GFW/Impact Wrestling news: Brandi Rhodes reveals why she quit GFW

What’s the story?

Brandi Rhodes, who parted ways with Global Force Wrestling (GFW) last week revealed the real reason behind her decision.

Wife of wrestler Cody Rhodes, Brandi had recently started filming for a non-wrestling show in Atlanta, something which GFW was reportedly not cooperative about. The company even demanded 10% of her earnings from the job which she refused to give up.

Brandi thus applied for her release after both the parties failed to reach a common ground.

Following the company’s decision to grant her release request, Rhodes’ profile has been erased from the official website of Impact wrestling. It has also been deleted from the active roster section and is neither listed in the Alumni section.

In case you did not know....

Formerly known as Eden Stiles during her stint with WWE, Rhodes is a 6-year veteran in the wrestling business. The 34-year-old had plied her trade in various wrestling promotions from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / Impact Wrestling, WWE, and Ring Of Honor.

Rhodes was signed to a developmental contract by the WWE in 2011 following which she was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). The following month, she made her debut under the alias ‘Brandi’ alongside Lucky Cannon at an FCW house show.

The heart of the matter

Talents have been leaving GFW in numbers since Anthem Sports acquired a majority interest in TNA Impact Wrestling, back in January.

The most notable people to have left the promotion so far are The Hardy Boyz, Drew McIntyre, Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett, Shane Helms and Al Snow among others.

The new GFW contracts require the talent to give up 10 percent from outside bookings. In addition to that, GFW keeps 100 percent of merchandise revenue sold through them.

She said, "“There was no release. There was nothing like that. A contract was offered to me, which I declined. Anthem offered me a contract. I read the contract. It’s not something that, I’ll say this in the nicest way that I can, it’s not a contract that anyone with any value, any sense of self-value, or self-worth would sign. There’s no point in signing a contract to make you exclusive to one place if you’re not getting anything in return.”

Many fans have called these contract stipulations excessive and manipulative and cite this as one of many reasons why the acquisition of GFW by Anthem Sports has not been a positive change.

What’s next?

Rhodes is currently taping for Women of Honor in ROH and made her debut last month. She is expected to continue making ROH and indy appearances moving forward.

Author’s take

Relatively an amateur yet in professional wrestling, the move can be dubbed as a smart one for Rhodes as she wasn’t ready for a level as high as Global Force Wrestling.

Putting her in a place like Ring of Honor will be a good place to allow her to build up on some ring work instead of being thrown in over her head.