WWE News: WWE Reportedly Buys TNA Wrestling Library, Billy Corgan To Become Majority Owner And Rebrand Company
It had been pretty clear for some time that WWE had an interest in buying TNA Wrestling. The thing WWE really wanted out of this was the TNA library that they could put on the WWE Network and make a lot of money. It made sense for WWE to have an interest in the TNA tapes because there was some valuable material in the archives. The question was, could WWE secure the tape library?
It was noted today by WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross that a sale was likely to happen very soon. In fact, he used the word “imminent” to describe the situation. He noted, however, that WWE was not buying the promotion, but they were just acquiring the library of TNA. One would imagine that the new owner of TNA would want to keep all of the material to produce DVDs and BlueRays, which could be quite profitable for the business. They also could not recognize the history of TNA in the new promotion without the footage either.
Ross was correct, it seems. WrestleZone is reporting that WWE has, in fact, purchased the TNA Wrestling library. This includes all the matches TNA had ever put on. They did not buy the promotion, however, as Billy Corgan did this, and he has now become the majority owner of the promotion. He is expected to rebrand it going forward as a new company. There is no word on what the new name will be, but some speculate it won’t be too far off from something TNA fans know well.
Dixie Carter happened to address the locker room on Monday by saying that she would not let WWE buy TNA, and she was telling a half-truth. They did buy TNA and all its history. However, the talent and company will not go to them but rather to Corgan. The question is, will Corgan be able to keep the talent the company has and be able to handle the major debt as well?
Right now, this seemed easy for a company like WWE as they could at least layoff workers and cut talent, so they wouldn’t have to worry anymore. However, Corgan can’t really do this. One also has to wonder where this leaves former TNA investor Panda Energy? If TNA is sold, but people signed with Panda over TNA, does that mean they are now free agents due to the fact that Panda does not have majority ownership anymore?
There are many questions to wonder about. Also, several top TNA wrestlers are rumored to be leaving next year, including Matt and Jeff Hardy. Some who were loyal to Dixie Carter are also likely to leave. It is also thought that Billy would not be able to pay the talent what they feel they are worth, so could some leave when their deal is up because of this reason. This led to some leaving even when the Carter family owned TNA.
There is so much to wonder about when it comes to the Billy Corgan ownership. He clearly is a smart guy, who is obviously trying to help TNA and make it a good business. Now that he is the majority owner of the promotion of TNA, people expect to know what will happen going forward. From economics to simple creative, many things will be questioned under Billy Corgan now that he is the boss.
Will TNA be in the same position next year? Some think so if the debt is not killed off. Getting rid of talent may very well help this, as well as some simply not re-signing. The fact that Dixie Carter is no longer in charge of anything does make some in TNA feel the business will only do better. Under new leadership, it very well could. Seriously, could it get any worse than Carter?
Dixie was seen as a cancer when it came to TNA. She was never good at handling the business and made more mistakes than one ever should. She was repeatedly told about the issues, but nothing was ever handled. Corgan does at least come off as more competent, and due to TNA being under his leadership, they very well could get better. The real question is, with all the problems, does the new company stand a chance to sign top talent, put on shows people want to see, and still make a profit? That may be the toughest thing for the company under any name going forward.
[Featured Image by Goliath]
