Ring Of Honor will reportedly return from its self-imposed hiatus with a focus on non-contracted talent.
On Wednesday, Ring Of Honor announced plans to “reimagine” the promotion, and it would go on a hiatus after Final Battle in December. Later reports revealed ROH would not renew any talent contracts and some new light has been shed on what exactly the promotion has in store for when it returns.
According to Dave Meltzer on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Ring of Honor will focus on non-contracted indie talent in the future. Meltzer noted that assuming the promotion returns to being fully operational in April (ROH’s proposed timeframe to come back) the company will be “essentially be an indie promotion” where they would book top talent based on availability for TV tapings and other events. It was noted that booking like this would open ROH up to continuity issues with champions possibly signing elsewhere, but this is the current plan. Meltzer added that Sinclair Broadcast Group (ROH parent company) didn’t cancel the ROH TV show, but plan to use a variety of footage until the estimated return date.
When asked about how the plans will affect the television product, WrestleZone was told that “Ring Of Honor will continue to produce original content” and to refer to the initial statement on ROH social media (seen below)
“Throughout the pandemic our top priority was to keep everyone healthy and safe, and despite not producing any live events over 18 months, we were able to keep everyone fully contracted. We now find ourselves at a time where we need to make changes to our business operations and are planning a pivot for Ring of Honor, with a new mission and strategy.
“The year will culminate with a Final Battle in December, and we will be taking the first quarter of 2022 to work internally to reimagine ROH. ROH has the most dedicated fans in the industry, and we appreciate their loyalty and patience as we conceptualize ROH. We anticipate returning to live events in April for the Super Card of Honor with a new fan-focused product and provide a unique experience for wrestling fans.”
According to multiple sources, ROH is releasing all talent from their respective contracts, with some provisions. The releases for most talent will be effective at the end of the year, while ROH will pay some of the deals until March 31 if those contracts extend into 2022.
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