As most wrestling fans know by now, TNA — also known as Impact Wrestling — is not doing so hot at the moment. They owe money to a whooooole bunch of places and are starting to be hit by a bevy of lawsuits, almost exclusively from creditors and lenders who have finally come calling. One lawsuit in particular, however, has been getting the most press, and for good reason.
TNA President Billy Corgan, lifelong wrestling fan and at least partial investor in the company, has been one of the primary parties seeking to purchase Impact Wrestling. Two weeks ago, Corgan filed a lawsuit against TNA and its primary owner, Dixie Carter (referred to in the lawsuit by her legal name, Dixie Carter-Salinas). This week, a partially-redacted version of that lawsuit was unsealed by the court, and sheds some light on the situation.
The wonderful Keith Harris at Cageside Seats did a great job of summing up the legal documents that reporters like Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, and David Bixenspan of SEScoops did the legwork of compiling. Essentially, what Corgan is attempting to do with this court case is essentially a hostile takeover of the company.
Corgan’s suit claims that he bailed out TNA by paying off Aroluxe (the company headed by former wrestlers the Harris Twins), which at the time had the right to foreclose on Impact Wrestling due to a past due loan. The conditions of Corgan’s payoff of Aroluxe were such that he has the right to assume control of Carter’s controlling interest in the company should they become insolvent. And he believes that they are, in fact, insolvent, and are lying to cover that up.
Impact Ventures and Mrs. Salinas also entered into an equity pledge agreement with plaintiff whereby Mrs. Salinas pledged 100% of her equity interest in Impact Ventures to plaintiff as security for Impact Ventures’ performance of its obligations under the Second Amended Corgan Loan Agreement and August 2016 Corgan Note (“Salinas Pledge Agreement”).
Corgan’s suit estimates that Carter currently holds about 92.5 percent of the company’s equity. If any of Corgan’s claims hold up and his agreement with Carter should prove to be binding, he could indeed be awarded complete control of the company.
A judge has already granted Corgan a restraining order preventing TNA from selling further equity or company assets (which would include their media library) until this legal matter is resolved. Corgan could be walking away with TNA without even having to put in more money. Of course, he might then be on the hook for paying off their lenders, but we’ll take these things one step at a time.
