TNA News: Billy Corgan Gone From TNA Wrestling, Dixie Carter Pretty Much Out Of Power

TNA Wrestling has had issues for some time now, and it seems that despite some good things occurring recently, the company may have issues surviving going forward. Both Billy Corgan and Dixie Carter have attempted to make TNA into something better, but Carter’s horrible business decisions put TNA behind for a while. Corgan came in as an investor to hopefully help the business going forward, and he even saved TNA on multiple occasions.

He saw all of this and knew if he could get control of TNA, he could save it. While saving TNA at this point is a laughable venture, he felt that with some control, he might be able to do that. So he decided to sue, but sadly, the case did not go his way. This week, the verdict was handed down. This left Corgan in a bad position because it meant he was pretty much done with TNA.

Now, of course, he is fighting this entire thing and told TMZ he might go after TNA yet again mainly because he feels he is owed his money. As part of TNA and in a controlling area, paying him back would take time, but it would not be a nasty situation. Unfortunately, it’s not looking good. The two sides are in a bad split, and Corgan is owed money that he wants back by any means necessary.

That is not all that is going on in TNA Wrestling, though. They have now found someone, yet again, that is helping them financially. Apparently, they made a deal with Anthem Sports & Entertainment, and they sent out this press release today to let people in on the situation.

“Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. and Impact Ventures, parent company of TNA Impact Wrestling, today announced that Anthem has provided a credit facility to TNA to fund operations.

Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. is a global sports media company that operates Fight Network, Impact Wrestling’s exclusive broadcaster in Canada, as well as the exclusive worldwide digital streaming partner for all TNA programming. It is also an equity stakeholder of Impact Ventures.

The agreement includes the appointment of Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm to the Impact Ventures Board of Managers. The company will be managed by the Board with Mr. Nordholm representing the Board on all major operating and restructuring decisions. Dixie Carter will continue as Chair of the Company, as well as her position on the Board of Managers. Billy Corgan is no longer with the company.

‘We have had a successful, long-term partnership with Fight Network as our Canadian broadcaster, and more recently as our global digital partner,’ said Dixie Carter. ‘Anthem’s team has extensive media experience, and I am excited to have that available to us as we plan for the future.’

‘We have consistently maintained that investing in content as we grow our distribution is important as a strategic necessity, and working more closely with a strong brand like TNA is in line with that. This financing is an extension of the support we have been providing since the beginning of the year,’ said Leonard Asper, CEO of Anthem. ‘There are tremendous opportunities to support the company’s growth on all platforms and in all media along side Dixie and the incredible talent and staff at TNA.'”

What does all this mean? A couple things. Firstly, it tells us that Billy Corgan is not with TNA any longer, which is very important to know. Meanwhile, it also tells us that Dixie Carter is still with TNA, but she has roles that keep her out of the way. She’ll have the say on some things, but it seems her role is not creative or really anything of note. This was sort of the role she had when Billy took over as TNA President, which left Billy with most of the control when it came to the content.

However, this does not mean Anthem will fund TNA forever. This gives them a window to hopefully run with the financial assistance they have by paying off their debts and settling out different issues. This may also allow them to pay talent on time and make sure shows happen in the new year. However, this assistance does come with a price. One would imagine that Anthem will want to work their way up to taking over the business.

The really interesting question remains: Who will truly run the creative side of TNA going forward? Billy Corgan was handling this area before departing, so do all of his stories, titles, and ideas disappear? There will be a lot of very interesting things that will go down in 2017, mainly because the direction of the company is still not yet fully known.

[Featured Image by TNA Wrestling]