWE, WCW and TNA stars will be a blessing for the most part it also means Jarrett will have to work that bit harder to get people interested. Modern fans may see quality wrestling as a reason to watch in and of itself but a significant name doesn’t hurt. And it may sound like nitpicking but the name Global Force Wrestling doesn’t roll off the tongue no matter how well it may reflect Jarrett’s international desires.

But the biggest problem I can see is that there’s not a particularly compelling advertising campaign attached to the group. Look back and see how it started: pictures of Karen Jarrett and the question of whether you missed her. She, at first glance, was the star of the group. While that no longer appears to be the case it’s still strange that they went with her in the first place. Yes, she’s an attractive woman who’d been an on-screen presence in TNA but if you’re trying to build interest in a wrestling company wouldn’t it be a good idea to start out by announcing you’ve got a significant wrestler on board? Perhaps the trouble there is that they didn’t and don’t have such a name interested and Karen Jarrett was their second best option (in such a scenario Jeff would be the top choice, although he doesn’t look as good lying around a beach) for presenting a big name from the business that could draw people in.

Social media (Twitter, basically) is likely to play an important part of GFW. If Jarrett’s going to be using a fraction of his purportedly five hundred strong roster (database, call it what you will) my assumption is that he’s going to be looking at social media response just as much, if not more than, the reactions of live crowds. So far I’ve seen nothing that makes me think he has anybody particularly ‘net savvy working for him in this department. The entire campaign has been based around posting pictures of the Jarrett and sometimes Karen posing with various wrestlers, everyone from Carlito to Jay Lethal to Gregory Helms to Bad Influence. Nobody interesting that they’ve shown pictures of (Nash and Bret Hart are about the only proven draws) is going to sign a contract, and the Lethals and Bad Influences of the world, as good as they may be, are not the stuff from which a dynamic new wrestling product can be fashioned.