Wrestling Globally

From Global Force Wrestling on Instagram

By Chad Smart

@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

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First off, I have to admit my new year’s resolution to blog more hasn’t really taken effect. I chalk it up to a combination of busyness, laziness and general apathy towards wrestling. Even Chikara hasn’t held my attention this season like it does normally. I’m going to try and get on a schedule to blog regularly but I make no guarantees. 

So what has gotten me interested enough to type some words now? Well, the LA KISS continue to be mediocre in their game against the Las Vegas Outlaws so I need a distraction to keep my mind of questioning why I sprung for season tickets again this season. The other reason is Jeff Jarrett’s new venture; Global Force Wrestling is actually becoming an actual promotion. 

Jeff is set to have a press conference on Wednesday (5/6/15) at the Orleans Casino in Las Vegas to announce the GFW roster. The Orleans will also serve as the location for the first three GFW tapings in July, August and October. As of this writing there is still no information about a TV deal or how GFW will be distributed. 

Jeff Jarrett
Global Force Wrestling on Instagram

Having been a fan of TNA from its first press release until I got tired of seeing a company have no clue what it wanted to be or how to not make the same mistakes over and over, I have been curious if Jeff had learned anything from the negatives of TNA’s history. Since I’m writing this before any official announcement has been made, I don’t know if GFW will try and build its own legacy. I hope GFW doesn’t just snatch up every ex-WWE/TNA/WCW wrestler not currently under contract to another company.  With WWE signing some of the big free agents on the indie scene and TNA/ROH and Lucha Underground having their roster under contract, it will be interesting to see who is on the GFW roster. Should Jeff need any suggestions, I can give him a list of guys I’d like to see get some more exposure. 

There has been one announcement from GFW that makes me hopeful they won’t repeat the mistakes of TNA. Before the first taping on July 24, GFW will be holding shows at minor league baseball stadiums.  I see this as a positive for two reasons. It will allow word of mouth get out about the shows and let fans attending the taping have a good idea of what to expect. The other positive is it’ll allow Jeff and the writing staff to get an idea of which wrestlers can get the audience into the matches. Instead of simply pushing the biggest name due to a preconceived recognition, if someone else elicits a strong reaction, the future booking can be changed to play off the crowd reaction. 

I’m still going to be cautiously optimistic about GFW until more information comes to light. All I can really hope for is Jarrett has taken his time to get this promotion together and seriously looked at the reasons why TNA has the same name brand recognition in 2015 as they did in 2002. Hopefully I will be able to attend the initial tapings and will be pleasantly surprised. With Lucha Underground and NXT stepping up the televised wrestling presentation this year, Global Force Wrestling has a high bar to clear to really cement their name.