It’s not good for the wrestling company Ring of Honor, as they announced they are going on a brief hiatus for at least the first quarter of 2022. The hiatus will begin following Final Battle on Dec, 11. As the news first broke, Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer confirmed that ROH is releasing all of its wrestlers from their contracts.
Ring of Honor going on hiatus
While they are attempting to relaunch and try something new, the viability of the company is drawing many questions. Ring of Honor was originally a key program for rising stars looking to make their name in the independent scene. Almost every major wrestler in the U.S. competed in Ring of Honor including Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Adam Cole and Seth Rollins.
However, WWE’s NXT was a serious blow in Ring of Honor’s popularity because it provided a different style to WWE’s normal presentation within their ecosystem. All Elite Wrestling also dealt a blow to ROH. When the announcement of AEW’s launch in 2019, Ring of Honor had to brace for several marquee wrestlers heading for the exit door.
It was successful as a feeder for WWE
The company saw success when it was a feeder system for the WWE in the 2000s. Now it’s getting sidelined with other promotions jumping on what made ROH successful. It would be okay if Ring of Honor could go on break while also providing a plausible idea of what to expect when it returns and who will be on the roster. However, they may be faced with a massive talent exodus, which would cause any comeback to be doomed before it starts.
The ROH tape library is also available and will go to the highest bidder. ROH has been privately trying to move the library (the Sinclair-owned archive from 2012 on) for more than a year. That includes the All In pay-per-view in September ’18, which was the precursor to AEW. (While AEW owns the trademark, it is ROH that owns the footage.) SI learned that the company is asking for much more than the current market dictates. And while it once seemed like WWE would be a major factor in the pursuit of that tape library, it makes slightly less sense now considering that so many former ROH stars have exited WWE.
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