Since their inception in 2002, the Impact Wrestling brand has been through a number of incarnations. Popularizing itself as the Total Nonstop Action (TNA) brand, Jeff Jarrett spent the formative years of the company providing catchy television and standout divisions. Unlike the WWE, TNA strongly emphasized both the X Division, which housed mostly cruiserweights, as well as the Knockout (Women’s) Division. Shortly after debuting with its weekly pay-per-views, the fresh, upstart promotion was able to land a television deal.
Although the company has created an impressive number of stars, including current WWE United States Champion and former WWE Champion AJ Styles, former NXT Champions Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe, current NXT Tag Team Champion Eric Young, and former Ring of Honor Champions Christopher Daniels and Austin Aries, the management department has caused the brand to be very inconsistent and have a low morale. As a result of the constant changes, the company is potentially looking to relocate outside of the home base of Orlando, Florida, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter .
When the TNA first started, Jeff and Jerry Jarrett were the masterminds behind the product. Then, when the company was sold to Panda Energy just a few months after its inception, and the father-son duo were reportedly at odds from an executive standpoint. This allowed the daughter of Panda Energy founder Robert Carter, Dixie Carter, to assume the position as top executive of the company. Eventually, this led to a falling out with Jeff and his subsequent departure from the company in 2013.
Aside from a short return to promote his Global Force Wrestling brand, Jarrett stayed out of TNA until returning to the company following the purchase from Anthem Sports & Entertainment and Carter’s departure.
With the purchase of TNA Entertainment, one of the first lines of duty was to remove the “TNA” initials in order to give the company a fresher feel. Next, Jarrett was able to convince the Anthem executives that the Global Force Wrestling brand name is a suitable replacement, and the company started using the GFW initials henceforth.
However, with news breaking that Jarrett is on leave from the company due to personal issues, the belief is that executives are considering leaving Orlando behind due to the rocky history associated with the time spent there.
The dilemma, though, is that the near-240,000 fans who watch the product are loyal fans from the TNA era, as they are failing to gain new viewers. As a result, it may be a bad business decision to move it from Orlando, leaving them in a bind. Of course, the company could travel to different venues as they did before during the Dixie Carter era, but they take a risk of having a huge financial loss, just as before. The ultimate goal, as the WON notes, is to make Impact Wrestling a Canadian company since the Anthem headquarters is based in Toronto.
[Featured Image by Impact Wrestling]