Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff recently spoke with The Baltimore Sun and below are some interview highlights:
The Hardys quick visit with Ring of Honor:
“It was flattering and humbling that they wanted to be part of the promotion, especially in the way that they were. I have a ton of respect, not only for the Hardys, but also the Young Bucks, and everyone else who wrestles on our roster. They understand that we wrestle for the fans and it’s still about bringing an experience to the fans they can’t get elsewhere, and doing it in a surprising nature. One of the things that Ring of Honor does really well, and I hope to always get better at it, is the element of surprise when it comes to our shows. In this internet world, everyone is second-guessing, everyone thinks they know the answer. To be able to still surprise the way we do is really something, and it says a lot about the organization and our ability to keep our business inside the organization. That’s something to be proud of.”
WWE buying out Ring of Honor:
“It was not a story. It was not a story when it came out. I think people want to make a story out of nothing. I’m very open in conversations with very many different wrestling promotions. And I think sometimes because I don’t share a lot of stuff, we’re very private about what we do. I think it raises speculation. I think this thing with the WWE really started because we were in conversations about content for Kevin Owens’ DVD. There was a lot of back and forth between the two companies. I think that was the seed that drove that story.”
Bully Ray joining the company:
“We’ve become a destination for a lot of people who want to have some of the artistic flexibilities, and not wrestle as many nights a week as other promotions do. We have a distribution, we’re national in scope. We’re able to compensate competitively. I think also, our locker room and our culture contributes to it. For Bully Ray to want to be part of it, or the Hardys to come in for a short period of time, it comes back to being a big compliment for the organization. There are lots of people who want to come in to Ring of Honor, and I don’t blame them; it’s a wonderful place to wrestle. Not everybody is going to get into ROH. It requires a certain understanding of the brand. It’s more about the brand than the person. The person becomes the brand, and represents the brand. If you look at our past champions, they exemplified that brand and that style. The current roster exemplify the brand in that style. It’s all about wrestling the Ring of Honor brand. I think Bully wanted to be part of that, and I don’t blame him.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
