Where Will Ring Of Honor Releases End Up?

Professional wrestling was hit with a bombshell yesterday, which I’m still trying to fully wrap my head around: Ring of Honor, as we know it, is no more. While the company put out a semi-optimistic message via Twitter, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that, in fact, all talent will be let go on Jan. 1, 2022, and the sport’s free agency pool will be filled with Ring of Honor releases.

Nobody knows what is in store for the future of the company, and fresh off the news, it’s hard to speculate. We do know that an unidentified slew of ROH talent will be looking for new homes next year and just as I did for the glut of WWE releases we’ve had this year, I’m happy to speculate and maybe even fortune tell for 10 of the company’s top stars, an announcer and an all-time great tag team.

Jay Lethal

Jay Lethal is a special talent. Without having ever taken a step in WWE, Lethal has carved out a career for himself as the face of the TNA X-Division and later as the face of Ring of Honor. There’s not much he hasn’t done. But if, in fact, he’s a part of the Ring of Honor releases and the company is unable to reopen, he’s got two prime options: Impact and WWE.

I haven’t forgotten the WWE memo that it won’t be focusing on independent talent anymore, but I also don’t buy it. If Triple H wants Jay Lethal to be a player-coach in the new NXT, it will materialize, and he would have a chance to be a focal point of the show while helping the Bron Breakkers of the world sharpen their skills.

Jonathan Gresham

I like Jonathan Gresham, but my colleague Steven Jackson thinks very highly of “The Octopus.” So much so, that I’d love to hear Steven’s thoughts on what a good landing spot might be for Gresham. In his case, WWE can be safely crossed out. He’s probably a bit older than people realize (33) and stands at 5’4, which is probably too small for even Triple H to effectively market. That said, he’s a wrestler’s wrestler, and for that reason he was a tremendous fit for ROH.

The next best fit for him might be NWA or MLW. Billy Corgan and Court Bauer, who are very much in the same boat in a lot of ways, have a real opportunity to add talent to rosters that can use it, and Gresham can be a credible world champion for either brand. However, with Gresham being from Atlanta, I’m going to give NWA the inside track to land him should he become available.

Dalton Castle

It wasn’t that long ago that Dalton Castle was the talk of the wrestling world. For whatever reason, Ring of Honor could never fully commit to him as the face of the company, and now his stock is a bit lower. However, he can still be of use to any company interested in his services.

It’s tough to forecast any wrestler to AEW these days with how much talent Tony Khan and Co. have brought in over the past 12 months, but Castle could be a fit considering he worked a major program with Cody in the past. He could very well end up there, but I’m going to forecast him to Impact. Castle’s quirkiness would seem to be a fit with the writing behind Impact, and Jimmy Jacobs would have a ball working with him.

Bandido

Potentially the final ROH World Champion, Bandido has already begun taking bookings outside of the company, which could indicate his contract was due up at the end of the year. He’s got a ton of options, however, maybe more than anybody on this list of Ring of Honor releases. The 26-year-old phenom had a cup of coffee in New Japan in 2019, and that’s where his immediate future lies. New Japan is in need of some star power – wrestlers who can help bring the company buzz – and signing Bandido is a great way to do that.

Rush

Similar to Bandido, Rush has options, too. He’s also been to Japan and can always go back to Mexico, but with Rush being one of the few Mexican wrestlers to get over in front of an American audience, I don’t think he’s in a place in his career right now to be selling himself short. He accrued some serious momentum on Ring of Honor TV, and many thought for the last half-decade that if anyone could break out of Mexico to become a global star, it would be Rush due to his look, promos and in-ring ability. This puts Impact, WWE and AEW all in play, and this is where things get tricky.

It’s unlikely Rush would want to head to WWE even if he were offered a contract after seeing the way it treated a former stablemate of his on his way out of the company. There are names on this list of Ring of Honor releases that AEW will definitely take for one reason or another, but it’s a coin flip between AEW and Impact for reasons already stated. Of course, these days, going to one company doesn’t preclude a wrestler from appearing on the other show, so the natural thing for Rush to do is to sign with Impact and eventually make his way to AEW when it has more room to feature him the way he should be.

Danhausen

This is going to surprise some people, but WWE is a no-brainer career move for Danhausen. There is a Bray Wyatt-sized hole on WWE television right now, and guys like Bruce Prichard are salivating to get someone like Danhausen in the company so they can get back to producing comedic vignettes. For Danhausen, going to another indie company or even AEW is just a lateral move that may allow him to maintain the level of popularity he’s reached without too much real estate for future growth.

With the WWE stamp of approval, the sky’s the limit. I could also see him make his way to the big screen at some point, and appearing in WWE if only for a year would do wonders for his visibility and give him career stability for life. For a man that nearly walked away from it all, that’s a massive deal.

Rok-C

One of the hardest parts about hearing of these Ring of Honor releases was knowing how the company had just begun to commit to its women’s division. Rok-C was brought in to be the face of it. With her being only 19 years old, it’s tough to predict what could be next, as she’ll need to go somewhere that’s going to prioritize her development without bringing her along too fast. If she were 25 or 26, I’d suggest Women of Wrestling would be an ideal landing spot because of its “casting call” for marketable women, but as I’ve written about previously, there are red flags there.

That leaves AEW and WWE as distinct possibilities, as WWE has a full-blown developmental system and AEW has the means to develop talent with avenues like AEW Dark. That’s not to suggest Rok-C is an enhancement talent or anything of the sort. It’s true, however, that her development over the next three or four years will be formative to the type of career she’ll have. AEW tends to be more aggressive with female free agents, so that’s where we’ll see her next.

Brody King

Brody King should be sought after by all the major companies, in large part due to his size and look, but remember, he also has a contract with New Japan, so the most logical thing to do will be for him to double down on his career in the “Land of the Rising Sun.” However, the last time he appeared in New Japan, he teamed with Marty Scurll, which just goes to show how long ago that was.

Again, I’m not buying the WWE’s talent acquisition edict. After all, WWE had no problem pulling Punishment Martinez straight out of Ring of Honor, turning him into Damien Priest and running with him in the upper mid card on Raw. WWE could do a similar thing with King, and if he’s free to negotiate, there should be interest there.

Matt Taven

It’s tough to imagine Matt Taven calling anywhere else home, but that may be the situation he’s faced with. A return to Mexico has to be in play, but this is one situation where we can rule WWE and AEW out. WWE won’t have interest in a 36-year-old with average size and a different appearance than it might be looking for, and I don’t think he moves the needle enough for AEW to add him to the midcard. Taven should use this opportunity to break outside his comfort zone and try something new.

Enter MLW. Alex Hammerstone and Jacob Fatu can’t wrestle each other forever, and Taven has already shown he can get over while working for a small company with limited resources. Given the current MLW roster, he can be an asset to that company and if I’m Court Bauer, I’m taking the shot.

Flip Gordon

Flip Gordon will wind up in AEW sooner or later. This is inevitable if you have followed Being the Elite since its inception. Whether you like him or hate him, you must admit that he does have a few things going for him. He’s probably the best athlete out of anybody on this list of Ring of Honor releases (sans Bandido), and that’s with him having had the knee problems dating back to 2018. He’s also still just 29, and there is great potential for him to come into AEW and work with guys like Ricky Starks and Matt Sydal in the midcard before being potentially elevated into a program with The Elite.

Ian Riccaboni

It’s tough to think of a clear destination for a criminally underrated pro wrestling play-by-play man like Ian Riccaboni. He may even be the best there is when it comes to calling the action like a sporting event and bringing a professional component to the broadcast team. For that reason, I don’t think he could work in WWE because when you take everything away from a man that makes him great, all of a sudden he doesn’t seem so great, through no fault of his own.

I have no doubt WWE would try to pull a stunt like that. This is the same company that hired Jimmy Smith, an MMA analyst with no experience doing play-by-play OR pro wrestling, to be the voice of Raw. And I like Jimmy! He’s been doing a satisfactory job. However, the decision to install him on the broadcast team with the limited experience he’s had was a head scratcher, albeit nothing surprising at this point.

I leave you with this: Jim Ross is 69 years old and slowly being transitioned away from the commentary team. Tony Schiavone is 63 years old. Beyond that AEW has a glut of color commentators, but are lacking as far as reliable play-by-play men are concerned. Riccaboni is still just 34 years old, and remember, he was part of the original AEW broadcast team at All In with Excalibur and Don Callis. It’s not difficult to envision a future where Riccaboni and Excalibur are working together again as the regular Dynamite announce team.

The Briscoes

I hesitate to conclude this piece with three straight AEW picks, but it’s really the only logical option for The Briscoes outside of going to Japan. AEW has the best tag team division in wrestling and it’s not close. It has the most amount of fresh matchups for Jay and Mark, and you have to believe the money will be good. It’s tough to envision Tony Khan passing up on the chance to add ROH’s most prominent tag team to the roster if he gets the opportunity.

Of course, while these are all just hypotheticals, I do consider there to be one more nuclear option in play that could allow many, if not all of these soon-to-be Ring of Honor releases to continue wrestling under the ROH banner in spite of the company’s recent financial woes. Come back to The Wrestling Estate tomorrow for more on why we may not have yet seen the last of Ring of Honor.