wrestling / Columns

ZeeWI: The Force and The Impact

May 30, 2017 | Posted by Dino Zee

Ever since Dixie Carter lost her power, Impact Wrestling has attempted a bit of a “comeback” as the kids call it, loudly proclaiming on their programming that they are hoping to “Make Impact Great Again.” To that end, we’ve seen the return of former then-TNA stars like Low Ki, LAX, and even Crimson (now known as Mayweather). Low Ki and the newer members of LAX made the most of this opportunity, as Ki immediately won the X Division title his first night back, while LAX would win the Impact Tag Team Titles after coming out on top of a fatal four way once the belts were vacated following the departure of Matt and Jeff Hardy.

Along with allowing former talent to return, the company has dabbled in allowing competitors from other promotions to show up and challenge their talent as well. This has led to appearances by FSW champions Reno Scum, Monster Factory Pro Wrestling champions Mario Bokara and Fallah Bahh, and (at the time of his return) Global Force’s Heavyweight Champion, Magnus.

From this columnist’s point of view, there is nothing negative to take away from Impact’s somewhat open-door policy. Allowing their wrestlers to test their skills against the best that other places has to offer is a great way to make sure that no one gets stagnant, and that the talent is always aware that there is someone looking to take their place. New faces are given exposure, and everyone stays hungry.

On top of that, it’s clear that Impact is to be seen as the superior company to Future Stars or Monster Factory, as evidenced by the total shock that accompanied Reno Scum’s first few wins, and in the close-but-no-cigar finishes for Bokara and Bahh. While the new guys may hold belts elsewhere, they still have to prove themselves in Impact.

Well, unless you happen to compete for Global Force Wrestling, that is. The promotion with nearly no exposure, nearly no actual cards, and no real brand recognition somehow holds the cards when it comes to getting their stars in Impact Wrestling.

As Magnus had said repeatedly on TV, he believed that the GFW Heavyweight Championship was some sort of “golden ticket” to a shot at the Impact Championship. You know, despite the fact that he hadn’t competed in a sanctioned singles match in Impact Wrestling for a couple of years. And despite the fact that his run as then-TNA World Champion saw his value plummet as he went from a hungry up and comer into a total coward that couldn’t hold on to his title through gentlemanly means until he was seen as nothing but a total joke. It wasn’t until Bram showed up and attacked him that we saw any type of fire from Magnus again.

But, forgetting about Magnus’ credentials, the question must be asked: In what world does Global Force Wrestling have any type of pull in Impact? In what world does a company that attempted a hostile takeover – and failed miserably – ever get allowed back in the house, let alone treated like a welcome guest?!

Oh. Right. The freaking Jarretts. While Jeff hasn’t really been seen on-screen since regaining some power and ownership in the company, his wife Karen absolutely has. And, if you’ll recall, it was Karen who, in 2015, laid out on TNA Impact how her husband had been so badly screwed over by the company, and how he deserved to be welcomed back. This of course led to Jeff getting to say one last “goodbye” to the fans, before entering a King of the Mountain match for the new King of the Mountain tournament, winning it, and then leaving when TNA fought back and shut down the GFW invasion.

There’s no way we were to expect that those feelings were completely washed away with one nice speech and a vanity title reign, were we?

From the second they returned to power, we’ve seen the Global Force Heavyweight Title put on par with Impact’s World Championship. We’ve seen big stars like Alberto El Patrón decide that, instead of winning the Impact Title, he’d instead buy into this “golden ticket” fable and challenge Magnus for that title instead. He doesn’t even wrestle for Global Force, but he’s their champion now!

On top of that, Impact is now hosting a tournament for the Global Force Tag Team Titles, because why not? Clearly the roughly zero diehard GFW fans will tune into this, so how is this anything but a win?! Now teams who hoped to win a title that is known by fans can instead hope to make a title important by having it around their waists!

All because Karen and Jeff Jarrett have had this chip on their shoulders. Because Karen refuses to be told “No,” even when she’s 100% wrong. Because Jeff refuses to do what’s right if it means standing up to his wife, or admitting that his second attempt at creating a promotion in the 2000s didn’t work out as well as his first attempt.

This thought process just feels so forced, but yet you see Magnus still fully believing in it. After losing the GFW title, he still felt like he had been robbed of his easy path to the Impact Championship. Instead of just challenging the current Impact champion Lashley, he continues to go and whine to Bruce Prichard about the near-worthless piece of tin he lost to El Patrón.

If I’m a wrestler for Impact wrestling, I have to wonder why these guys get so much play, and so much respect. It’s not like guys from WWE, or New Japan, or even Ring of Honor are showing up with their belts and demanding things. It’s Global Force. The company who, again, was vanquished in roughly one month the last time they tried to puff their chests.

And for some reason, Bruce Prichard and Dutch Mantel allow it. Focusing instead on lame hashtags and talking trash to the wrestlers, they’ve yet to find the sack needed to tell Jeff that this Global Force dream has to come to an end. It does nothing to help Impact – you know, the company they’re supposed to be Making Great Again – to focus on your pet project from two years ago.

Frankly, a stand needs to be made in the board room. Either sign the Global Force guys, or keep them off of the show. Hell, this columnist would even settle for not seeing the GFW championships treated as being on the same level as those of Impact.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like any of that is happening. Instead, Impact will keep pretending that Karen Jarrett is a beloved figure, that Bruce Prichard is worthy of our respect, and that Global Force Wrestling is a legitimate promotion to compete with Impact. Worse, Jeff Jarrett will keep pretending that no one has a problem with this, and will be just fine to stay off of television, where he doesn’t have to answer for anything he’s done (or supported) since regaining power.

As it stands, we’ve seen no reason that Global Force would be welcomed back into Impact. You’d think the other wrestlers might stand up and say something, but they haven’t. Maybe they just aren’t too concerned about them, which is a fair point. I mean, Magnus and Christina Von Eerie lost their belts almost as soon as they began competing in an Impact ring, so maybe the Impact stars understand that to stop the Boss’ silly plan, they’ll just have to continue to beat his favorite wrestlers.

One way or another, it’s clear that the only way to end this Global Farce is through violence. Using logic just isn’t going to work with the guy who invented the King of the Mountain match. That, we know for sure.

article topics :

GFW, GFW Impact, Impact Wrestling, Dino Zee