It has been a few months since we first heard about Jeff Jarrett’s new upstart promotion Global Force Wrestling, with Jarrett and his wife Karen traveling the world to associate themselves with wrestling companies all over the world.
The promotion has been kept on the minds of professional wrestling fans through their Global partnerships with several wrestling promotions, including Asistencia Asesoría y Administración in Mexico and New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan. Beyond working agreements, GFW has also held talent auditions in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Ford City, Pennsylvania among other cities to scout who could be available on the independent scene to, as CEO Jeff Jarrett says, “Join the Force.”
Despite not holding a single show as of yet, GFW made a splash in New Japan Pro Wrestling when Jeff Jarrett and former TNA booker and manager Scott D’Amore joined the Bullet Club. To continue their relationship with NJPW, Global Force Wrestling announced their first pay per view would be presenting NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom on January 4, 2015 from the Tokyo Dome. The event will be airing in Japan regularly but it’s expected that GFW would help show the pay per view internationally, especially in North America.
Legendary announcer Jim Ross, no longer employed by the WWE, has talked in the past on his podcast the Ross Report as well as his blog about doing play by play for New Japan Pro Wrestling with someone like CM Punk. It was just an idea thrown out there, and Ross has stated he has not talked with anyone from NJPW. He has, however, stated he has talked with people from Global Force Wrestling. He even said he’s interested in doing it. Who better to introduce NJPW to North America like a welcoming, familiar voice like Good Ol’ JR’s? I have my doubts in them getting CM Punk to work with, but many strong, available colour commentators are free from the WWE and ready to work, including Matt Striker.
GFW has also been working with 25/7 Productions and creator of The Biggest Loser David Broome in hopes of finding a nationally syndicated television deal. GFW has been right in competition with TNA Wrestling, which Jarrett still owns a minority share in. The two companies have been in talks with the same networks, despite GFW not holding a show yet. If TNA is having trouble finding a commitment, it won’t be easy for GFW either. GFW’s biggest advantage is their global reach, as Jarrett had experience with Ring Ka King and could know how to at least get syndication in international markets after they nail down a presence in the USA.
Not too many details have been released on the company besides their vlog’s on their website. It seems both Hermie Sadler and Scott D’Amore are involved, both formerly working with Jarrett in TNA. The confirmed Board of Governors have not been revealed but it’s rumoured to include Toby Keith, likely as a financial backer. Someone from AAA like Konnan might be a board member, but that’s just speculation. Karen Jarrett is likely a board member as well. I had some friends work with Global Force Wrestling for their filming of the tryouts in Windsor and they said nothing but compliments on how Jeff and Karen treated them and the rest of the workers. It was good to hear positivity over an immediate sense of ego.
Global Force Wrestling is still shrouded in a lot of secrecy, which is probably for the best. If they laid all of their cards on the table face up from the get go, there would have been a good risk of painting themselves in a corner. Instead, they are slowly gaining information on potential talent and making deals with existing promotions to ensure a footprint everywhere. In a lot of ways it feels like Global Force is trying to be the new National Wrestling Alliance. While the NWA still exists in some capacity, it really hasn’t been a governing body of wrestling since the 1980s. While GFW will be under the shadow of the WWE Universe, it’s still a great time for Jeff Jarrett to step up and add another place to employ wrestling talent.
My confidence in the final product delivered weighs in on how much financial support they are receiving, how they plan to use modern digital marketing to deliver their final message and who they decide to build their shows around. If Toby Keith among others are involved and GFW is piggybacking major foreign companies like NJPW and AAA for their first shows, it’ll be a great way to spend little and get the word out. It worked great for Jim Cornette when he had Rick Rubin financing Smoky Mountain, but Keith would have a lot more to spend if GFW was trying to be a global promotion, even a national promotion. I haven’t been a big fan of their website but I do think their vlog videos are a step in the right direction. They need a better looking website to show they are on the cutting, or at least bleeding edge of technology instead of a website that took three hours in WordPress to complete.
Whom to build the show around will be the biggest test for GFW. While he is a talented performer, a lot of wrestling fans still fear relapsing on the Jeff Jarrett overdose they dealt with back in the first few years of TNA Wrestling. Even when he had his massively entertaining “Jeff Jarrett the MMA Fighter” gimmick in TNA, fans feared Jarrett once again stealing spotlight. Once the shows start, Jarrett needs to immediately take a step back and let his employed wrestling talent do the work. Bringing aboard AJ Styles and the Bullet Club is a great way to say they have something TNA doesn’t, but that’s where the TNA comparisons need to end. The best wrestling talent in the world doesn’t only work for the current top promotions in North America. There’s a lot of talent in Canada, Mexico, Japan, U.K, Australia, Europe and elsewhere to bring in and let shine. Global Force needs to feel fresh and not like it’s just TNA Part II.
Jarrett and Global Force Wrestling are just getting started. It’ll be interesting to see what their next card to play is.
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