Will there be a TNA/GFW Merger?

Social media was a buzz prior to Impact Wrestling airing on Destination America a few weeks ago, as the news that TNA founder, Jeff Jarrett returned to the company and he won the King Of The Mountain match at Slammiversary. Jarrett made his exit from the company a year and a half ago, but is there more to this return than an attempt to boost viewership? Since his departure from TNA, Jarrett launched the Global Force Wrestling promotion, which started running shows last month and has TV tapings scheduled for this month. While Jarrett has tried to build another promotion using talent from a variety of companies, Impact Wrestling had a series of struggles and there continues to be speculation about the stability of the organization. Spike TV decided not to renew the TNA TV deal and the promotion signed with the smaller Destination America network, which garners about half the viewers for the show than on Spike because of less TV clearance. Reports persist that talent and production staff aren't getting paid on time and Taz cited it as one of the reasons he left the company.

Jeff Jarrett hyped a major announcement for Global Force and there are rumors of a potential TNA/GFW merger, which might be the best option for both of them. I've said it before and I will say it again, TNA might be too damaged of a brand to rebuild, and there's still a stigma towards it. Further more, they've also tried to cut costs everywhere possible, including taping several weeks of TV during events, limiting pay-per-view events, and deciding not to renew some contracts. Obviously, the company has some financial struggles and Dixie Carter might be more open to a buyout than in years prior. It was said many times before, but the TNA initials have a double meaning and quite frankly, they actually limit some of the marketability of the organization so it might be more beneficial to promote the Global Force name in terms of advertisements.

Assuming there's more to Jarrett's appearance than just a publicity stunt, the Global Force philosophy could work well for a co-promoted group, considering talent from several promotions could generate buzz for the product. Usually, exclusive talent is necessary to build a national brand and lack of exclusiveness could have hindered TNA's progress during their early years, but at this point, the WWE has a strangle hold on the top spot. However, if a working agreement would allow talent from different organizations to wrestle for a GFW/TNA merger, it might create an alternative and establish a brand, which is something TNA has struggled to set up during most of its history. Specifically, Global Force has worked with New Japan and if those stars get more exposure on Impact, it could benefit each promotion in a variety of way.

During promos on Impact, Jarrett mentioned Global Force several times and there are reports of a potential invasion angle. If a merger is actually on the table, the invasion angle could be taken to another level if the "winning" organization would take over the promotion but a lot of that would depend on the type of deal that's offered for a merger. That's the other side of the whole situation, while a merger would rejuvenate the Impact brand and give Global Force publicity, there are several examples of co-promoted mishaps. The NWA/AWA Super Clash events of the late 80s and Pro Wrestling USA promotion were a good concept on paper, but the promoters couldn't  agree on the booking, which is why a merger would probably be a better option than a co-promotion. Since the PPV, several stars have left TNA and a few of them have already signed with GFW, including Bobby Roode and Magnus, but could that be the start of an angle?

In my opinion, a merger would be the better option for both promotions, as it provides a spark for the organization and it would be a fresh start for Impact under the Global Force banner. It would give fans a new product featuring some of the TNA stars without the TNA stigma and the Impact time slot would give the organization distribution. That being said, I doubt it will happen because of the many political and business hurdles that are involved in the situation. If there's an actual invasion angle, hopefully there's more to it than just a few months of run ins and matches because it probably wouldn't benefit either company. Basically, an invasion angle would have to do more than just give GFW a few mentions of TV and increase the ratings for a few weeks for TNA because when the angle concludes, each promotion could be in the same spot they were before the invasion. For example, Global Force has TV tapings scheduled for this month, but currently doesn't have a TV deal so if GFW gets exposure on Impact, it might help them get a time slot. If a GFW angle on Impact doesn't help them become more established, what's the point of the storyline? It's certainly an interesting scenario with a variety of ways to proceed and hopefully, it benefits each promotion.