Tag: ROH

AEW Planning To Use ROH As Its Developmental Territory [Report]

Tony Khan now owns ROH, and this might be what he has planned for the brand.

Khan revealed last night on AEW Dynamite that he has bought Ring Of Honor. Rumors that Khan had acquired the struggling promotion had started to circulate earlier in the evening and turns out those rumors were true. As for what exactly Khan plans on doing with ROH, which is currently on hiatus, well, that remains unclear.

According to a report from Bodyslam.net’s Cassidy Haynes, the current plan is for ROH to be AEW’s developmental territory. The NXT to AEW’s WWE, if you will. There will even be appearances from AEW’s “main roster” talent from time to time, again as is the case with NXT. Right now Dolph Ziggler is embroiled in a rivalry with Bron Breakker which has resulted in wrestlers milling back and forth between Raw and NXT.

Exactly what Khan now owns, and how much he paid for it, is also unclear at this time. The deal almost definitely includes ROH’s tape library which could lead to AEW launching a streaming service of some sort that will combine its own three years of content with 20 years worth of ROH stuff. Haynes was also told the deal is worth somewhere between $30 million and $40 million, but that information has not yet been confirmed.

ROH admitted all was not well with the promotion last year when it went on hiatus, releasing all of its talent in the process. However, it followed through on its promise that it would eventually return, announcing a Supercard Of Honor show over WrestleMania weekend. Despite AEW’s reluctance to piggyback on WrestleMania like the rest of the wrestling industry does, you would have to think the company will have a heavy presence on that show which takes place in Dallas on April 1.

Source: TheSportster

Backstage News On Tony Khan Purchasing Ring Of Honor

More details have been revealed about Tony Khan purchasing Ring Of Honor on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

Dave Meltzer noted that the deal was put together two weeks ago, and the following day is when Khan started dropping hints. Both AEW and WWE were contacted regarding the sale, but Khan obviously put together the better offer.

The tape library was mentioned as being important to AEW, and the company does want a streaming service in some form. Ring Of Honor’s old footage is something that can help with that due to having more content. Plus, Ring Of Honor owned the footage for ALL IN, which was a crucial night for AEW’s own history.

It is not believed that WWE would have run Ring Of Honor as a separate brand. However, when the company was hot in 2018, WWE made a pitch, as Triple H wanted to buy the company. There were talks that went nowhere, as Vince McMahon wanted to buy somebody bigger. WWE ended up trying to buy New Japan Pro Wrestling, Stardom, and Pro Wrestling NOAH. The company also tried to buy AAA, but nobody would sell to them for the price that WWE was willing to pay.

In a press release, Tony Khan spoke about acquiring the ROH video library. Khan said he is exploring way to make the library available to fans.

“Ring of Honor’s influence on modern professional wrestling is etched permanently in the history books, and this acquisition ensures that its legacy will be kept alive and treated with the utmost respect,” Khan said. “This deal adds thousands of hours of content to our rapidly growing library and creates new opportunities to expand our footprint on a national and global scale, while having the potential to produce new content under the ROH banner.

“I will immediately begin exploring opportunities to make ROH’s video library available to fans, who’ll have the opportunity to witness the beginnings of the careers of some of AEW’s biggest stars.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Tony Khan Announces He Is The New Owner Of ROH

Throughout the past few weeks, Tony Khan and various AEW stars have hyped a “massive announcement” to be revealed on tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Tony even promised to personally appear in the ring for the big moment, which was a promise he fulfilled at the opening of the show this evening.

After thanking the crowd and promising the get the action going soon, Tony Khan said it would be the biggest night in the history of the company.

It was revealed that the major announcement is Tony Khan signed a deal to become the official owner of Ring Of Honor.

Earlier this week it was reported that sources from multiple wrestling companies say there was a possible sale of ROH and another promotion. It’s clear now that the deal was between AEW and Ring Of Honor.

ROH has been on a hiatus since December’s Final Battle pay-per-view, and Supercard of Honor is scheduled to be their first show back on Friday, April 1. The company announced in the lead-up to Final Battle that they were taking some time off during the first quarter of this year to “work internally to reimagine” the company and return with a “new fan-focused product and provide a unique experience.” You can click here for the updated Supercard of Honor line-up and more news from the company.

Tony Khan previously indicated that the announcement was not related to any individual talent acquisition, and instead, it had to do with a new business deal for AEW. He recently stated that keeping the details quiet was because the AEW legal team had him under NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) until everything was finalized, but assured fans that it would be “huge” for the promotion.

You can see a press release from Tony Khan below:

TONY KHAN ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE RING OF HONOR

— Video Library, Brand Assets, Intellectual Property from Independent Professional Wrestling’s Most Prestigious Promotion Purchased Under New Partnership with Tony Khan —

March 2, 2022 – Moments ago on AEW: Dynamite live on TBS, it was announced that TonyKhan has agreed to acquire the assets of Ring of Honor Wrestling Entertainment, LLC from Sinclair Broadcast Group, including the promotion’s extensive video library dating back to 2002,brand assets, intellectual property, production equipment and more.

Known widely as the independent promotion that birthed some of wrestling’s biggest stars of today, including AEW’s CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, and highlighted dozens of members of the AEW roster, Ring of Honor’s purchase signifies a new chapter in the future of professional wrestling as AEW’s meteoric rise continues to draw the youngest-skewing wrestling audience on television.

“Ring of Honor’s influence on modern professional wrestling is etched permanently in the history books, and this acquisition ensures that its legacy will be kept alive and treated with the utmost respect,” said Tony Khan, CEO of AEW, Chief Football Strategy Officer of the Jacksonville Jaguars and GM/Sporting Director of Fulham F.C.

“This deal adds thousands of hours of content to our rapidly growing library and creates new opportunities to expand our footprint on anational and global scale, while having the potential to produce new content under the ROH banner. I will immediately begin exploring opportunities to make ROH’s video library available to fans, who’ll have the opportunity to witness the beginnings of the careers of some of AEW’s biggest stars.”

More than 40 members of the AEW roster have appeared in Ring of Honor during their careers.The promotion launched the careers of numerous AEW superstars, including CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Hangman Page, Dr. Britt Baker and Adam Cole. Additional members of the AEW roster have made their mark in ROH, including the late Brodie Lee, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, ReDragon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly), Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta), Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, Mercedes Martinez, Serena Deeb, Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky, Keith Lee, Eddie Kingston, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, QT Marshall, Danhausen, Lance Archer, Griff Garrison, Thunder Rosa, Wheeler Yuta, Luchasaurus, Orange Cassidy, Ethan Page, Austin Gunn, PAC, Kip Sabian, Jon Moxley, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Jerry Lynn, BJ Whitmer, and Sonjay Dutt.

“Ring of Honor has produced some of the best professional wrestlers over the past 20 years,but more importantly, it created a family. I will be forever grateful to everyone in the ROH family who has worked tirelessly for the past two decades to take ROH to levels previously unimagined,” said Joe Koff, Chief Operating Officer, Ring of Honor Wrestling. “Tony has the utmost appreciation and respect for Ring of Honor, and I’m truly excited to see how he continues the legacy.”This acquisition will be completed through an entity that is wholly-owned by Tony Khan.

Further details about the extent of this acquisition will be announced in the coming weeks.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Supercard Of Honor Match And New Names Revealed, ROH TV Tapings Announced

A new match and new names have been announced for ROH Supercard of Honor XV.

ROH’s Ian Riccaboni hosted another Facebook Live chat on Tuesday night and announced that SW3RVE The Realest (Shane Strickland, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott) will take on Alex Zayne at Supercard of Honor. This will be SW3RVE’s ROH debut.

Riccaboni also announced that ROH will return to the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia for a set of ROH TV tapings on Sunday, April 10. ROH is set to reveal a new logo at Supercard of Honor. Riccaboni revealed that a new set design will also be unveiled next month. It was also previously announced that ROH will resume touring and TV tapings after Supercard of Honor.

Indie stars Joe Hendry and Ninja Mack were also announced for Supercard of Honor, but no matches were confirmed. Furthermore, Denise Salcedo was announced as the special host and backstage interviewer for Supercard of Honor. She joined Riccaboni and teased an upcoming announcement on the ROH Women’s World Title, currently held by Impact’s Deonna Purrazzo. Riccaboni previously announced that he and Caprice Coleman will call Supercard of Honor that night.

In other ROH talent news, Riccaboni noted that ROH officials are negotiating with a “ROH favorite” to face the winner of the Winner Takes All main event at Supercard of Honor, which will feature Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido to crown the Undisputed ROH World Champion.

These ROH talent announcements for Supercard of Honor were based on names that fans said they wanted to see compete in the ROH ring post-hiatus. It was previously announced that Supercard of Honor will feature 8 matches.

A special edition of ROH TV will air during the weekend of March 12 with a special look at the history of Supercard of Honor.

ROH has been on a hiatus since December’s Final Battle pay-per-view, and Supercard of Honor will be their first show back. The company announced in the lead-up to Final Battle that they were taking some time off during the first quarter of this year to “work internally to reimagine” the company and return with a “new fan-focused product and provide a unique experience.”

ROH Supercard of Honor XV will take place on Friday, April 1 from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. It will air live on pay-per-view and HonorClub. Below is the updated card, along with a promo for SW3RVE:

Winner Takes All Match for the Undisputed ROH World Title
Bandido vs. Jonathan Gresham

ROH World Tag Team Titles Match
TBA vs. The Briscoes

Alex Zayne vs. SW3RVE The Realest

Joe Hendry vs. TBA

Ninja Mack vs. TBA

Source: Wrestling Inc.

CM Punk To Be Inducted Into ROH Hall Of Fame

The final inductee of Ring of Honor’s inaugural Hall of Fame class will be none other than CM Punk. The current AEW star was announced as the last inductee on Monday morning in a press release available on ROH’s website. He joins fellow AEW star Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) in ROH’s inaugural class.

“Ring of Honor is proud to welcome CM Punk, one of the most charismatic and compelling performers in ROH history, into the ROH Hall of Fame,” the statement read. “Punk is the final member of the inaugural class, joining the Briscoes, Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe. Punk made his ROH debut in 2002 and experienced a meteoric rise thanks to his in-ring ability, mic skills and brash attitude. He incited fans by proclaiming that his straight edge lifestyle ‘means I’m better than you.’ Punk had many memorable moments in ROH, including the iconic ‘Summer of Punk’, which began when he won the ROH World Championship in June 2005 right after accepting a deal with WWE. Throughout the summer, Punk taunted ROH fans by repeatedly threatening to take the ROH World Title with him to WWE. He lost the title that August.

“In 2004, Punk engaged in an epic trilogy of matches with then-ROH World Champion Samoa Joe that have become legendary. They wrestled to two 60-minute draws before Joe prevailed in their final meeting. Punk also had a heated rivalry with Raven that is regarded as one of the greatest feuds in ROH history. They waged war against each other in unforgettable dog collar and steel cage matches. In addition to his ROH World Title reign, Punk also won the ROH World Tag Team Championship on two occasions as a member of The Second City Saints. After leaving ROH, Punk became one of the biggest stars in the industry in WWE. He wrestled in main events against the likes of The Rock and John Cena, and his 434-day reign as WWE Champion is the sixth-longest in company history. After stepping away from pro wrestling for more than seven years, Punk made his return last year in AEW, where he continues to be one of the promotion’s top stars.”

As with the Briscoes, Danielson and Samoa Joe, Ring of Honor also announced that a career retrospective on CM Punk would air on the next episode of Ring of Honor television, with a YouTube special focusing on Punk airing on ROH’s YouTube next Monday. As of this writing, CM Punk has yet to comment on his induction. There is no word on who will induct him.

The Ring of Honor Hall of Fame special, which will feature CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and The Briscoe Brothers, will air on TV on March 5th, one day prior to AEW Revolution in Orlando. Punk is currently scheduled to wrestle MJF at AEW Revolution in a Dog Collar match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Samoa Joe To Be Inducted Into ROH Hall Of Fame

One week after AEW star Bryan Danielson was revealed as the second inductee into the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame, ROH has announced that a contemporary of Danielson’s will be joining him. In a lengthy statement released on their website, Ring of Honor revealed that Samoa Joe will be the third inductee into ROH’s inaugural Hall of Fame class.

“Ring of Honor is proud to welcome Samoa Joe, the most dominant ROH World Champion in history, into the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame,” the statement read. “From the first time he stepped into an ROH ring in 2002, Joe proved to be an intimidating force whose hard-hitting offense, intensity and relentlessness made him one of the sport’s most dangerous competitors. ‘The Samoan Submission Machine’ is arguably the most proficient American pro wrestler in the art of strong style, a form of pro wrestling popularized in Japan that emphasizes strikes and submissions.  In just his 10th match in ROH, Joe captured the ROH Title in March 2003. Two months later, Joe officially elevated the championship to world title status when he successfully defended it in London, marking the first time the championship had been defended outside the United States.

“Joe went on to hold the ROH World Championship for a record 645 days and make 31 successful title defenses. It’s not only the longest reign in ROH history, but at the time it was the longest world title reign in any U.S.-based pro wrestling company in 15 years. During Joe’s historic reign, he and CM Punk engaged in an epic trilogy of matches that have become legendary. They wrestled to two 60-minute draws before Joe won their final meeting. Six months after losing the ROH World Title, Joe won the ROH Pure Championship. After leaving ROH in 2007, Joe won the TNA World Heavyweight Title by defeating Kurt Angle. Joe returned to ROH in 2015 for a series of matches before he departed for WWE, where he became the first two-time NXT Champion.”

Samoa Joe joins Danielson and The Briscoe Brothers in Ring of Honor’s inaugural Hall of Fame class; the final inductee will be revealed next week. Shortly after the announcement, Samoa Joe simply tweeted out “#Honored” along with a photo of himself and fellow ROH alumni CM Punk and Homicide.

The announcement comes a little more than a month after Samoa Joe was released from WWE for the second time in the span of a year. Originally released in April of 2021, Joe was re-signed by Triple H and brought to WWE’s NXT brand to work as an in-ring performer and talent scout. He would go on to defeat Killer Kross for the NXT Championship at TakeOver 36 but quickly vacated the title due to injury right before the launch of NXT 2.0.

Joe would never appear on WWE programming again and would ultimately be released on January 6, alongside several other so-called Triple H “lieutenants” William Regal, Gabe Sapolsky, and Road Dogg. In a statement following his release, Joe hinted at a potential return to the ring once he was legally able to. It is unknown what kind, if any, of noncompete clause Joe is under.

As also announced by Ring of Honor, a career retrospective of Samoa Joe will air this weekend on ROH’s weekly Ring of Honor Wrestling program, followed by a YouTube special focused on Monday. The Hall of Fame episode will air on TV next month on Saturday, March 5.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bryan Danielson To Be Inducted Into ROH Hall Of Fame

Bryan Danielson is about to become a two time Hall of Famer. The AEW star, who was inducted into the 2016 class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, will now be inducted into the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame. ROH announced Bryan Danielson’s induction in a press release on their website.

“Ring of Honor is proud to welcome Bryan Danielson, the embodiment of fighting spirit and technical wrestling excellence, into the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame,” ROH’s statement read. “‘The American Dragon’ played a major role in establishing ROH as the Best Wrestling on the Planet, beginning with his performance in the main event on ROH’s debut show, The Era of Honor Begins, in 2002. Whenever ‘The Final Countdown’ blared throughout the building as Danielson made his entrance to the ring, fans knew they were about to witness a true master of his craft at work. A superior technician, striker and submission specialist, Danielson cemented his status as the best wrestler in the sport when he won the ROH World Title in 2005. His 462-day reign as ROH World Champion is the third-longest, and he made a record 38 successful title defenses. Danielson made history in 2006 when he defeated arch rival and ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England to merge the titles. He also won the inaugural Survival of the Fittest in 2004 and main-evented ROH’s first pay-per-view in 2007.

“Danielson had many impressive victories in ROH, but one of his most memorable performances came in defeat. Just over four minutes into his match against then-ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima in 2007, Danielson suffered a detached retina as a result of the Japanese powerhouse’s clubbing blows. Morishima targeted Danielson’s injured left eye throughout the match, but Danielson showed incredible toughness and heart and came within a fraction of a second of winning before Morishima ultimately prevailed after more than 20 dramatic minutes. After leaving ROH in 2009, Danielson would gain world-wide fame in WWE, where he main-evented WrestleMania in 2014 before more than 75,000 fans at the Superdome in New Orleans. Danielson is currently one of the top stars in AEW.”

Bryan Danielson is the second announced inductee into the ROH Hall of Fame, following The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe). More inductees are expected to be announced, with the ceremony airing the weekend of March 5, according to the statement. Bryan Danielson hasn’t commented on his induction at this time.

In the meantime, Bryan Danielson is keeping busy for AEW, recently starting a program with former rival and recently returned star Jon Moxley. In an in ring confrontation last week on AEW Dynamite, Danielson offered Moxley the opportunity to unite and take over AEW as a unit. Moxley has yet to give Danielson an answer.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Announces The Briscoes For Inaugural Hall Of Fame Class

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes are headed to the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame.

ROH announced today that the first inductees into the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame will be Mark Briscoe and Jay Briscoe.

The Briscoes have been with ROH since the start as 18 year old Jay Briscoe defeated The Amazing Red in the first-ever ROH singles match at The Era of Honor Begins on February 23, 2002. Jay was accompanied to the ring by Mark. Since then, The Briscoes have held the ROH World Tag Team Titles twelve times, the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Titles once, with WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, and Jay has held the ROH World Title twice. The Briscoes were also named the Tag Team of the Decade for the 2010s, and they were named Tag Team of the Year in 2019. Mark and Jay have also held NJPW’s IWGP World Tag Team Titles, and numerous indie titles.

The Briscoes won the ROH World Tag Team Titles this last time by defeating The OGK at Final Battle on December 11.

To celebrate The Briscoes, a career retrospective will air this weekend during the ROH TV episode. A YouTube special on The Briscoes will be released on Monday, February 7 via the official ROH YouTube channel.

ROH will air a special Hall of Fame episode of ROH TV during the weekend of March 5. The company will be announcing more inductees over the next several weeks.

ROH will return from their hiatus on April 1 with Supercard of Honor XV, live from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX, during WWE’s WrestleMania 38 Weekend.

ROH Announces Establishment Of A Hall of Fame

This past weekend, Kevin Eck teased online that a “major announcement” will be revealed this week that will excite “anyone who has ever been an ROH fan.”

Via the Ring of Honor Website, it was announced this morning that the company will be establishing a Hall of Fame to coincide with ROH’s 20th Anniversary.

You can see the full press release below:

To coincide with Ring of Honor’s 20th anniversary, the company is proud to announce the establishment of the ROH Hall of Fame.

Since its inception, ROH has created excellence in professional wrestling by giving the best wrestlers on the planet a platform to showcase their talent.

Now ROH will honor the outstanding athletes who have contributed greatly to making it one of the most influential pro wrestling promotions in the industry.

The first inductee in the inaugural ROH Hall of Fame class will be revealed this Monday. Subsequent inductees will be announced on Feb. 7, Feb. 14 and Feb. 21.

Also, each episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling in February will be devoted 

The company’s next major event, ROH’s Supercard of Honor XV, is set for this April. It was announced that Bandido vs. Jonathan Gresham to crown the Undisputed ROH World Champion will headline the Supercard of Honor event.

Supercard of Honor XV will mark ROH’s return from a hiatus. The event is scheduled for Friday, April 1 from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX. The only match announced as of this writing is Bandido vs. Gresham.

Founded on February 23, 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ring of Honor has spent the last 19 years as a place for stars to hone their craft inside the squared circle. Standout alumni include Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, as well as stars like Adam Cole, Kevin Owens, and Jay Lethal.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Briscoes Comment On Potentially Signing With WWE Or AEW

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes recently spoke with Busted Open Radio about the potential of them working for WWE or AEW. While the talk has largely been about them and AEW, the popular duo believes they could make an impact for Vince McMahon.

WWE

“I mean, I think that we would definitely survive,” Jay said. “Because at the end of the day you’ve got to get in that ring and ring the bell.”

Mark Briscoe added, “I think that we would survive and thrive. Vince McMahon likes money, and shoot when we get in-between those ropes, that’s what we are going to do, we are going to make your company money. I think that’s the bottom line, not trying to sound cocky or anything.”

“We are very confident in our abilities, especially right now we are at the top of our game,” Jay added. “So, really man, anywhere we go, we are going to definitely like he said, survive and thrive.”

The style of The Briscoes is very unique and certainly different from anything in WWE right now. However, the tag team believes that is what is needed right now. The fighting style is something they both think fans want

“When people are sitting around, and you’ve got a wrestling fan that has wrestling on TV, and he has his friends over and there not wrestling fans. What are you going to show them to get them to become wrestling fans? You can’t be showing them this clown s–t, man,” Jay stated. “You’ve got to show them something that they can get into, some real s–t.

“And professional wrestling as we all know, there’s so many different flavors of professional wrestling,” Mark added. “But you can’t have certain flavors showcased for such a high percentage of the time. You’ve got to have a fight, that’s what wrestling is, a fight. That’s got to be your staple, that’s got to be your backbone. Your backbone can’t be comedy or this that and the other you’ve got to have fighters out there.”

AEW

If they joined AEW. With the company having a huge roster, Jay made it clear that they wouldn’t be taking a backseat to anybody.

“That’s the thing man, if it does happen, when and if, everybody else is going to have to take a backseat. That’s just going to be the way it is,” Jay Briscoe said. “Once we get in there, ya’ll know what we’re going to do. Once they see we do us and FTR and we whoop their ass, they aren’t going to have no choice but to put us regularly on their television program.”

The Briscoes have been undergoing a war of words online with FTR recently. Despite the fact that they do not like Twitter, the duo admitted that they need to do it at this point in their careers.

“We’re just keeping it real, man. I don’t even like to get on the damn Twitter, man,” Jay Briscoe said. “It just sucks you in, I don’t like to get too involved but at this point in our careers, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. So, we just putting it out there and letting them know, ‘we’re here.’”

“Especially like, it wasn’t five minutes after the Ring Of Honor news hit. Back when it did hit, when your boy, Dax, Big Dax just tweeting Briscoes, nothing but Briscoes,” Mark added. “So we can’t sit there, yeah, ‘Briscoes, huh, Briscoes, what’s up?’”

The Briscoes also believe they will be sure to make a big impact if they do join the company. The team are confident due to the fact they’re trying to provide for their families. This means they will do whatever is needed.

“I think once we make that splash, they’re going to want to see it again and again,” Jay Briscoe stated. “So, I ain’t really too worried about that. At the end of the day we’re providing for our families. So we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. But, I don’t think we’ve got to worry about riding the bench.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.