Official ROH Show Discussion

[AssaultDriver720]

 

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/BunkiePerkins/status/716106846105243648

 

 

So he finally got over his beef with ROH?

 

 

Well thats more Cornette fault lets be honest.

[ArmVD]

 

 

 

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/BunkiePerkins/status/716106846105243648

 

So he finally got over his beef with ROH?

 

Well thats more Cornette fault lets be honest.

 

I know that, but for the longest time, Colt saw things differently. I think it was the second time he had Steen on his podcast, Steen was trying to tell Colt that it was all Cornette, and things were better with Cornette gone, and he tried to get Colt to come back, but Colt didn't believe him

 

[classiq.]

Going to that TV taping after SCOH was on par with Takeover. Quality matches and performances up and down the card.

[classiq.]

At this rate, we're going to have to start calling Ring of Honor (ROH) New Japan West.

 

The Sinclair Broadcasting-owned independent announced a couple of big weekends' worth of shows for the late Summer and early Fall of 2016, and they're evidence of trends which have become more and more clear for the venerable independent.

 

First and foremost, both their August Death Before Dishonor and September/October All-Star Extravaganza weekends will feature the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW):

 

Ring of Honor officials are excited to announce the return of the stars of New Japan Pro-Wrestling to the United States for two HUGE weekends of Pay Per View events and National Television Tapings, including ROH's return to Las Vegas, and long awaited return to the BOSTON area at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium!

 

Fans traveled from around the globe to see Ring of Honor and New Japan stars clash in Sin City at 14th Anniversary and because of the overwhelming fan response, ROH and NJPW are proud to announce that one of ROH's DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR weekend will kick off live on pay per view from Sam's Town Live in Las Vegas, NV on Friday August 19 , followed by a National TV Taping on Saturday, August 20!

 

The Best Professional Wrestling on the Planet then will make its triumphant return to the Boston area for ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA VIII, which will air live on pay per view on Friday September 30 , followed with a National TV Taping on Saturday October 1!

 

This makes sense, as it provides ROH with star power and gives New Japan a presence in the United States market - in both cases without investing what it would take individually to accomplish the same thing. The two promotions are still working out how to book their partnership, however - or at least Ring of Honor should be looking at ways to improve that part of the arrangement. With a NJPW wrestler holding their Television title and most of the puro stars winning their matches at the 14th Anniversary pay-per-view (PPV), ROH events without New Japan talent feel "less than" and will be tougher sells.

 

Compounding the issue is that both PPV events are followed by evenings where episodes of ROH TV are filmed, meaning the Japanese talent stars on that weekly show, too.

 

More subtle is the fact that, by running Death Before Dishonor in Vegas, ROH is clearing out of not just the New York area, but the whole Northeast market for SummerSlam weekend.

 

WWE's work with independent and international promotions has obviously included neither ROH or NJPW, and there are even reports the sports entertainment giant deliberately moved the start time of their NXT show on the Friday before WrestleMania to interfere with the Supercard of Honor show running in Dallas that night.

 

It's likely that with SummerSlam again in Brooklyn this year, the weekend of August 19 - 21 will feature another TakeOver and probably an EVOLVE show or two. Rather than look secondary to all the WWE-affiliated product in the area, ROH has opted to provide an alternative on the other side of the country.

 

Smart move by the two companies? Will they figure out some competitive balance to their storytelling during the Global Wars PPV and War of the Worlds shows in May?

 

Stay tuned.

http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/4/8/11393422/ring-of-honor-furthers-new-japan-partnership-schedules-away-from-wwe-summerslam Edited April 8, 2016 by classiq.

[classiq.]

Colt Cabana spoke with WrestleZone Radio about his ROH return and more. Some highlights are below:

 

On his ROH return: They asked me for so long to come back. Especially when Jim (Cornette) left the company. He was the reason I wasnt there in the first place. They asked me to come back and I had a chip on my shoulder. I didnt think it was right. Its been five years and I didnt like the way that I was asked to leave the company. Its been five years and I was like, Im going to let this go. Theres a lot of people out there that still go, Are you with Ring of Honor? They know the idea of Ring of Honor, they know I was there but obviously there were some that werent even watching. Now its a whole new fan base as opposed to when I was there. I am still in the prime of my career and I am still going. I am on the road 150-200 days a year. Im still doing it. I was like, Its time to let bygones be bygones. Essentially do it for the fans and the platform that they have for the new fans to see what I do.

 

On helping to launch Pro Wrestling Tees and helping other indy pro wrestlers become able to make wrestling their main job: Theres a lot of my friends that I knew were great. Through the podcast it was almost like I was booking a wrestling show. With the idea of, Im trying to get this guy over. Im trying to get Cliff Compton over. Im trying to get Luke Gallows over. Thats what the podcast was. I have the ability to get these guys over just by letting them being them. Merchandise is something that Ive always done. Ive always loved the old timers and thats something they would do. It seemed like there was a way to make it happen almost on a sweeter level. I hooked up with One Hour Tees in Chicago. We became great friends. With the podcast I was making good money with t-shirt sales even on-line. A lot of the wrestlers were just too lazy to do what I was doing. So what happens is I happened to pick up the slack and I reached out to handful of my wrestling friends. I said, Hey, if I can get these guys to take your orders, print the shirts, ship them out and you dont have to do anything but collect money would you do it? And Im going to give you a sweet cut? They all said, Yes. The first group was Kevin Steen, The Young Bucks, Joey Ryan, Chris Hero, myself and maybe Beth Phoenix and John Morrison. I dont think they did it at first. Just out of laziness. I dont know. They were like, Oh, another thing that Colts doing. These guys started making money and they told a friend and it happened so organically and small. Within the industry this wrestlers told this wrestlers, Hey, Im making money! Im making money! People wanted these shirts. People wanted these wrestlers and it was finally happening. All the wrestlers were like, Oh my God! Were making money! Were doing alright! Some of the guys like The Young Bucks and Steen you know, Steen quit his job. He was doing so well with the extra money and income. Before he went to WWE he was working at a warehouse at midnight. Hes Kevin Owens now, obviously. Through great wrestling, being a great wrestler and this extra income from t-shirts he was able to quit his job and concentrate on wrestling. What happens next? Hes at WrestleMania.

 

http://411mania.com/wrestling/colt-cabana-on-roh-return-time-to-let-bygones-be-bygones/

[Bushy.]

I don't like that idea (the NJPW talent on more shows), because now instead of GW and WOTW being a special time of year, it won't mean shit if they're on PPV here like every other month going over all the ROH talent.

[classiq.]

[Paulie Walnuts]

I love me some Amber Gallows.

[Crowley]

I'm so glad to see Colt Cabana is off to a great start in ROH and I hope he continues to be used to his fullest potential. This guy is one of the best wrestlers in the world. I pray to the wrestling gods that he isn't back to doing the same old lower midcard comedy routine a few months from now. I know that's his claim to fame, but he's so much better than that. It's really sad to me that these days fans who are unfamiliar with ROH's early years just see him as wacky comic relief. This is a guy who once beat Eddie Guerrero and CM Punk in a triple threat match for the IWS heavyweight title. He's one of the most versatile wrestlers when it comes to playing different characters and adapting to different in-ring styles. He's still young at just 35 years old and you don't have to worry about him getting poached any minute like you do with guys like O'Reilly. He's one of the most well known indie names and an ROH legend. He's better than CM Punk. Now that he's back, he should be given the platform to show his naysayers what he's really capable of and he should become the new face of ROH. This is the new main protagonist that finally takes the title away from Jay Lethal.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Crowley

[classiq.]

In an interview with Busted Open Radio, Nick and Matt Jackson, The Young Bucks, spoke about those who criticize their style from the old guard of wrestling. Here are highlights:

 

Nick Jackson on their older critics: We plain out just say, Youre outdated. This is whats hot, this is whats new, and youve just got to move on. Things from back then dont necessarily work as good now. Some of the stuff is outdated, like I said. I think if you did a chinlock for 10 minutes at a Ring of Honor show, theyre chanting This is boring. You cant do that type of stuff nowadays. It worked back then, it was good back then, but now, its different. Fans nowadays, they have shorter attention spans and they want to be entertained like this and we try to give that.

 

Matt Jackson on not giving their fans what they want: And if you donttheyre going to be on their phone. I want to be the guy that has their attention from the time I hit the curtain, the entire time, I go back to the curtain. I want to be that match. Like he said, I cant put a guy in a chinlock for 10 minutes straight and keep their attention. Its just not going to happen in 2016.

 

Matt on their critics losing credibility: I guess they lose a little more credibility with the way they react to it and the way their behavior is, the way they talk about it. If they just downright say, This is wrong. Its not supposed to be this way, yeah, they lose credibility because theyre less cool now. The fans are going, No, no! Youre burying my favorite guy! What are you doing, man? I thought you were cool. Why are you talking crap about my favorite wrestler?. Theres a way to do it or theres a way to present the idea and say, Listen, Im not saying the way they do it now is wrong, but the way I did it back in the day was different. Thats the way to talk about it. You dont just bury it and, in Jim Cornettes style, do a shoot interview for an hour on your podcast and curse and say all these things how we should be hung in Times Square for doing a certain spot Thats when you lose that credibility Just be articulate, talk, state your opinion. State facts why you feel like your opinion is right. You dont have to be a jerk about it. Thats all Im saying.

 

Nick on the goals they have left: I dont know. Weve done quite a bit. The one goal that I always tell all my family is just to continue to make as much money as possible and to stay healthy. If that means going to WWE, so be it. If that means staying here, so be it. Whatevers best for my family if it comes down to it.

http://411mania.com/wrestling/the-young-bucks-respond-to-criticism-of-their-working-style/

[classiq.]

 

 

Today's announcement that Ring of Honor finally has a Canadian home on Fight Network came a little out of the blue, but both parties will admit that it was a deal a long time in the making.

 

How long? Chad Midgley, VP of Fight Network, figures that discussions have been going "on and off" for three years. "It got serious in the last month or so with Joe [Koff], and it came pretty quickly," he said.

 

Ring Of Honor COO Joe Koff confirmed the timeline. "We've been talking about it for a little bit of time now, and I think it was just a matter of both parties coming to an agreement as to when the right time to start with," Koff said.

 

Midgley said there wasn't any particular reason for holdup.

 

"It's tough to say. You can look at a million different things from budgets to other opportunities to just viewer feedback on things people wanted to see," said Midgley. "It wasn't really a specific reason why we were holding back. It just wasn't the right time, and now it is."

 

The Ring of Honor TV program is currently seen in the U.S. on a national basis on COMET TV, as well on as a host of Sinclair Broadcasting stations -- the parent company of ROH. Since ROH started in 2004, its TV program has not had a national clearance in Canada; fans with access to U.S. stations airing the show (like Buffalo's WUTV Channel 29) were in luck, and others had to find other sources for their ROH fix. The progress of online streaming has provided another option for fans.

 

Fight Network will air ROH on Tuesday nights at 11 p.m. ET, following its broadcast of TNA Impact Wrestling.

 

It's part of building a Tuesday night block, said Midgley. "We've identified Tuesday as a night that we wanted to brand a really good wrestling night, more of a domestic wrestling night," he said. "Once we identified Tuesday night and it worked with the TNA schedule, we started to look for other things that would fit. Another reason that we did approach ROH now is that TNA has been doing so well for us in the ratings that we thought we'd explore some more wrestling content, and ROH naturally was the next one that we wanted. We worked with Joe, we know that they air it the next Thursday online, so we wanted to have a little bit of a window to get it on ahead of it being out there online." In May 2015, ROH served as the lead-in to TNA on Destination America, and now the lineup is reversed.

 

If Tuesdays are domestic, then Thursdays will be internationally-flavoured on Fight Network, though all of that hasn't been sorted out said Midgley.

 

ROH is always open to international growth, said Koff. "We just came off of France, where we did a run on Equipe 21. We get inquiries all the time from the international markets. I think our product is beginning to take hold as a true product, wrestling product, for what we are able to put forth in the ring. And I think it's that artistic integrity and I think it's the talent and the athleticism of our guys that are catching notice across the world. Obviously, being on our North American neighbour just pleases us to no end, because we have access and we get there. But we run tours in England and we have interest from other countries now to bring the shows there. I think people are starting to take serious notice of what our product is all about, and it's very authentic. I think it's because of that authenticity that makes us want to be watched."

 

There is a certain magic to the live ROH product, and Koff and Midgley both see more Canadian shows for the promotion in the future.

 

"Toronto has always been a very, very good Ring of Honor city, maybe because of its proximity to Buffalo or whatever, I'm not quite sure," said Koff. "But even prior to [sinclair] taking over, Toronto was always a very strong market for us, one of our best. We've had inquiries recently from other provinces in Canada. I think this Fight Network airing will help in certainly getting our product more exposed in those markets, and hopefully we can work with promoters to bring the product up to Canada. We love being in Canada, so if this helps us get to that point, then that would be fantastic."

 

Midgley had heard about ROH's hot shows -- both in the ring and in temperature in the steamy Ted Reeve Arena in Toronto's east end -- and listened to his advisers. "The success is here is definitely something that pushed us to towards getting that done quicker."

 

Unlike in the past, where there were a number of Canadians on the roster in prominent positions -- Kevin Steen (now Kevin Owens) and El Generico (now Sami Zayn) headlined two different ROH Final Battle iPPVs, for example -- ROH is a little light on Canadian talent at the moment. Most obvious is Kyle O'Reilly of British Columbia, and Steve Corino is originally born in Winnipeg, but grew up in Philadelphia. Michael Elgin, a former ROH World champion, is still on the roster, but has signed a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling and expects to spend much of the next year wrestling there.

 

"I'd love to see more Canadians," said Midgley. "I do know that guys like Eric Young in TNA were great for us to have around. He worked on multiple channels for us at times. He was a good face. The more Canadians the better. Who knows, maybe this forces them to go out and get a couple of more Canadians on the roster."

 

Koff tries not to see nationality. "Michael Elgin's part of our roster. He's having a very good run in Japan right now. We're happy for him. Some of our other Canadian roster guys moved on to other promotions, which we're always very proud of," Koff explained. "But I think it's a style of wrestling. I don't think it's necessarily nationality-driven. I think it's our style of wrestling and I think it compliments what the Fight Network's trying to put together. We're just happy to be part of it, really proud, actually, to be part of it."

 

http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2016/04/18/22625230.html

[classiq.]

 

 

Ring of Honor noted on their website that the storyline is that Colt Cabana requested that Nigel McGuinnness lift the ban on Cabana challenging for the ROH title in his hometown of Chicago that was placed on Cabana years ago when he lost a title match. McGuinness agreed to the request.

 

ACH vs. Roderick Strong has been added to 4/20 in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

 

This week's ROH on COMET will feature:

 

 

*Dalton Castle (with The Boys) and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Matt Sydal and Jushin Liger
*Gedo vs. Delirious.
*ROH TV champion Roderick Strong vs. Tomohiri Ishii.

 

 

http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=101423

[classiq.]

Matches announced for Global Wars so far...

 

 

 

[classiq.]

Another match added to Global Wars:

 

 

 

[classiq.]

8-Man Tag Team match signed for Global Wars:

 

 

 

[Ziggy Vercetti]

Nice

[classiq.]

Ring of Honor had a hell of a travel day on 4/23 as the majority of the roster was re-directed due to a fire at the San Antonio airport and then had to trek back to the city via car.

 

BJ Whitmer is suspected of having suffered a bad concussion during a top rope neckbreaker spot during his Street Fight with Adam Page on 4/23. He will be held out of the ring until being cleared. He's slated to see doctors this week.

 

Next up for ROH is the Global Wars PPV on 5/8, so expect more matches announced for that show this week.

 

Tickets are still available for the 5/9 Global Wars tour in Dearborn, Michigan and 5/11 TV Taping in Toronto. For ticket information, visit www.ROHWrestling.com.

 

Set for this week's Ring of Honor on COMET:

 

 

*Tetsuya Naito and ROH champion Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini) versus Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI (with Gedo).

*KUSHIDA vs. Frankie Kazarian.

* Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. ReDragon & Katsuyori Shibata

 

http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=101575

[LEGION]

Holy hell. These matches look awesome

[classiq.]

ROH COO Joe Koff was on Jim Ross' Podcast recently talking about working with WWE and The E raiding talent.

http://www.dailywrestlingnews.com/roh-coo-joe-koff-open-to-roh-on-the-wwe-network-working-with-wwe-koff-on-roh-2-hours-and-more/

[GDAWG]

ROH on the WWE Network......

 

hmm....I don't think it means anything more than something similar to UFC Fight Pass where they show different promotions.

[classiq.]

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are continued rumors that Sinclair Broadcasting (the ROH parent company) will be re-branding the Tennis Channel as the American Sports Network. If they make the move, they will be expanding college football coverage and the feeling is that wrestling (Ring of Honor) will fit in with the sports package. The Tennis Channel has approximately cleared 40-50 million homes, and ROH COO Joe Koff has noted that there have been internal discussions about ROH TV going to two hours.

 

The Newsletter adds that they would need to fill time on the network, which wrestling would do. On Observer Radio, Meltzer noted that Sinclair Broadcasting has shown interest in TNA. When discussing the TNA situation in the Newsletter, he states that a key in regards to TNAs assets is the value and size of the tape library; a broadcaster looking for time filling programming could be very interested. Also, the international (UK and India) TV deals are said to be the companys best asset.

 

Pwtorch also reports that Sinclair has renewed interest in investing in TNA, and are a key player in the mix.

http://411mania.com/wrestling/sinclair-broadcasting-looking-to-re-brand-tennis-channel-possibly-interested-in-tna/

[Crowley]

If it means TNA and ROH could share talent, I'd love to see it. The roster would be so stacked, especially with their relationship with NJPW. EC3 vs. Tetsuya Naito sounds good.

[Bushy.]

If that's the case why didn't they just share talent when they were both on DA?

[Crowley]

One difference is that Sinclair actually owns ROH and is interested in owning TNA, lock, stock, and barrel. With Destination America, it was just a contract to air the shows for a limited time. But part of the reason you didn't see them share talent was because TNA had more clout on DA. If I remember correctly, the sheets said that both parties were open to the idea of a talent exchange at first, but then Dixie pitched some crappy angle where one of the top ROH guys comes in for an invasion angle only to immediately put over Eric Young or somebody like that. Of course it rubbed ROH the wrong way and we know how stubborn Dixie is, so she probably refused to talk about any other possibilities. It might have still happened, but both shows were barely even on that channel.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Crowley

[Generations]

 

 

“If we get raided or other promotions get raided,” he continues, “It’s a compliment to the organizations from where they come.”

 

I love reading a statement like that. That's basically how I've always viewed things when people start freaking out about WWE "taking all the best talent". Indy feds will always thrive. They'll do it because they must. And the talent that goes to WWE brings exposure to the fed that they came from...it's a win/win.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Generations