Opinion: The End of Bellator MMA’s Cross Promotional Plan

King Mo was one fighter excited about cross-promoting Bellator and TNA Wrestling. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

After nearly nine years, Spike TV has pulled the plug on its relationship with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, likely ending the working relationship between the promotion and Bellator MMA.

Whether or not you actually enjoyed watching mixed martial artists the likes of Muhammed Lawal, Tito Ortiz, Quinton Jackson or most recently Bobby Lashley trying their hand at the art of professional wrestling, with TNA moving to the little known channel Destination America, there is no longer any incentive for Bellator to associate with company.

Spike President Kevin Kay released this statement regarding the network’s disassociation with the brand on Wednesday:

“Our partnership with TNA Wrestling will officially come to an end with our last telecast on Dec. 24. As Spike continues to evolve into a network reaching a broader audience, we continue to look across our schedule to find opportunities to add original scripted and non-scripted programming that appeals to a wider demographic.”

When the announcement was made in 2013 that “Rampage” had signed a multi-year partnership with Bellator, Spike and TNA, many questioned what the former Ultimate Fighting Championship titlist would contribute to a scripted wrestling program. Jackson was brought in the fold along with Ortiz in a storyline that was supposed to coincide with their fight at Bellator 106. As we all know, Ortiz got injured, and the fake storyline fell flat.

It’s no secret that at times TNA is the laughingstock of the wrestling business, with its over reliance on old wrestlers, six-sided rings, low production values and over-the-top storylines. The association with Bellator was undoubtedly more beneficial for a producer of a scripted program, as it added a layer of legitimacy to its product.

With the departure of Bjorn Rebney and the arrival of Scott Coker, the mastermind behind Strikeforce, it doesn’t necessarily mean Bellator is beyond using good ol’ fashioned wrasslin’ tactics to sell its real fights. This was evidenced by the walkouts at Bellator 131 this past weekend and the in-ring shenanigans during the Ortiz-Bonnar announcement.

But the severing of relations between Bellator and TNA does blur the lines a bit, allowing the MMA promotion to proverbially go to the well when it wants, without the burden of trotting out its biggest names out on Thursday nights in order to appease its mother network.