Jeff Jarrett recently spoke with Rolling Stone about Global Force Wrestling, here are the highlights…
What is Global Force Wrestling?: It is a professional wrestling organization that we’d like to think will be forward-thinking and innovative. We have formed alliances with other promotions around the world so we can share talent and bring in talent. Every wrestler has a story. They’ve started in some organization. Over the past 15 years, all the organizations have sort of sat on an island. They don’t interact at all. We look at it differently. We want other organizations to thrive. We want them to do as well as they can. It’s a win-win for wrestling if that’s the case. Thirty years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for different promotions to share talent. You would load up a big card with wrestlers from other territories. It is a professional wrestling organization, first and foremost.
On Doing The Stadium Shows: The biggest factor is that I’m a third-generation performer. I have a lot of experience, and my family has a lot of experience in this business. I know that in 2015, creating brand awareness takes time, patience, money and forethought. But when we come into these towns, we’re leveraging the baseball teams and their social media platforms, their advertising platforms, their fans and their season ticket base. We are spreading the word and creating the awareness by having the events there. It’s a great opportunity for Global Force to get into these communities and go with a real grassroots, traditional approach. The stadiums and the baseball teams are the center of entertainment in most of these towns that we’re going to. It’s great to be aligned with them. If you haven’t been to a minor league stadium, you ought to go. There’s never a bad seat in the house, it’s outdoors, it’s a great place to watch a professional wrestling show.
What Will Set GFW Apart From other Companies?: The short answer is watch and see. I will say, though, that we want to truly focus on who these athletes are. The Bullet Club is legitimately the hottest faction in all of wrestling, and we’ll talk about how they’ve come up through New Japan and continued to grow in popularity. Karl Anderson has a great story behind him, so does Doc Gallows, he’s traveled the world. Chris Mordetzky [formerly Chris Masters] is one of the youngest guys ever signed by the WWE. Quite frankly, he’ll probably admit it; he wasn’t ready for it at the time. Now he’s spent three or four years overseas, and he’s ready to step into a Global Force ring and compete. PJ Black [Justin Gabriel], Lei’D Tapa, some wrestlers that maybe people haven’t heard of. Guys like Andrew Everett and Chuck Taylor, I could go on and on. All these guys are chomping at the bit to get on this bigger stage.
On His Decision to Leave TNA: It was just that my time was over in the organization. I just needed to close the door on that chapter in my life and move on. I have nothing but respect for the company and fond memories. The good, the bad and the ugly, the ups and downs, it was a great life experience. There’s nothing that I regret, it was just time to move on.
What Are GFW’s TV Plans?: I will release that information when it’s time to release it. We’re in talks domestically and internationally. The international rights come into play just as much here.
