TNA Sale Talks: Dixie Carter Mishandles Deal, But WWE No Longer Potential Suitor

The latest TNA sale rumors suggest that the wrestling promotion isn’t only in need of money for its next pay-per-view and television taping, but they are also in need of someone who could properly hammer out the deal.

The stakes are high for TNA as the beleaguered company is desperately trying to stay afloat while looking for funds for its Bound for Glory PPV and the coming week’s Impact Wrestling TV tapings. And in another example of how low the company is on funds, a report from WrestleZone suggested Wednesday that TNA has had problems paying its wrestlers on time. All told, TNA’s finances have been in a state of doom and gloom for quite some time, and it’s not even sure whether a sale could help alleviate these financial problems.

With majority owner Dixie Carter needing about $600,000 for this week’s shows and a new deal required by Friday, this could lead to both Bound for Glory and next week’s TNA Impact Wrestling getting canceled, and that’s something the company can ill afford at this point in the game. And according to The Wrestling Observer‘s Dave Meltzer, there is only one person to blame for the situation TNA is in, and that’s Carter herself.

Quotes from Meltzer published by Wrestling Inc on Thursday suggest that Carter, who still owns 70 percent of TNA’s stock, “made a mess” of the ongoing TNA sale discussions, and she is responsible for any negative ramifications relating to the deal. The veteran wrestling journalist’s sources also claim that there hasn’t been much clarity as to who’s going to buy the company As of last week, Aroluxe was said to be the company’s top suitor, but as of Saturday, TNA President Billy Corgan looked like the frontrunner. All of this, says Meltzer, points to an owner who has no idea of what’s going on behind the scenes.

“(Carter) is something else,” said Meltzer. “I’ve never met someone so clueless. She is out of touch on all levels. Both sides want her out. There is no doubt there. It’s the only thing they can agree on.”

Earlier reports had also suggested that WWE was one of TNA’s potential buyers, which was mainly because TNA executive John Gaburick had been connected to WWE until 2013. But that might not be the case anymore, said Meltzer. He added in his new report that TNA is dealing with crippling debt problems with Aroluxe and Corgan standing out as the top creditors. If WWE were to buy TNA, it wouldn’t assume the latter promotion’s millions of dollars of debt. Meltzer believes this could potentially kill TNA in the process, leaving only its tape library, and some of its performers would sign with WWE.

Still, that doesn’t lower the stakes for TNA in the run-up to Bound for Glory. Carter will have to find a buyer and make the deal by Friday at the latest in order for the event and next week’s TV taping to push forward. Meltzer says that that won’t exactly mean the end of TNA, but since the company will be violating its pay-per-view and TV contracts if a deal isn’t made, television partners might leverage that to have Impact Wrestling canceled.

What happens when @MooseNation69 & @RealMikeBennett sit down to talk about their past, present & future match on Sunday at #BoundForGlory pic.twitter.com/BJHq2nPNKw

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) September 28, 2016

In recent months, TNA has been on a creative renaissance of sorts with the feud between “Broken” Matt Hardy and “Brother Nero” Jeff Hardy providing lots of entertaining moments for fans, and former WWE crowd favorite Aron Rex (f.k.a. Damien Sandow) debuting on Impact with a powerful worked-shoot promo. Last week, Cody Rhodes was confirmed for Bound for Glory, adding even more ex-WWE star power to the TNA roster. Things have indeed been looking up on the storytelling side, but unless Dixie Carter finalizes the TNA sale once and for all, and does so quickly and decisively, all those improvements in creative may be all for naught.

[Featured Image by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Images]