Smart move. Looking forward to what it brings.
NXT was what got me back into wrestling and NJPW. It was great old school wrestling. What killed them was
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Stars being treated as jobbers on main roster 1 it wa a great when they made impacts like the horsewomen or such. But when more and more champions were treated as losers it made you think what’s the point of getting behind someone for a year who won’t matter after that
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Head to head with AEW meant the show was less about development and more about ratings. Which was never the point
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I agree with this 100%.
If TK can stick the landing on using ROH as his NXT it can absolutely be successful. If that is what he chooses to do with it, not saying it will be what he does. And it doesn’t even need to be developmental, just something different that is good.
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Think there is any chance he get a TV deal and puts ROH head to head with NXT 2.0?
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Other than acquiring the tape library, I don’t see anything about this announcement that is that big a deal. It’s certainly not a “huge announcement” (Tony really needs to dial down the hyperbole and use of superlatives).
If anything, this is bad news for wrestling fans. ROH was one of the last few promotions that was relatively serious and booked and treated like a sport. If it’s just going to be a rebranded AEW Dark or Elevation then it’s the equivalent of what WWE have done to NXT. Make it a just another version of the main brand rather than something completely different.
I see what you’re saying, but if Tony didn’t buy it, ROH probably would have just faded into oblivion. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for that reason.
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I don’t think it’s a bad thing. If anything, they tape library will allow those matches to be preserved and integrated into AEW storylines.
In terms of the actual promotion they can completely revamp it and run it is sort of a developmental similar to an NX T. AEW dark and elevation are sort of dead properties in that I’m not sure anyone actually watches them. You might get more traction rebranding those into ring of honor, and then just having a Ring of Honour and AEW.
It also allows you to have alumni coming in to the ROH shows sort of keep it alive. I can’t see how it’s a bad thing. If anything it would give a bigger platform to many of the AEW stars sitting at home. For instance when is the last time you saw Ruby Soho?
Tony has a history of overpromoting and under delivering sadly. We all remember him saying Christian Cage was some Hall of Famer coming in.
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I think for all the over hyping he’s been accused of, he’s also delivered in major ways over the last twelve months.
Punk
Bryan
Cole
Black
Fish and O’Reilly
ROH (which,to me, is huge. They saved a promotion that would likely fade away, but is hugely responsible for shaping the current main event scene and style around the world for the better part of the last decade.)
And while not every surprise is a hit- aside from Christian, and by his own admission - the misuse of forbidden door, with Keith Lee (still a great acquisition), I’d say he’s delivered way more than he hasn’t.
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Yup that’s fair. He’s delivered a lot as well. I don’t think the surprise here was underwhelming. But he does push the surprise angle a lot. So the ones where he doesn’t deliver seem to stick out more
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Fair enough.
And look, the Christian hype was a major misstep. I still believe had they just had Christian show up cold (along with Paul Wight, the same week), it would have been so much better received.
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I didn’t say it was a bad thing for AEW. I said it was a bad thing for wrestling fans if it just becomes effectively a rebranded Dark or Elevation (if that’s Tony’s plan then it’s pretty much pointless from an AEW perspective).
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Obviously that would be a waste. However, even the most critical oobserver of AEW can at least admit that if anything, Tony has great respect to the things he grew up loving. And I think ROH fits I to that, and I assume he sees the value in presenting it in the best way possible.
Hopefully, anyways…
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I agree with this….Tony has shown that unless it’s WWE, he’s pretty respectful towards others in the wrestling business. I’d be shocked if he disrespected ROH. I see him treating it like a farm system.
How would treating it like “a farm system” differ from Dark and Elevation?
To use WWE speak, because Dark and Elevation are main roster shows with lesser known talent, they are Heat, Jacked, Metal, Velocity etc. except they usually have longer/better matches then the aforementioned. A farm system would be similar to NXT, OVW, HWA etc. It may have AEW contracted talent, but its a different product with a different booker.
I think Dark is way more ancillary programming, combined with enhancement matches and giving spots to talent they want to keep within their system. Rather than, what I assume most people mean in terms of a “farm system”, like what NXT 2016-2020 could have been. A product that can stand on its own, but in theory also develops talent for the big stage.
I’ve said it elsewhere, that if that’s the route they take, imagine an NXT that was actually looked upon positively by Vince McMahon, and not as something he didn’t care about. That’s what this idea of a farm system for ROH could be.
Personally, I think to a degree that’s what it will inevitably become. But, I also hope they try to create a second valuable product that builds on the history of ROH to stand on its own. Take a core of guys who haven’t been into AEW yet, (Briscoes, Joe, Claudio, etc) and mix them with a few of the underserved AEW talent, and add some indie standouts, and you’ve got a fresh product.
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I think that’s the right decision. If you could make an NXT out of ROH, but then also have ex ROH talent from your main roster go down every so often that would be great. Making a smaller brand that plays in smaller Arenas etc. I will say at its peak of popularity NXT was selling out 10,000+ seat Arenas in places like Toronto. I went to the show here and it was packed and I was actually more entertained by that than any WWE show.
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Well let’s just hope it’s not Tony booking, because he is out of his depth. Let’s hope Hunter is still available. And Ian Riccaboni. They need to get rid of most of their commentary team, starting with JR, Excalibur, Tony and Jericho.
I doubt Tony will book ROH, if he does he’s spreading himself way too thin.
As far as the commentary team goes, I like Jericho on commentary but I totally get why some people don’t. JR, I get that as well. Tony and Ex, that surprises me as they are both are great, what is your issue with them?
JR - In my top 3 commentators of all time (Lance Russell and Bob Caudle being the other two) but checked out of AEW long ago and is just going through the motions. Clearly finds a lot of the silly stuff irritating (rightly so).
Exalibur - Just a total mark. All the constant references to things a casual audience (the few hundred thousand that there are) don’t care about like Japan, how he wrestled someone 15 years ago, some of the ridiculous move names, etc. I understand though why for the majority who think AEW is the second coming they like him, because for the kind of people that like that sort of thing that’s the sort of thing those people like.
Tony - Do I really have to articulate why he brings nothing to the commentary? Go back and watch some JCP stuff of his and compare it to his current performance. He’s just happy to have a job and be paid by a mark with access to lots of money who allows him to coast along.