Posted in: Movies, Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: anthem sports & entertainment, impact wrestling, jeff jarrett, tna, wrasslin, wrestling
Jeff Jarrett Says "Anthem Is Out Of Money" Hours After Impact Wrestling Firing
TNA Wrestling co-founder Jeff Jarrett has been gone from Impact Wrestling for less than two hours, and he's already feuding with the company in the pro wrestling media. Earlier today, Impact announced via Twitter that they were severing ties with Jarrett, who they placed on a forced leave of absence back in September. Shortly afterward, Jarrett responded to an inquiry from dirt sheet Wrestlezone with a short and simple claim: "Anthem is out of money."
Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the owners of Impact Wrestling, soon fired back, denying the claim.
"That statement is inaccurate," the company said. "Anthem and IMPACT Wrestling are looking forward to a successful 6-day tour in Ottawa, Nov. 5-10, and much more."
Of course, this isn't the first time trouble has rumored for Anthem's incarnation of Impact Wrestling, itself less than a year old. Back when Jarrett was initially put on leave, rumors were reported by Sports Illustrated claiming Anthem was looking to get out of the wrestling business, a claim they also denied. The separation with Jarrett came as the company was in the midst of its latest rebranding attempt, using Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling name apparently before securing a written agreement with him to take ownership of it. They quickly went back to calling themselves Impact after sending Jarrett home.
The wrestling organization formerly known as TNA has suffered from a nonstop series of crises since its inception. In just the past year, Jarrett was brought in after the company was sold to Anthem Sports & Entertainment following a failed takeover attempt by Smashing Pumpkins vocalist Billy Corgan. The company has had PR trouble due to losing several prominent wrestlers from its roster following the buyout, its champion, Alberto El Patron, being involved in a domestic violence investigation with his fiancée, WWE wrestler Paige(the case was eventually dropped), and a long and drawn out public dispute with Matt and Jeff Hardy over the Hardys' "Broken" gimmick.
But business can't be too bad, because the company has recently announced a partnership with a Canadian pizza chain to make Impact-branded pizzas. That's gotta count for something, right?