Last Updated on: 17th April 2014, 11:46 am
So Ring of Honor, pretty much my favourite wrestling group right now, has been sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
this is an interesting situation. It sounds, for now at least, like they’re going about things the right way by leaving the current group in charge and adding experienced people who have a clue what they’re doing to the office staff. If Sinclair stays patient with this, this could be a huge deal for wrestling and exactly what the business needs to freshen things up.
If I’m TNA, I’m a little worried right now. With this deal, ROH expands into a whole lot of homes with a whole lot of potential viewers. The only thing ROH was missing to overtake TNA was more resources, and they certainly have that now. TNA has had national TV for 6 years and millions of dollars behind them for a lot longer than that and has done next to nothing with it. Given a good chance, I can’t imagine ROH making the same mistake. Then again I can’t imagine most people making the same sorts of mistakes TNA has, because to be kind, the people responsible for what makes it to air in that company are completely incompetent. Yes, that’s being kind.
If I’m WWE, I just got a whole lot more interested in Ring of Honor. I’m signing anybody and everybody I can to try to make sure their roster is good and gutted before things even get off the ground. ROH would likely never pass WWE, but it’s always been WWE strategy to kill off any competition and absorb it when possible. The only question is how many Ring of Honor guys and girls would be willing to sign? Would they go for the money or stay loyal to ROH as it grows? I imagine a bit of both because those WWE cheques would be hard to turn down, but with ROH expanding, those cheques are probably going to get quite a bit better too.
And on the other side of the same question, how many unhappy WWE/TNA wrestlers would give ROH a shot when their contracts come up or aren’t renewed? It’s certain there’ll be at least a few, and depending on who they are, ROH could really get a lot out of it. Somebody like John Cena isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but if a fairly popular name decides to jump, some curious fans are going to follow.
Of course there’s always the chance that this whole thing could fall flat on its face. TV people aren’t known for their patience or for staying a course, so there’s always the possibility that Sinclair could cut them loose at any moment. If that happens, I can only hope that it doesn’t spell the end of the company. Wrestling needs places like Ring of Honor. Without places where wrestling actually matters (sorry TNA or are you Impact Wrestling now?), it’s going to be hard to sustain the talent pool in the coming years.
I’m interested in where this goes, and I’m most definitely rooting for ROH to succeed. More choice is always better when it comes to wrestling. It’s better for the fans and it’s better for the wrestlers. I think we’re about due for another wrestling boom, and I really hope this is the start of it.
