Tag: Joe Koff

Joe Koff Dead, Former ROH Executive Dies Of Cancer At Age 73

Joe Koff, former Chief Operating Officer of Ring of Honor, has died at the age of 73, according to a report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider. Koff had reportedly been battling cancer privately and decided several months ago to end his treatment, allowing himself to live out the rest of his days alongside his family as comfortably as possible.

During and after his time with ROH, Koff maintained his role as Senior Vice President of Training and Development at Sinclair Broadcasting Group. It was Koff who convinced his employers at Sinclair to purchase ROH in 2011, kicking off the promotion’s run as a corporate subsidiary.

Throughout his time as COO, Koff helped grow the brand in multiple ways, eventually leading to a jointly-promoted show between ROH and New Japan Pro-Wrestling at New York City’s famous Madison Square Garden in 2019. In 2022, however, ROH was sold to AEW’s Tony Khan, bringing the Sinclair era to an end.

After graduating from the University of Miami in 1972, Koff began working in sales and advertising before eventually moving to the world of TV. It wasn’t long after that when Koff’s professional experience in wrestling began, as he helped produce a prime time event for Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida.

Though Koff grew up as a wrestling fan, the executive was said to have never interfered in the creative side of ROH during his tenure with the company. Instead, Koff focused on big picture business decisions, with the MSG show said to have been a very proud moment in his career.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH COO On WWE Not Changing Wrestlers’ Names

Source: WrestlingINC

Phil Strum recently interviewed ROH COO Joe Koff for The Poughkeepsie Journal, who was promoting last Saturday’s ROH show in Manhattan. During the interview, Koff discussed ROH talent signing with WWE and some talent not changing their names.

“There’s always going to be people going to other promotions and it’s not something we are concerned about,” Koff said. “They had a No. 1 contenders match on Monday Night Raw and three of the four people in the match were ex-ROH guys (A.J. Styles, Kevin Owens and Cesaro). Of the three, two had their names changed.”

“WWE has created an incredible brand and merchandising opportunities. This is a new era. It speaks to the fact that when wrestling was a TV promotion, you were in total command and control of every aspect of the business. If you’re a fan of a guy like A.J. Styles, you know that he came to WWE from New Japan and WWE can’t act surprised that every fan is chanting his name. You’re starting to see a little bit more that they’re not changing the name anymore, that’s starting to go away. You have to be genuine. Fans are not stupid about these things. The essence used to be buyer beware, but now it’s seller beware. Fans are so knowledgable. The guy’s name is worth something. They really are smart fans and that’s not just a term.”

Koff also discussed the relationship between ROH and New Japan, the growth of ROH, WWE being the pinnacle of the business, ROH being on syndicated cable and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.