Jeff Jarrett thinks Global with new pro wrestling group
Betting that the professional wrestling business is on the brink of another boom, industry veteran Jeff Jarrett is launching a new Nashville-based promotion called Global Force Wrestling.
Jarrett, who lives in Hendersonville and graduated from Goodpasture High School, boasts a long, successful professional wrestling resume. He had multiple tours with the WWE, the international industry leader, and co-founded Nashville-based TNA in 2002.
Though Jarrett offered few details about Global Force Wrestling, which he launched with his wife, Karen Jarrett, he said he believes professional wrestling is due for growth similar to what the industry saw during the so-called Attitude Era of the late 1990s.
"Our world is getting so much smaller with technology and we live off our phones, so information is shared instantaneously," Jarrett said. "That's right up wrestling fans' alley, so they can swap stories from around the world.
"Wrestling, I wouldn't say it left mainstream over the last 10 years, but it certainly wasn't as prominent as it was in the late '90s. I think it's really about ready to step back into the mainstream."
Internet rumors tied Jarrett's new venture to country music stars, specifically Toby Keith, as possible investors. Jarrett said he couldn't comment on potential investors. He also said it was too soon to talk about broadcast partnerships and in-ring talent. His Twitter feed indicates Jarrett has taken meetings around the country, including unspecified meet-ups in Los Angeles last week.
But he did acknowledge the company would be more than a regional promotion. As its name indicates, Global Force Wrestling will look to draw fans beyond the United States and will have "strategic relationships" around the world, Jarrett said.
"Wrestling is a form of entertainment that translates globally and it always has," Jarrett said. "The American wrestler has been traveling to Japan since the '60s. All through Mexico professional wrestling has been very big — it's huge in Germany. It's taken on a new life in India.
"So language has never been an issue or a barrier in professional wrestling, which is a great thing. Everybody can understand professional wrestling."
Jarrett has deep family ties to the professional wrestling business and to Nashville. His grandmother sold wrestling tickets as a second job in the 1940s, and his father, Jerry Jarrett, was a prominent wrestler and promoter. Jarrett was a star athlete at Goodpasture and played basketball briefly at Aquinas College before turning to the family business.
Jarrett began wrestling in 1986 and climbed his way through the ranks. He was a leading wrestler for the WWE in the 1990s when the industry experienced its last boom.
"I've been in the business my entire life, actively wrestling for 28 years, and I couldn't be more excited today than I've ever been," Jarrett said. "The potential is there. It's a great time to be in it, and this is truly fun."
In 2002, Jarrett helped launch TNA, which is headquartered in Cummins Station in downtown Nashville. Jarrett said he remains the largest shareholder in the company, but has no input on the daily operation of TNA. Jarrett said he didn't believe it was a conflict to start a new promotion while still invested in TNA.
TNA, meanwhile, confirmed that Jarrett is still invested in the company, but CFO Dean Broadhead said Jarrett is not the largest single shareholder.
A TNA official also declined to comment about Global Force Wrestling.
Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and on Twitter @tnnaterau.
About Global Force Wrestling
• Will be headquartered in Nashville
• Founded by pro wrestling veteran Jeff Jarrett and his wife, Karen Jarrett
• Will have an international focus
• News about in-ring talent, investors and broadcast partners to be released in the coming weeks