Jeff Jarrett Reportedly Has An Expectation For ‘Impact Wrestling’ Talent To Work For Free
The hill for Impact Wrestling to climb is getting steeper by the second. After being acquired by Anthem, it appeared as if things were going to get much better, and the company was going to focus solely on rebranding the name to becoming very distant from the negative reputation it has gained over the years.
With leadership shuffling around, and numerous former Impact Wrestling talent admitting that the pay was not on time, Anthem purchasing the company provided hope that it can steer away from the negative flack and once again get over a million viewers, as well as less critics. However, Impact executives found themselves in yet another issue regarding the “Broken Hardys.”
For the past few months, Reby Hardy has been very vocal regarding the acrimonious relationship with Impact Wrestling, including names such as Ed Nordholm, Jeff Jarrett, and Dutch Mantell. Updating her followers on the issue by debunking rumors and calling out certain Twitter posts, Reby has recently revealed that the Hardys own the “Broken” gimmick, and WWE is not negotiating. Reby also stated in a recent Instagram post that she is done reporting on the situation because she is having a baby at any moment.
No dispute ? Watch ?#TextsWithMyLawyer pic.twitter.com/ouJQy3txVo
— Reby Hardy (@RebyHardy) May 22, 2017
“My lawyers are working on recent BS, so stop expecting anything from me because I’m literally about to have a baby any minute now & have already addressed everything there is to address.”
In what shocked many reporters, Ed Nordholm sent out the contract that involved Impact and the Hardy Boyz coming to a compromise regarding the “Broken” gimmick, although Reby stated that the contract released was not updated. Although it presented a great deal of information on the timeline of events, the unanimous thought was that it further killed the outlook and level of professionalism Impact Wrestling has.
Unfortunately for Matt Hardy, he attempted to trademark the “Broken” gimmick, but was unsuccessful in his first attempt. According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Hardy has to make changes to his initial filing because it “identifies only the name of a particular character/personal name; it does not function as a service mark to identify and distinguish applicant’s services from those of others and to indicate the source of applicant’s services.”
Matt Hardy Hits Roadblock in Attempt to Trademark Broken Gimmick: https://t.co/QfqqgfheMy pic.twitter.com/xyEgcMzYtm
— Wrestling Resource – The Sportster (@WrestlingSheet) May 26, 2017
There has also been a swarm of controversy regarding Reby’s father, who was called Senor Benjamin on television, working free for the company. Matt Hardy revealed that he was promised money and never received it, as well as never signed anything regarding rights to air footage of him. This provides an extra level of leverage in favor of the Hardys.
This is not the only case of Impact Wrestling wanting someone to work for free. According to Dave Scherer of PWInsider, there was a situation where he was going to work for Jarrett in the early stages of TNA, as he had already worked alongside Bob Ryder for a different company. When both parties discussed bringing Scherer on, Jarrett expected him to be fine with working a month for free. Moreover, Scherer shared that Jarrett has that old-school mentality of people who are working for the business to basically earn their keep.
While there have been financial issues reported for a number of years regarding Impact Wrestling, this information is very interesting. From the experience Scherer had, coupled with ongoing issues with talent getting paid on time, the appreciation for their talent has built a very negative perception of the company as a whole from both pro wrestlers and fans.
With Anthem now at the helm, the hope if for Impact Wrestling to look forward and disregard the past. However, with this “Broken Hardy” saga still unfolding, there are still very critical elements that they cannot let go of just yet.
[Featured Image by Impact Wrestling]
