wrestling / Columns

Force of Nature: Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling May Bring an Unexpected Tidal Wave in Wrestling

October 6, 2014 | Posted by Len Archibald

“Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood.”
-General George S. Patton

Even before gladiators were pitted in coliseums to fight to the death to entertain the masses, those who sought to gain an audience’s attention for a good battle existed. These promoters would travel town to town, village to village and even hut to hut to curry favor with (and make a profit off) those who carried a penchant for physical competition. It was recognized that it is in our human nature to compete and to react to some form of competition. The promotion of battle soon became big business. Even though we as a race of species have evolved, not much has changed in the way of our internal bloodlust. MMA has become a billion-dollar industry, with UFC at the top of the food chain. Organizations like Bellator also have enough visibility for MMA fans to whet their appetites with fighters that aren’t tied down to Dana White’s juggernaut. Floyd Mayweather walked away with the largest purse in history for his two latest fights when he took home $40 million and $32 million in guaranteed money, bringing his 2014 total close to $100 million. He brought in $105 million in 2013 on the back of a fight that had 2.2 million buys.

For us fans of professional wrestling, mainstream options have been few and far between since 2001, when WWE purchased WCW and ECW could not sustain itself financially and went out of business. For those who did not have a chance to envision when the world of professional wrestling was thriving in the United States, prepare yourself for a brief history lesson for context that leads into current events:

In 1948, a group of promoters from across North America formed a sanctioning body known as the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The arrangement between these territories was simple: the promoters would vote on and agree to a World Champion that would travel across the various territories and defend his title against local stars to raise the profile of that region’s promotion. Each territory had its promoter and specific region: Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) out of Georgia, Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett Promotions from North Carolina, San Francisco’s Big Time Wrestling, Vancouver’s All-Star Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) based out of Texas, Maple Leaf Wrestling from Toronto, and Calgary, Alberta’s Stampede Wrestling were some of the various hotbeds of the NWA. The World-Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) out of New York and Minnesota’s American Wrestling Alliance (AWA) quickly broke away from the NWA, claiming their own “World Champion” in earnest.

The territory system – as corrupt as it was (and make no mistake about it, the dealings and turf wars of the National Wrestling Alliance was as close to legal organized crime as one could get) – was a godsend to fans during an age where television was in its infancy and the promotion of a wrestler was based on his or her infamy. If an act started to become stale in one territory, they were shipped to a new region for a fresh start and create a new story for a new set of fans. For the majority of professional wrestlers in the modern era, this was how these artists plied their trade and learned firsthand how to perform. This also allowed the performer’s legend to grow as they bounced from region to region. The Road Warriors may be one of the best examples of this, destroying competition in the AWA, Georgia Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions – so by the time they finally stepped foot into WWE, they were already bonafied legends. This system enjoyed success for several decades until Vince McMahon bought out talent from several territories on his quest to make WWE a national brand, being the death-knell for several of those regional hotbeds, leaving only WCW and a small regional promotion out of Philadelphia standing. This takes us to the week before WrestleMania X-7 where an era when WWE always had some form of national competition ended.

For the purposes of full disclosure, the closest I have come to promoting a professional wrestling event has been making flyers, photography, video content and helping to set up the ring for my friend’s indie promotion in Lima, Ohio. Building an internationally-recognized Film Festival and promoting pro wrestling are two different animals – therefore, the following is based on hours of research and minutes of speculation. Between that, though – I have come to the honest conclusion that Jeff Jarrett, in all his years trying to walk a mile in his father’s shoes as a promotion-builder, may have stumbled upon an idea that may just be the next major wave in the advancement of the artform. I am not saying that Jarrett will be able to make strides to compete with Vince McMahon and WWE – but I do sincerely believe there is a particular market that WWE has been too narrow and too blind to cater to, and it is ripe for the taking if Jarrett plays his cards right.

A VOLATILE MARKET

Upon his official departure from Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling earlier this year, Jarrett formed a partnership with 25/7 Productions and David Broome, creator of hit television shows like NBC’s The Biggest Loser, to form Global Force Wrestling – a promotion that aspires to produce new content 52 weeks per year. As months progressed, bits and pieces of information about the organization have been released to the public, slowly yet surely. Last week, Jarrett announced that Global Force Wrestling will produce their first Pay Per View – a joint show with New Japan Pro Wrestling to present Wrestle Kingdom on January 4, 2015. Fans have met the news with some enthusiasm, and a seemingly bottomless pit of cynicism. GFW’s progress has been slow – too slow for some fans, who may have interpreted any new developments spread out over a period of weeks as a process that just will not come to fruition. I have already heard jokes that GFW will be Jarrett’s version of Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy and Dr. Dre’s Detox albums – a running gag of a work in progress that will never be completed. I urge these fans to be patient and not fall into the trap of 24/7 cable news based instant gratification. We are dealing in a highly volatile market.

It is no coincidence that fan enthusiasm, television ratings and ticket sales dwindled steadily at the end of the Monday Night Wars. Vince McMahon had seemingly fallen into the pitfall that most conglomerate corporations fall into: from soft drink companies, to the automobile industry, to something as seemingly basic as pet food – one rule of business that some CEO’s just cannot wrap their heads around is this: Never, ever underestimate the power of brand loyalty. In winning the Monday Night War and effectively ending World Championship Wrestling, Vince McMahon – instead of consolidating the millions of wrestling fans who watched both WCW and WWE programming, undermined those same WCW fans who grew up with an ingrained dislike for everything WWE and would stick with the WCW brand no matter what. After the failure of the InVasion angle, those WCW fans never returned – and most of them have never looked back.

It is interesting to note that GFW as of now has no roster and no television deal in place. As much as some may not want to admit, GFW carries remnants of the stench from Total Non-Stop Action, solely because Jarrett was that promotion’s founder and former owner – and that promotion battles rumors of low morale, harsh house show attendance, severe financial issues and a rocky television relationship daily. It is not right, but perception is everything – especially in the world of professional wrestling – and in a world where there has only been one major success story in this business, finding a solid foundation on which to grow another potential national wrestling promotion is a mountain to climb.*

*I understand other wrestling organizations have enjoyed financial success in the past – but from an investor/capitalist standpoint, if a company goes out of business in a particular industry that is struggling with growth, they aren’t worth looking at. In North America the WWE is the only game in town, and as the lone successful national professional wrestling business standing, its monopoly emphasizes that market penetration for this particular industry is weak. Investors do not ever, have not ever, and will not ever invest in an industry that does not show consistent growth across the board. This is why barely anyone is taking a look at TNA for a television deal. This is essentially why the death of both WCW and ECW hurt the wrestling business more than anything. Competition breeds success while failure breeds financial cowards. Multiple successes in a single industry demonstrates to investors that there is a market that can be tapped from various angles. Until another promotion can illustrate consistent growth through its development, ticket sales, merchandising, rights fees, pool of talent and audience turnaround, no major underwriting will be considered for another professional wrestling organization. As a fan this is a sobering thought, but this is a reality we all must accept – until one of us wins the Powerball lottery and builds a promotion from the ground up. WrestleLicious, you are the bane of my existence.

In spite of all this, Jarrett has a shot at the brass ring of creating a truly national – even globally recognized wrestling organization not seen since Ted Turner taking over Georgia Championship Wrestling and christening it WCW. Yes, he has a better shot now than he did when he founded TNA Wrestling in 2002 because of a few life-lessons, a networking campaign that would make most politicians envious, access to perhaps the deepest pool of global wrestling talent in history and a new spin on an old idea that could evolve into the next true breakthrough and revolution in the industry. The choices are Jarrett’s and he needs to make them thoughtfully, patiently, bluntly and wisely.

THE HARDEST LESSON TO LEARN

The story of Amadeus – both the Tony-Award winning play and Academy Award winning motion picture – depicts the life of Italian composer Salieri. Talented and competent in his craft, Salieri wages a personal war with God when he discovers that the infinitely more genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is nothing more than a crude, vapid and vulgar brat. Salieri dedicated his life to what he felt was the Lord’s work and questions why God would instill in him the love of music if Mozart, whom he felt was a terrible human being, would serve as His vessel. I only illuminate this story because I empathize with fans that have remained for years after the end of the Monday Night War only out of their unconditional love of the artform, yet continue to be alienated by WWE’s monopoly on mainstream professional wrestling. For years, these fans have scoured the earth searching for a promotion that reminds them of the reality-based tropes of WCW, Mid-South and Jim Crockett promotions, only to be met with mild reminders inside the ring and driven crazy by unbelievably terrible business practices outside it. These fans still exist – floating in a wrestling limbo, trying to latch on to anything that serves as an alternative to WWE’s “entertainment over sport” philosophy. A promotion that sprung up a year after McMahon purchased WCW seemed to be the best new hope as a home…and legitimate competition.

In June 2002, Jarrett and his father Jerry – a lifelong wrestling promoter in his own right – created a limited-liability company, J Sports and Entertainment and opened a new pro wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. That same year, Robert Carter, Chairman and CEO of Panda Energy bought controlling interest in TNA. Within seven years – the creation Jarrett put his sweat, blood and tears into was financially wrestled away. During the Pay Per View and Fox Sports Net era, TNA displayed some of the promise fans craved with hard-hitting in-ring action. Behind the scenes, though, TNA was bleeding capital. Panda Energy needed to step in to prevent TNA from becoming the next Wrestling Society X and becoming another footnote in history.

Imagine how it would feel to have a promising idea and bring that idea to the masses only to see it disintegrate financially. The only way to keep your dream alive is to have an outsider take control financially – and in doing so, give them access to aspects of your idea creatively. Within seven years, Jarrett’s dream of a nationally recognized professional wrestling organization was taken away from him in the name of survival. Enter Dixie Carter – no coincidence that once Panda Energy bought out the remaining power from Jeff Jarrett in 2009 that several events led to the current point of life support that haunts TNA’s current existence.

I have made it no secret that I feel Dixie Carter, a lifelong fan of professional wrestling, has her heart in the right place. I consider that she truly believes that some of the business decisions she has made has been in the best interests of TNA. Last week, I examined the difference in mindset between Vince McMahon, who grew up as a promoter and Triple H, who grew up as first a fan, then a performer and how each experience shaped their philosophy to run a wrestling organization. The same examination needs to be dealt with in regards to TNA; Jeff Jarrett grew up in the business. His father was a promoter. Jarrett himself has found success as a performer. He KNOWS the business. Compare that to Dixie Carter, who is a fan of professional wrestling, but apart from that is a complete outsider. Perhaps as a fan, she felt that signing Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo would give TNA the immediate muscle it needed to make serious waves – and those acquisitions did for a short period of time. But trying to run an organization as a fan first, and not having any intricate knowledge of the internal complexities of this business and its past hurt TNA in the long run as Dixie was open to outdated ideas brought upon from the Monday Night Wars, not understanding that “edgy” crash television was not the sole reason WCW competed with WWE in the 1990’s; brand loyalty that was in place for decades before then. Understand that fans who sought an “alternative” to WWE was NOT going to follow a promotion that had either Hogan, Bischoff or Russo at the helm. Hogan will always and forever be linked to WWE’s history. Bischoff will always be considered as someone who took it to Vince McMahon and LOST. Russo will never wash away the stench of being the man in charge when WCW met its demise. Perception is everything.

When TNA made the near suicidal attempt to compete head-to-head against Monday Night RAW, Jarrett had to watch helplessly as the company he founded and took pride in not consider simple business notions like brand loyalty, the state of the professional wrestling market in North America and the most obvious: when WCW decided to compete in 1995, a few factors were already in place that TNA just did not have. The Carter Family do not own a major cable network. Having Spike TV go to bat for TNA in the same way Ted Turner encouraged WCW was nothing more than a pipe dream. WCW was bought out from Jim Crockett Promotions, which had already been established for decades and had a loyal built-in fanbase; that was a promotion that was ready to make a go at mainstream wrestling supremacy. Hulk Hogan in 2010 was not Hulk Hogan in 1994 – the novelty of having the biggest name in wrestling history jumping ship to another organization had worn off. TNA would have needed to coup a signing the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton or CM Punk to really make a statement. TNA either did not have the capital, the business wherewithal, the passion or the proper backing needed to front an all out attack at WWE. Imagine being in Jarrett’s shoes at the time and imagine being in Jarrett’s headspace today.

In order for Global Force Wrestling to succeed, Jarrett has to take the lessons learned from TNA if he wants to make a splash in the wrestling industry. He needs to display patience in business – and the fans who desperately want an alternative to WWE will need to be patient with him. Propping up a company ready to instantaneously compete with Vince McMahon and the near 60 year history of WWE just is not feasible today – or even ten years from now. This is the hardest lesson that any promoter or any fan needs to understand.

A GLOBAL POOL OF TALENT

AJ Styles may be enjoying the single best year of any professional wrestler in a very long time with his performances in 2014. Adam Cole and the Briscoe Brothers have been tearing things up in Ring of Honor. If you have not seen Uhaa Nation perform, stop reading this, be amazed and come back. Cheerleader Melissa continues to be perhaps the best female talent not signed to a major promotion. Chris Hero continues to keep a following in his post-WWE career. Tag teams like the Young Bucks and Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora have continued to wow crowds with their innovative tag-team offense. Ricochet has given some of the best performances in his career this year. Kazuchika Okada has enjoyed unparalleled success for the past couple of years. Atlantis and Ultimo Guererro may have had the match of the year at CMLL. That’s a long list of names – and I haven’t even touched on the events in WWE, TNA and other promotions from around the world.

This emphasizes that one area Jeff Jarrett may have a leg up on the McMahon family is a pool of talent that may be unmatched compared to any other time in wrestling history. During the territory days, there was no shortage of stars around the country. The Junk Yard Dog was selling out arenas in Mid-South just as well as the Von Erichs were at the Sportatorium in Dallas. Global Force Wrestling has its pick of the litter if the promotion wants to boast one of the strongest rosters on the planet.

Jarret has made this point himself. “The business is as healthy as it’s been since the (regional) territory days,” he says. “The talent pool is there. If you go to an indie show, you might see two or three high-quality matches. You wouldn’t say that a few years ago. They just need the stage. I have a database with 500 talents throughout the world. I’m not talking about good talent. I’m saying there’s great talent out there.”

If a fan wants to see any other spectacle, in any other style apart from WWE, we live in an era where so much information is at our fingertips, that all we need to do is use those same fingertips and do a search. Fans have no excuse not to find another style of wrestling apart from WWE. Jeff Jarrett has a golden opportunity to take advantage of this. Jarrett has been working with Scott D’Amore on talent searches and training camps. The in-ring talent is not the only article fans can be concerned about; what about announcers, agents, producers, and trainers?

Over time, we have heard rumblings that Jim Ross may have shown interest in announcing for GFW. Nick Dinsmore was just released as a trainer from WWE. AJ Styles and Kurt Angle have shown nothing but loyalty to Jarrett via interviews. There are scores of talent who have found mild success in the wrestling world that may not be on WWE’s radar chomping at the bit for a big time shot. Global Force Wrestling can give that to them. Jarrett must tread lightly, though. As the promotion unveils its roster, it needs to be unique enough to convince fans there is going to be an emphasis on the future, but not naïve enough not to discredit recognizable names that can entice both hardcore and casual fans alike. The new GFW roster must understand that it needs to pay homage to wrestling’s past, but look forward towards wrestling’s future as well. This is where Jarrett needs to be most vigilant; a promising roster will excite fans. A roster full of nobodies and past-their-prime names will go over like a wet fart in church and GFW will be dead before it begins.

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

One of the great innovations of the National Wrestling Alliance, and the main antithesis of WWE was the idea of the “Travelling Champion”. Knowing that any territory may boast an appearance from its champion – Lou Thesz, Ric Flair, Jack Brisco, Harley Race or Dusty Rhodes – immediately boosted that territory’s visibility. According to Jarrett, Global Force Wrestling will re-adopt this idea with a new twist that if implemented successfully just may turn mainstream wrestling upside-down: the GFW Champion will not only defend his title nationally, but globally within the confines of several global organizations like AAA in Mexico and New Japan. “In WWE’s universe, nothing else exists,” Jarrett declares. “We’re not going to do that.”

As of August, GFW has announced working agreements with thirteen organizations from around the world: Mexico’s Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), Emerald Wrestling Promotions (EWR) from Ireland, Northern England’s New Generation Wrestling (NGW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Scotland’s Premier British Wrestling (PBW), Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) based out of Southern England, Westside Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) in Germany, the South African promotion, World Wrestling Professionals (WWP), Australia’s PWA Australia, WrestleClash, Riot City Wrestling, Explosive Pro Wrestling (EPW) and Impact Pro Wrestling from New Zealand. Other organizations have been contacted and other deals are promised to be in place. The next phase in GFW’s evolution will be Jarrett making deals with North American promotions. As Jarrett scouts locations in Los Angeles, the questions linger: has he touched base with organizations like Pro Wrestling Guerilla, House of Hardcore, Ohio Valley Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA, SHIMMER and CHIKARA?

The idea is certainly exciting – if a talent like AJ Styles is dubbed the GFW World Champion can travel internationally and defend the title against Kazuchika Okada in New Japan, then defend against Alberto El Patron in AAA it would certainly bolster the prestige of the title. Global Force can make a legitimate claim that their champion is a true World Champion in the sense that he competes against the best around the world, throughout different promotions. WWE, in its self-enclosed “universe” cannot make this claim. While WWE is a global entity, and has opened the door for talent from around the globe, as a company that still does the majority of its business in the United States and whose main fanbase and storylines revolve around North American references, exactly how “global” is their organization? WWE is more of a traveling circus that visits other nations. Global Force intends to break the mold and recognize talent based on performance and the fanbase of that performer’s country, not any jingoistic extension of how fans should perceive talent.

If successful, GFW will be able to create atmospheres WWE can only manufacture when they stumble upon lightning in a bottle and that only “legit” organizations like the UFC and mainstream boxing enjoys: the Big Fight. Imagine the GFW champion arriving in Tokyo for a title defense, a “gaijin” giving an opportunity to one of Japan’s hottest stars – or even a celebratory homecoming for the Australian GFW Champ in Sydney. Don’t underestimate the power of national pride in sports. It’s why the Olympics is big business. If Jarrett keeps to his vision, stays the course in terms of presenting the product as a more reality-based promotion, where the competition lies solely in the ring and not on some convoluted “storyline” – if the story are the individual performer’s journey en route to their collision, GFW may strike gold in a way Vince McMahon could have never imagined in his wildest dreams.

THE MOST MAGNIFICENT COMPETITION

The biggest wild card in the future development of GFW – and its potential success rests on the shoulders of David Broome. Broome, the showrunner for NBC’s The Biggest Loser has displayed success under a live-TV format with NBC’s Tsunami AID: A Concert of Hope and has vocalized great enthusiasm for the project, saying that Global Force Wrestling will be “innovative and fresh”. More significant than Broome’s success, is perhaps his current deals he has in place with digital media. Broome has produced series for AOL and a sports documentary for Netflix. If anyone has followed the current trends in how we consume entertainment, the fact of the matter is network and cable television is dying.

We are cutting cables and dumping dishes at a faster rate than ever before. It is projected that by next year, 25% of U.S. homes will own a streaming media player. Roku and Apple TV currently lead the market, but with gaming console sales growing every year, Microsoft and Sony with their Xbox and Playstation consoles, respectively, are well on their way to penetrate the market in such a way that we are at a technological fork in the road. If Jarrett is smart, and if Broome has any inkling of the future of digital consumption (and his track record proves he does), Global Force Wrestling would do good to avoid finding a market on television and unveil its content strategy in a way that would turn the wrestling world on its ear and give WWE, TNA, ROH and anyone else who currently has or potentially wants television a reason to take notice.

Netflix, Hulu and other streaming sites have flourished, each taking their share of altering the way we consume televised entertainment. It wasn’t long until these companies began producing original content of their own. Once the WWE Network launched in February, every professional wrestling organization stood up at attention (along with every major satellite and cable provider in North America.) Taking these chain of events into consideration – and considering the role that David Broome has with the company, there is no reason for Jeff Jarrett not to at least consider approaching a premium streaming company and pitch Global Force Wrestling as produced original content.

Perception is everything in life – in the world of professional wrestling, perception is more than everything. First impressions can make or break a performer. The wrong entrance music, a miscue in presentation, whacked out wardrobe – anything that sets off “vinegar strokes” from the audience can kill a career or an organization dead on the spot. Ask The Shockmaster. Ask Wrestling Society X. Global Force Wrestling has an opportunity to fire a shot that could be heard from here to Japan and never look back.

As someone who spent the better part of the last five years organizing and running an international Film Festival, I empathize with Jeff Jarrett’s endeavor. Doing business – especially from the ground up – is not fun. Dealing with travel, PR, a Board of Directors, and most importantly, expectations grinds on you. I’m not pointing this out to toot my horn – far from it. It got to a point where I had to walk away or risk losing my mind. Jeff Jarrett is fighting what is honestly – a seemingly losing battle. The world does not want more professional wrestling. WWE has sucked all the interest dry. The expectation is that if talent wants to make it, they need to shake hands with Vince McMahon. Brand loyalty reigns supreme. TNA hangs around Jarrett’s neck like an albatross. The process is moving too slow.

As fans, though – we have to begin asking honest questions of ourselves about what we want. The options are out there. We do have alternatives apart from the WWE Universe. The question is, are we willing as a collective to take a chance on those options? If something is not presented the way we expect it to be, is it fair to not take a chance on it? Even if Global Force Wrestling winds up as a colossal failure, it is really up to us to decide how it starts. The generals have placed their pawns on the battlefield, and now are waiting for the first battalion to blink. Until then, we must wait, and let the natural state of competition in the business world run its course.

After all, what is professional wrestling, but Darwinism at its finest?

On a personal note, I want to humbly thank the 411Mania readers for the kind words of encouragement stemming from last week’s article. There really is no words to describe the feeling one has when a group of strangers applaud another’s work. Your words validate me and I hope to continue evolving my craft, and I hope you continue to enjoy my work. Thank you.

Len Archibald is the former Executive Director of the Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival, and is a current movie reviewer for WLIO in Lima, Ohio.

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