Welcome back to The Wrestling Times! Earlier in the week the news broke out that Ring of Honor Wrestling was sold to Sinclair Broadcast Company. Former ROH owner Cary Silkin had this to say, “We have been waiting for and working for this opportunity for quite some time, and of our 9 years in business, there has been no better roster of wrestlers than this one to expose the ROH product to the masses. With Sinclair’s resources and many avenues of distribution, we believe many new fans around the world will be as captivated as those who have followed Ring of Honor over the years.” So let’s discuss what this means to us, the wrestling fans.
First off, Cary Silkin, along with Jim Cornette, Delirious, Dave Prazak, and Kevin Kelly, will remain with ROH. They have promised that ROH will not convert to the Sport’s Entertainment format; and it will continue touring its usual venues, while adding new ones along the way. Whew! All good things to hear.
But that’s not all! This Fall, ROH is set to debut a weekly televised program. So for the fans that heavily petitioned for a television station to pick them up: Mission Accomplished.
So what does this all mean? Better exposure, better production value, and a better opportunity to reach new fans. But if you don’t happen to live in a market with a Sinclair station, don’t worry because Mr. Silkin stated, “Through our revamped website we will be able to make the TV show available to anyone in the world with internet access.” That sounds great to me, Cary.
Then depending on how successful the product is, ROH would be able to afford to keep their talents. And unlike the unruly spending tactics of TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor currently does not have to worry about any ego-driven, money-grubbing veterans of yesteryear to short change the rest of the roster. But, in order to get more people interested in the product, ROH probably, and will, resort to bringing in former WWE/TNA wrestlers.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s voting landscapes should experience some drastic changes now that ROH will be more widely available.
Many assume that WWE is the be-all end-all of professional wrestling, and the million or so fans that tune in every Thursday to catch Impact Wrestling in need of an alternative, can find it with Ring of Honor.
The first official step towards a bigger, badder, and better ROH will occur the afternoon of June 26th when Ring of Honor returns to NYC on iPPV – “Best in the World 2011.” On this day, all champions will defend their titles. This means ROH World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards, ROH World TV Champion Christopher Daniels, and ROH World Tag Team Champions Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin will put their gold on the line.
And it’s not to say that ROH is the be-all end-all of pro wrestling’s alternative, it’s a prime example that there is more out there than the Top Two. After listening to Colt Cabana’s podcast with Excalibur, it sparked my interest in Pro Wrestling Guerrila, stationed out in Los Angeles. And when the funds are available, I’ll definitely check out some of their DVDs (available at HighSpots.com). Speaking of alternatives, NWA Hollywood episodes are available on its homepage (NWAHollywood.com), including the episode when Cabana won the NWA Heavyweight Championship.
There is just so much more out there in the world of professional wrestling, take the time to explore other companies, including (but not limited to) ROH, NWA Hollywood, PWG, SHIMMER Women’s Athletes, Women Superstars Uncensored, Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, and Evolve.
That’s it for this post. What does Ring of Honor Wrestling being bought by Sinclair Broadcast Company mean to you? What do you hope to gain from this? Please jot them down in the comment box, or send me a line on twitter. My twitter handler is WrestlingTimesX. There are also some nifty share buttons on the bottom: Spread the word!
Carlos Pimentel
WrestlingTimesX 