Impact Wrestling/Anthem Sports have made several intriguing business moves over the past few weeks. They’ve built several bridges (The CRASH, AAA) and burned others (the Broken Hardys). Personally, I’ve been sitting back, eating popcorn, awaiting the next bit of news surrounding the troubled promotion. Most noteworthy is the news that broke less than 48 hours ago. Impact Wrestling has forged another partnership, this time with the recently revived British promotion, World of Sport Wrestling. Their intention is to bring WOS back to ITV.
World of Sport debuted in January of 1965. The program featured segments from a variety of sports. Though they aired hockey, lacrosse and several other sports, wrestling was one of their most popular segments. Giant Haystacks, Big Daddy and dozens of other professional wrestlers made a name for themselves in WOS. Regrettably, the promotion closed its doors in 1985, just before the big wrestling boom of the 1980s. The company’s demise left a vast hole in the international wrestling scene.
World of Sport made their grand return this past New Year’s Eve from Salford, Greater Manchester. Former WWE Hall of Famer, Jim Ross, called the action on the inaugural episode of their return. The action was hard hitting, entertaining and, most importantly, different than anything else going on in the UK wrestling scene.
Wrestling Inc first broke the news. ITV Studios Entertainment Manchester announced today that it has teamed up with IMPACT Wrestling, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., to bring WOS Wrestling back to ITV. It is an initial commission for a 10-part series. They will compete in front of a live audience at the intimate Preston Guild Hall on Thursday May 25th and Friday May 26th at 7:30pm.
Furthermore, Ed Nordholm, current president of Impact Wrestling, had encouraging words for the joint venture. “This opportunity to work with ITV Studios to revive this iconic brand in the United Kingdom is a perfect example of the ways in which we intend to leverage our strengths to build our presence in international markets in collaboration with local organizations.”
By and large, Impact Wrestling has become, arguably, the perennial “two steps forward” then “two steps back” company. In any case, if World of Sport Wrestling is to solidify regularly scheduled programming on ITV, it would appear that they would have to forge some new alliances. Hopefully, Anthem Sports’ involvement will be a huge help and not a hindrance.
