Csonka Looks at The Global Force Wrestling Departures of Rayne, Morgan, Magnus, & Richards

– Welcome back to column time with Larry. Today we’re going to look at some Global Force Wrestling. With the change in ownership, the change from TNA to Impact Wrestling to Jeff Jarrett taking over and the company being re-branded as Global Force Wrestling, change was not only the word of the day and not only stayed with the name, but the faces were going to change along the way. So today I want to look at the most recent departures from GFW. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on these departures; the only rules are “have a take, be respectful of other’s opinions and don’t be a dick.”

Madison Rayne: It was reported on July 8th that Madison Rayne’s near eight year run with Total Nonstop Global Impactful Force Wrestling was at an end. In a way it shouldn’t come as a surprise, she had barely been used, wrestling two matches for the company in 2017 and then doing backstage work and also an occasional turn on commentary for knockouts matches. Rayne’s downgrade came at an odd time, a time where the knockouts were thin roster wise and experience wise. She could have been used much better as a solid core of the division to keep things together better. Instead, they went back to ODB and a crew of lesser-experienced knockouts, which while not a bad thing to do, they have done very little to help build these new knockouts. MJ Jenkins, Ava Storie, & Amber Nova may very well develop into solid hands or even good performers overall, but they need time and they need experienced people to work with, which is where losing Rayne hurts. Sienna, Allie, Rosemary, Diamante and Gail Kim will hold things together until Kim’s departure at the end of the year, but once she is gone the company needs to do something very important. They need to let Gail Kim go and move on from her. One of the biggest issues of the division is that every time they tried to move on from Kim, they have always gone back to her and hurt the push of others. With Kim leaving, Rayne gone, and (according to rumors) Love likely not long for the company, they NEED to put the division in the hands of the new generation; Sienna, Allie, Rosemary, Diamante. They dropped the ball pushing Sienna & Jade as the new generation of knockouts at the top due to the horrible Maria/Kim feud. Allie’s popularity has fallen and the character has gotten cold. Rayne’s departure doesn’t hurt the division as it stands, but it does hurt in terms of building up the new ladies and that could be costly down the line. The company has also reportedly signed two new knockouts, with tons of names being rumored. So Rayne’s departure was also done to make room for them. I hope that the names coming in are ready to go and not projects, because they have to work on rebuilding the division ASAP. Save_Us/Coach_D’Amore.

Magnus: It was reported on July 20th that Magnus was no longer with GFW. Depending on who you believe, he popped in on a handshake deal to drop the GFW title, and turned down an offer to stay (other reports state that no offer was made). He admitted that his return was just a fly by. Dixie Carter fell in love with Nick Aldis when he was just 21, and he was part of the UK revival of Gladiators. He was green, brought in with a horrible gladiator outfit, but had a good look and natural athleticism. For years there was talk of his natural talent and untapped potential. He started showing some of this during his time teaming with Doug Williams and then Samoa Joe. His inclusion in the Main Event Mafia was done to set the stage for him to realize that much talked about potential and become a main eventer for the company. Five years onto his run, he defeated Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle and then Jeff hardy to win the TNA World Title and did a big heel turn. Magnus floundered in the role as heel champion, due to poor booking and the fact that he didn’t light the world on fire in the ring. After a horrible angle with James Storm, which included Mickie James being thrown in front of a train, Magnus ended up leaving TNA. But Jeff Jarrett also saw a lot n Magnus, and signed him to his Global Force Wrestling brand, and went on to defeat Bobby Roode in the finals of the tournament to become the first ever GFW Global Champion. GFW never really became a thing until Anthem bought it and rebranded the former TNA/Impact Wrestling as GFW. His return to Total Nonstop Global Impactful Force Wrestling was lackluster at best, working only four matches, as he was only there to drop the belt. Magnus is 30-years old, and at this time his claim to fame is that “he was a guy with a good look, a ton of potential an married well.” It was very telling to me that he wasn’t even rumored for the WWE UK project, especially after Mickie signed back with WWE. At his age, with as much TV experience as he has, you’d think that WWE would go after him. Anyway, Magnus not sticking around comes off as no real loss. He’s fine as a performer, but they already have an upgraded Magnus on the roster in Eli Drake. He would have been a solid hand at best, but not bringing him back allows the company to bring in some fresh talent, like oVe (Dave Crist and Jake Crist).

Matt Morgan: Matt Morganannounced in late July that his return to the company was over; I think that this was to be expected. Morgan was retired, working in the real world and doing bodybuilding contests. He seemed perfectly happy, but got the bug to return. That return included four matches for the company, none of which were particularly that good. He was another guy that was “fine,” and had a ton of unrealized potential. Morgan is 40, and I waited for years for the guy to break out and become a star. I will admit, I bought into the Jim Cornette Kool-Aid years ago and thought Morgan would become a great big man. But it never happened, he wasn’t even a good big man, he was passable and the only reason anyone bought into him becoming great was because Kurt Angle worked his magic one night. Kurt Angle, the guy that was so good that after working TV matches with Tatanka & Marty Jannetty, WWE signed them. At his age and with the fact being that he was already out, seemingly had no desire to be more than part time and wasn’t going to get better, Morgan deciding to part ways with the company, go back to his non-wrestling life (where he seemed very happy) is best for all involved. Again, Morgan is a guy they would have felt forced to push and feature, and is the exact thing they don’t need to do. They can focus on signing new, fresh and young talent.

Davey Richards: It was reported on July 24th that Davey Richards had finished his run with the company. If you’ve been following wrestling for the last few years, Davey Richards is always cutting back on dates, slowing down and or retiring to finally move onto his dream of going to and completing medical school at some point in the year. Not to knock his dream or anything, but it’s been a running joke on “when will Davey retire this year?” Richards is 34, is a father now, has wrestled for over 13-years and if he want to live his dream, he needs to do it sooner rather than later. In terms of how his departure hurts the company, he’s the biggest loss in terms of the in ring product. Richards isn’t the most charismatic guy, but he was a great technician that could work any style (which was a great trait considering the working relationships with AAA & NOAH) and could have been uses in singles (X-Division or Heavyweight) or in a tag team setting; he was one of the more versatile guys on the roster. Richards finally deciding that he doesn’t have time to commit to wrestling full time isn’t a big surprise, but his departure will leave a hole in the roster. What is VERY interesting to be is the fact that Richards’ release from Global Force Wrestling was an unconditional one, which means that Richards could conceivably go to any wrestling company he wished to going forward. It will be interesting to see if Richards is finally going to chase the dream, or if it was just a play to go and work somewhere else. He says he will still take limited dates on the indies, so only time will tell…

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– End scene.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”