The TNA vs. GFW “Feud” Is The Epitome Of What Is Wrong With Both Companies

Over the last few weeks on TNA’s Impact Wrestling TV show, Jeff Jarrett and his Global Force Wrestling crew started appearing on TNA TV with the initial storyline being that Jarrett and TNA had a “working relationship” with one another. Two weeks ago it was revealed that a group of backstage beatings was orchestrated by Jarrett’s wife Karen as a GFW takeover was underway as the Jarrett’s promotion began running through TNA.

It was announced last Wednesday that TNA and GFW will engage in a Lethal Lockdown cage match. The stipulations are simple: If Team TNA wins, GFW and the Jarretts go away. If Team GFW wins, Jarrett gets total control of the company. In any “Invasion” angle, this is the best way to finish off the storyline. In 2001, the WWE ended the WCW/ECW invasion with a winner take all match at Survivor Series. That angle was lackluster from the start and it seems that the TNA/GFW angle is looking to the end the same way the WCW/ECW vs. WWE angle ended…without much interest and with nothing but a whimper.

Going into it, the premise was simple. Jarrett was going to come in as a savior for Dixie Carter as she needed someone to “run the show” after Bully Ray was attacked. He brought in his guys from his promotion and began running GFW vs. TNA matches. It was a slow start but it was to be expected. Everyone figured that the Jarretts would turn bad and thus the rivalry between the promotions would begin. This had the potential to last for months with GFW coming in and taking charge of TNA with the excuse being that Jeff Jarrett still has an ownership stake in TNA (which is true in real life) so he had the right to make matches and some decisions. It was something that could maybe get the fans into Impact Wrestling and possibly bring some more eyes to both promotions in the end.

Instead we get the GFW takeover two weeks….and then the abrupt challenge of the winner take all match set for next week. So we are looking at about a month long takeover of TNA and then poof, it will be over. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), there was some problems backstage regarding the storyline between Jarrett and John Gaburick, TNA’s head of creative.

“There was definitely a lot of pushing and pushing back between Jeff Jarrett and John Gaburick as far as how to do it and things weren’t exactly smooth nor were the ideas each had on how to approach it that similar.”

This is commonplace in storylines between two promotions. You have both promotions trying to make their company look strong at the expense of each other. WWE went out of their way to make WCW/ECW look weak and it goes all the way back to when Jim Crockett Promotions brought UWF in the 1980’s and JCP just beat UWF guys every week until no one cared about them. Fast forward 30 years and it’s the same story. TNA and GFW has the opportunity to maybe become part of something that could make both companies some money and give each more exposure and nothing came from it because of egos.

The idea of having a takeover angle that lasts for one month is laughable. The only way an angle like this works is through months of twists and turns that you don’t see happening. With TNA’s biggest show of the year Bound for Glory coming up in late October, you could have it run for a few more weeks with an amazing story based on real-life issues between the parties. Instead you have a “blow-off” to an angle that hasn’t really even started yet. But now we have another week of GFW on Impact Wrestling…and then they will disappear.

I believe that the angle not continuing could be because of TNA’s unknown future on Destination America. Impact Wrestling is still set to be cancelled from the network sometime this month according to many sources. TNA may not have wanted to have a long feud on a TV show that may not have a network home in the United States in the coming weeks. With that said, doesn’t make more sense to have an angle going on that could create interest and maybe move Destination America to possibly change their mind regarding your TV show.

We are watching the tail end of the TNA vs. GFW feud that everyone is tuning out now if they were paying attention to it at all. It seems that TNA is now focusing on keeping the company afloat as opposed to producing riveting TV. Some may say that they should take that approach but having an angle in your lap that could create amazing TV that fans are into it is not smart and the wrong way to make an impact (no pun intended). TNA continues to have opportunities to make a first impression over and over and it seems that they routinely keep dropping the ball every time.