The big news on Wednesday is that Ring of Honor has announced that the company will be going on hiatus after 2021.
ROH made the announcement on social media. They noted on that they will be changing their business plan, and also reimagining the company, which includes becoming more fan-focused.
ROH says they plan to return in April 2022, with Supercard of Honor. The Final Battle PPV in December will be their last event until their planned return.
Dave Meltzer noted on Twitter that ROH released “everyone” from their contracts. PWInsider adds that multiple wrestlers who were on ROH’s company Zoom call today were informed that if their contracts were expiring at the end of this year, then they will not be renewed. The wrestlers would then become free agents. Wrestlers who have contracts that go beyond January 1 will remain under contract for at least a certain period of time, rumored to be March 2021 and/or April 2021.
It was also noted on Twitter by Bryan Alvarez that talent is free to work anywhere they want effective immediately, despite their ROH contract status. Alvarez also stated that there is no truth to any the rumors that Sinclair is canceling ROH Television from their stations.
As of this report, ROH is still scheduled to tape episodes of their weekly tv show this weekend in Baltimore, and as noted before. The company plans to use arrived footage and other content for their television show while on hiatus.
It was stated by PWInsider that Final Battle will very much be an end-point chapter in Ring of Honor history because whatever the company ends up looking like after they return will be a very different product.
ROH was founded in 2002, and sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2011.
I would expect WWE, AEW, MLW and IMPACT to start making offers to talent.
I don’t know how they can rebuild their roster after letting everyone go, with many more than likely getting multi-year contracts elsewhere.
I don’t expect the company to come back. ROH had so much potential to be the number 2 promotion in the United States, but after the Elite left, and COVID, they just couldn’t bounce back.
Tell us what you think. Is Ring of Honor coming back? Or will they end up shutting down permanently? If they do come back, what will their roster look like? Will WWE buy the company to add to their video library?