This Sunday, Ring of Honor will welcome live fans back for the first time since February 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic caused this long period, but with the wrestling world returning to some semblance of normalcy, ROH will celebrate this trend by welcoming a live crowd at its Best in the World pay-per-view.
During an interview with Liam Alexander-Stewart of Inside The Ropes, ROH COO Joe Koff shared his excitement about the pay-per-view on Sunday. In addition to the “amazing” wrestling the company always offers, Koff teased that the show will offer its fans a few surprises.
“Well, if you’re not a Ring of Honor fan, you’re probably going to see some unexpected [faces],” said Koff. “So let’s say that, I don’t think you’ll see unexpected faces, perhaps, if that’s what you’re kind of angling for.
“I think what you’ll see is amazing wrestling and that show [Best in the World] is always had changes and there have always been surprises like you say, you know, it’s very interesting when you talk to someone like me, I really don’t know. I don’t know exactly what to expect.”
Unlike WWE, AEW and other companies, ROH hasn’t had live fans at its shows whatsoever since the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say, this absence should only make the fans’ return on Sunday even more special. In the interview, Koff emphasized how important live crowds are to the company’s events; he even called ROH an “experiential promotion.”
“I like to go to big shows as a fan, and I like to watch it for the first time as everyone is watching it, because that’s the real experience and Ring of Honor is such an experiential promotion and having the crowd back and having the chanting,” said Koff. “That’s the one thing I missed in all of these 18 months is the spontaneity of that chanting.
“Because if you’ve been to our shows, you know that that doesn’t happen unless somebody’s expectation has been met and exceeded. It’s not a script. No one standing around going to chant at a sign that says this is wrestling chant. This happens because the fan has been pleased with what they’re seeing and I can’t wait to hear that first chant. It was that first chant almost 11 years ago that made me believe that Ring of Honor was the right promotion for our company and for me to run. And I can’t wait to hear that chant again. It just I get goosebumps thinking about it.”
