Global Force Wrestling

Earlier this year, Jeff Jarrett announced the launch of Global Force Wrestling and while there was a buzz around it, there weren't many details about the new promotion. Despite the announcement nearly six months ago, there's still not a lot of information about the actual company. As of now, there's no official roster, no television deal, and no live events scheduled with the exception of a GFW branded broadcast of the New Japan Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome show in a few months. So, what exactly is GFW?

Last year, there were several rumors that Jarrett and Toby Keith made an offer to buy TNA, but a deal wasn't reached because Bob Cater wanted Dixie to remain on TV if the company was sold. After Jarrett resigned from TNA a few months later, reports surfaced online that he was going to start another promotion and it was officially announced in April. As mentioned, no roster or TV deal has been announced, but there are working agreements with several international promotions, including AAA and NJPW. That's one of the elements that could give Global Force something unique to promote, the international talent from different promotions, which is similar to how WCW used talent from Mexico and Japan in the late 90s. More specifically, if GFW would provide an American stage for some of the top international performers, the company could generate a fan base to showcase talent that doesn't usually appear in the United States. As I've mentioned in a previous column, the Bullet Club is one of the top stables in New Japan and one of the reasons that the promotion had a resurgence the past few years so if Global Force can book the Bullet Club for events in the United States, it would certainly help the promotion become established as something other than just a PPV broadcast. The other international talent that would be beneficial for GFW is "El Patron" Alberto Del Rio because he's still fresh off of WWE TV and he returned to Mexico as a top star, but he was recently announced to debut for Ring Of Honor so it seems doubtful he would sign to Global Force.

While the possibilities of different talent provide some unique scenarios for the Global Force brand, there's still not an actual company established and in some respects, it seems like Jarrett is looking to use the broadcast of a New Japan show as a "launch" for a company that doesn't exist yet. New Japan sent some of their stars to work Ring Of Honor shows earlier this year and considering that NJPW seems to be expanding into the United States, you have to wonder why didn't they set up their own PPV deal? Was Jarrett necessary to get the Tokyo Dome show on American PPV? The New Japan office and Jarrett are the only ones that know the answer, but it certainly seems like Jarrett is getting the better part of the deal if he can associate his company name with NJPW when the promotion has already gained notoriety in the United States the past few years. If Global Force is going to become an established promotion, you have to wonder if there's really enough of the market for it to be profitable.

The wrestling business has been down in recent years and you have to wonder,  is there a market for another wrestling promotion? WWE has a majority of the wrestling fans watching the product, TNA has about a million viewers watch Impact, ROH has an audience, and Lucha Underground is trying to get a portion of the market, so what audience will Global Force try to market towards? Basically, what can Global Force bring to the table that isn't already used in a different promotion? That's not to say GFW can't be successful, but at this point, they haven't promoted anything different from what fans can already watch for a different promotion.

It will be extremely interesting to see the direction that Global Force goes and if they sign a TV deal because that's what would give them the opportunity to become a national promotion. Considering that TNA struggled to sign a new deal and even Destination America is a smaller channel, cable networks don't seem to eager to sign a wrestling company so it might be a challenge for GFW to get a TV deal. Don't get me wrong, Global Force has a chance to become a national product and there could be a great roster, but there are a lot things that Global Force would have to add to become a legitimate promotion.