Impact Wrestling News: Update on Anthem moving away from GFW

What's the story?

Anthem Sports, who owns Impact Wrestling, is dropping the newly-rebranded Global Force Wrestling (GFW) name from all Bound for Glory promotional items, according to the Wrestling Observer.

In case you didn't know...

GFW, owned by Jeff Jarrett, and Impact Wrestling, owned by Anthem Sports, merged in June 2017. Under this merger, Impact would be re-branded as GFW, with the rosters becoming one as well. Slammiversary in July served as the unofficial combination of the two companies, with multiple title unification matches taking place.

This seemed to cap off a crazy few years for Impact, as there has been a lot of uncertainty about who runs the company. With Dixie Carter and Billy Corgan in smaller roles, it appeared as if Impact was finally in position for a fresh start under the GFW name.

The heart of the matter

Since Slammiversary, a lot has happened with GFW. Alberto El Patron, its world champion, was suspended after being involved in an alleged domestic battery assault incident with his ex-girlfriend, Paige. Along with Del Rio, Jeff Jarrett, founder of the original GFW and minority owner of the new GFW, has taken a leave of absence. According to the Wrestling Observer, it's unclear when, or if, Jarrett will be coming back anytime soon.

This has caused the higher-ups at Anthem to move away from the GFW name. WON also reported that the merger between Anthem and GFW, while announced, is yet to be officially completed. Thus, Anthem has the leverage to not use the GFW name for the upcoming Bound for Glory PPV.

What's next?

It's a wait-and-see game for Anthem and GFW at this point. If Jarrett comes back, then a merger could become official and Impact could officially become GFW.

However, if Jarrett doesn't come back then Anthem will proceed with the Impact Wrestling name. Also, according to the reports, Anthem is looking to move Impact out of Orlando, as they feel that the company will always be associated with TNA Wrestling if it stays in Florida. Now the plan is to move the company to Canada.

Author's take

Wow, what a mess this is. With no sense of leadership anywhere, it appears that GFW/Impact/Anthem are all on this sinking ship together. It's sad to see a company fall apart so badly, especially because of the heights TNA was reaching less than a decade ago.

It seems like the best thing to do at this point is to become GFW, but that doesn't look promising either. Too many bridges are burning at this point, and it seems like the wrestling fans are counting down the days until Impact closes its doors for good.

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