Do not let it be said that Global Force Wrestling isn't interested in kicking things off in a big way. They will have their first television tapings on July 24 and they have already announced four title tournaments with the kickoff as well. Jeff Jarrett's new startup will feature four belts, each with at least one match announced for the tournament. Let's run them down.
The Global Championship: Sharing a name with a previous incarnation of Jarrett's current TNA King of the Mountain belt, the Global championship will be the main event title for Global Force. It will also clearly have the biggest tournament as three of the seven announced tournament matches will be for the Global title. They are:
- Bobby Roode vs. TBA: Roode's appearance in Global Force is a big question mark as he is the only active TNA competitor also working in GFW. He may very well be part of an invasion angle for the company. I would not be surprised for that TBA to be none other than James Storm as I could see either a new feud or a new alliance between the former Beer Money as part of the company's early shows.
- Brian Myers (the former Curt Hawkins) vs. Chris Mordestzky (the former Chris Masters): Two former WWE stars also make their way into the tournament. Myers seems to be way above his bracket for me in this match, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Mordestzky go deep, so an easy first round win against the former Edgehead might make sense.
- Magnus vs. Kongo Kong: Magnus is one of the biggest names Global Force has and I suspect Jarrett will bank a lot on him. But the addition of Midwest star Kongo Kong also proves interesting. Kong has been a dominant monster most recognized for his work in Juggalo Championship Wrestling, but this could bring tons more eyes on a great brawler.
The Nex*Gen Championship: No more proof is necessary that Jarrett is trying to follow his early TNA formula than the appearance of a belt so similar in narrative to the X Division title. The Nex*Gen title clearly is designed for wrestlers with a high flying style and the first two matches in that tournament are both intriguing.
- PJ Black (the former Justin Gabriel) vs. Seiya Sanada: No mistake was bigger for TNA in 2014 than fumbling the push of Sanada. An incredibly capable Japanese high flyer, Sanada clearly wants to be a star in the United States and he's got all the in-ring capability to make that happen. He certainly doesn't need a knock-off gimmick based on his mentor Keiji Mutoh. Black will look to show off what he was never allowed to in WWE, but he doesn't really have the depth of other South African wrestlers in the American market, like Adam Rose and Angelico.
- Sonjay Dutt vs. Jigsaw: While I'm sure I'm not the only person still disappointed that Jigsaw doesn't work for Chikara anymore, I cannot pretend I'm not super-excited to see him take the national stage with Global Force Wrestling. Despite a few previous appearances in TNA as Rubix, this could be the start of something bigger for him, but only if he can overcome a member of the GFW booking team in Dutt. Hopefully Dutt will not follow in Jeff's footsteps and book himself to the top of this tournament, but we will have to wait until July 24 to see.
The Women's Championship: TNA learned from the advent of the Knockout division how much a strong women's division can help a company and it looks like GFW might be trying to follow in that path. The initial matches only give one women's title match, but it is a triple threat with one huge star, one potentially big star and a name definitely deserving of more attention. Mickie James brings tons of star power to the show as she faces the monstrous Lei D'Tapa and the always eclectic Christina Von Eerie in what should be a stellar contest.
The Tag Team Championship: I personally think it might have been better to hold off on a tag tournament until after the other tournaments, simply to allow some repeat stars in both tournaments without much trouble. But GFW has foregone that route to give a first round match despite the lack of the Bullet Club during the G1 tournament. The single match features the team of Reno SCUM, local Las Vegas stars Luster the Legend and Adam Thornstowe. I know next to nothing about these two, but they will go up against a new unit in the form of KUSHIDA and Chris Sabin. KUSHIDA and Sabin's only link is that they've both regularly tagged with Alex Shelley, but with Shelley currently on the shelf it seems GFW figured they would try out this new unit. The Friends of Shelley seem like the obvious winners here, but anything can happen when Jeff Jarrett runs a company.
The current announced card is wrapped up with a six man tag featuring a combination of luchadores and local talent as Bestia 666, Blood Eagle and Steve Pain take on Zokre, Phoenix Star and Misterioso Jr.
While I'm not sure how many episodes will be taped on June 24 or how long they will be, I would guess these won't be all the matches that night. And while we still don't know when these shows will air, it looks like GFW is already starting to build a unique new roster in modern professional wrestling.
