Pro wrestling fan, investor and Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan’s efforts to buy a controlling stake in TNA Entertainment might be getting pinned to the mat.
A hearing scheduled for Thursday that could have paved the way for Corgan to gain a controlling stake in the cash-strapped pro wrestling company was delayed until Oct. 26 amid whispers that the company is looking for a white-knight investor.
Corgan owned a minority stake in Impact Ventures, TNA’s parent company, and was its president since August. He was close to a deal to take over the operation but talks turned nasty and then broke down, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Corgan filed suit under seal in a Nashville Chancery Court last week over the matter. His lawyers had successfully argued for a hearing on Thursday — but it was called off at the last minute.
Named in the suit were several Impact executives, including majority owner and Chairwoman Dixie Carter.
Corgan’s designs on TNA have since been complicated by one of Impact’s other equity owners.
Toronto-based Fight Network, which distributes TNA content in Canada in addition to being a part-owner, is offering to repay Corgan for any last-minute loans he made to the company to cover production costs.
In a statement Wednesday night, Fight said it stands ready to “provide additional transitional assistance to the company.”
Fight’s sudden interest in TNA played a role in delaying Thursday’s hearing, sources said. It also positions Fight as a likely white knight — one with sufficient clout to buy out Corgan’s TNA stake.
Leonard Asper, the CEO of Fight parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., reinforced this notion by declaring in Wednesday’s statement, “We have a keen interest in seeing [TNA] not only survive but continue to grow and thrive — alongside our own growth.”