What Will Happen To Ring Of Honor?

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we discuss the heartbreaking news of Ring of Honor going on hiatus and releasing all of its talent.

What do you predict will happen to Ring of Honor?

Steven Jackson: Sadly, Ring of Honor will close its doors. The competitiveness of the wrestling industry has finally caught up with it. It’s an awful realization as an avid fan of the promotion, but unfortunately, ROH had to give into its competitors.

Chad Gelfand: ROH will return eventually. The company will have to build from the ground up again, though, as I can’t see the top stars in the promotion sticking around while the company has such uncertain times ahead, especially when there will be bidding wars for the likes of Johnathan Gresham, Bandido, Rok-C, Trisha Adora and more.

Juan Bautista: Ring of Honor is on its last ride. It simply hasn’t been able to keep pace with Impact, MLW and others.

John Corrigan: Ring of Honor will not return for WrestleMania Weekend. Unfortunately, the company’s best days are behind it. Sinclair doesn’t see it as a valuable investment, so unless someone (cough Tony cough) can acquire ROH, Final Battle will live up to its name.

Jack Goodwillie: It’s anybody’s guess at this point. This news came totally out of left field, and the thing is the company’s statement doesn’t provide any clarity. The most amount of clarity we can attest to is the company letting all of its wrestlers out of their contracts. That is not something that bodes well for the future.

If ROH wants any chance of surviving at all, it has to sell the video library. As we’ve seen, it’s the most valuable asset these companies have, but the fact that ROH never made it on the WWE Network despite a lot of smoke suggesting it could three years ago or so, tells me there is someone important at Sinclair who’s not interested in its survival.

If the plug has truly been pulled, what or who do you blame the most?

Jackson: If the plug is pulled, I blame the #SpeakingOut movement (namely Marty Scurll), the NJPW agreement and COVID-19. These factors all had a huge impact in 2019 and 2020, which have led to the gradual downfall of ROH.

Gelfand: While COVID-19, NXT and AEW signing its top talents and its relationship with NJPW fracturing are contributing factors, the blame is on ROH mostly for not finding a true identity after The Elite left. The MSG ROH/NJPW was indicative of a company that was having trouble getting its own stars over and relying too much on other companies.

Bautista: Sinclair Broadcasting and management. There was already a collapse taking place before the pandemic and creation of AEW. Ring of Honor’s television deal was never the greatest, even compared to Impact’s. The channels and times were never consistent in addition to some channels like Comet not even being available on standard cable. Yes, ROH was on the FITE TV app, but that will only take you so far.

Yes, AEW did happen, but then what’s the excuse for Impact still existing? In the span of three years, Impact lost its home on Spike, lost its biggest stars and went under new ownership. Yet, the company stuck with what it had and built on top of that,

Corrigan: I blame the creation of AEW. As someone who attended shows pre-Elite and post-Elite, the atmosphere was just never the same in Ring of Honor. So much high-profile talent had departed for greener pastures that ROH was left in the dust. Contrary to popular opinion, the pandemic actually benefitted ROH, allowing the company to reset and rebuild. I guess Sinclair just doesn’t have the patience and financial resources to let it play out.

Goodwillie: It’s no one person. This isn’t a “Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff killed WCW” situation. The company has made several poor decisions over the years which I’ve alluded to before and may soon write about again. But where to begin?

There’s Delirious’ longevity as the booker of a perennially mediocre wrestling show, there was the over-reliance on New Japan talent – non-homegrown stars on loaner deals to carry the company – there was the over reliance on Cody and The Young Bucks who left to help get AEW going, there was the uncharacteristic free agent spending spree of three or four years ago, and of course, the short-lived decision to install Marty Scurll as booker, whose behavior outside the ring notwithstanding, was also a focal point on screen (and of course we’ve seen how that can go awry). Then the pandemic happened. But there is also an expression that you “make your own luck” and that is one thing ROH failed to do in the Sinclair era.

Which member of the ROH roster has the most promise as a free agent?

Jackson: “The Octopus” Jonathan Gresham. My favorite wrestler. The purest of his generation and one of the greatest of all-time. I want to see Gresham travel and conquer the globe!

Gelfand: Johnathan Gresham. As the final ROH World Champion, he can be immediately inserted in the top of the card in AEW. Bryan Danielson vs. Johnathan Gresham is a dream match and it would be a major coup for AEW to have that match on its programming.

Bautista: Bandito and the Briscoes Brothers. Bandito can go almost anywhere except WWE. The sky’s the limit for him. The Briscoes Brothers have the exact same situation. The tag team scene is on fire.

Corrigan: The Briscoes. They’ve been in ROH for so long that they’ll be a fresh, super-over act wherever they end up next.

Goodwillie: While it’ll be interesting to see what mainstays like the Briscoes and Matt Taven do without a Ring of Honor to call home, it boils down to three guys: Dalton Castle, Brody King and Rush. These three have the most upside to potentially become mainstays at the top of a card elsewhere, and in the case of Dalton Castle, a change of scenery can do him a lot of good. Danhausen has a lot of promise, too, but a character like him is always going to be garnish as opposed to the steak itself…unless he goes to WWE where all it serves is sizzle.

What do you consider to be ROH’s legacy?

Jackson: The tall order of putting ROH’s legacy into a few sentences is very tough, but I’ll try. ROH filled a void which was left when ECW closed. Taking a completely different direction, Ring of Honor has given young talent the opportunity to grow and make a huge impact in the industry. At the same time, ROH has given veterans a second chance to carve out a new path for themselves. I feel indebted to ROH for introducing me to independent wrestling.

Gelfand: ROH’s legacy is creating, discovering and platforming some of the biggest stars in wrestling today. In the early and mid-2000’s, it really felt like a true alternative. With a focus on pro wrestling, ROH has hosted some of the greatest matches of all time. If this is the end of ROH, it will be remembered fondly as a company that helped push wrestling forward into a new generation.

Bautista: ROH was the one independent that took that style and succeeded with it. ROH didn’t get flashy until the end. It was also a place that launched the careers of a lot of today’s stars.

Corrigan: Inspired by the fast-paced, technical, high-spot style of the ECWA Super 8, Ring of Honor was born in the wake of WCW and ECW closing. For almost 20 years, the company emphasized the sport of sports-entertainment while its competitors went in a different direction. The talent that ROH groomed and showcased are the top stars of today. Whereas promotions like ECW feel outdated 20 years later, ROH will remain timeless.

Goodwillie: If this is the end, ROH will forever be known as the place for an independent wrestler to showcase their skills for the better part of 15 years. For that time, the Ring of Honor World Champion was the independent wrestling world champion. That’s a pretty cool legacy to leave behind, and I haven’t even mentioned the talent. That company’s legacy will also live on through the talent it helped produce: Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Kevin Owens, Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Chris Hero, Nigel McGuinness; all these great wrestlers, some of the biggest stars of 2021, cut their teeth in Ring of Honor. That says it all.