10 Things GFW Can Do To Make An Impact On Wrestling

TNA has seen some enjoyable highs and agonising lows over the course of its 15 year lifespan.

The additions of Samoa Joe, Christian Cage, and Kurt Angle were monumental signings for TNA in the mid 2000s and took the Nashville company to unprecedented heights. Sadly, the subsequent arrival of Hulk Hogan and friends would curtail that ascent and the red and yellow detour was a poisonous blow that the company never truly recovered from.

Bad advice, poor decisions and a laundry list of needless spending - including an embarrassing move to and from Monday nights - led to a serious loss of momentum, a serious loss of earnings, and an even more serious loss of stars. With the departures of AJ, Sting, Angle, Roode, and Joe, TNA lost the very heart of their brand.

Luckily, the merger with GFW has seen the company regain its soul in the returning Jeff Jarrett. Yet, even with Jarrett back at the helm of the house he helped build, the newly rebranded Global Force Wrestling has a lot of work to do to claw back lost ground.

While it’s a tough task ahead, it’s not an impossible one. Jarrett has a good foundation with the backing of Anthem Sports and, with a few amendments and additions, GFW could well make an Impact once more.

Since TNA was dropped by Spike in 2014, viewing figures have fallen to some of the lowest since the show began - a far cry from the highs of three million viewers at their peak.

While the product itself has admittedly been hit and miss, the channel hopping has done the show no favours. Impact has gone from Destination America to Pop, neither of which have the national coverage of Spike in the US, meaning less availability and fewer eyeballs on the product.

TNA has also suffered recurring schedule changes, frequently switching their weekly night over the last decade. The show has incredibly moved to each weeknight individually, leaving casual fans unsure of the definitive night the programme actually airs.

Meanwhile, Impact was dealt a huge blow in the UK when it was left without a channel altogether in December 2016, when TNA lost their deal with Challenge. Ironically enough, they would find a new home on the UK's Spike four months later.

With the current TV deal on Pop expiring in late 2017, a return to Spike in the US would be a huge move and put GFW firmly back on the radar. The UK Spike deal is a good sign. However, ratings will need to continue to improve Stateside if they hope to truly court their US counterparts.