Ring Of Honor’s The Kingdom spoke with ESPN.com‘s Tim Fiorvanti ahead of Friday’s Death Before Dishonor XV pay-per-view; you can read a few highlights below:
Matt Taven comments on choosing the right people to ‘rebrand’ The Kingdom after Mike and Maria Kanellis Bennett left the company in 2015:
“I came up with the idea that I wanted to do my own version of it. Being out for nine months, you kind of have a good amount of time to sit and think, and kind of picture exactly how it’s going to go down, how you want it to happen and who you want it to go down with.”
“It was always, really, Vinny Marseglia and TK O’Ryan,” said Taven. “I literally have seen them every day this week. We have the school down in Rhode Island that we’re always at. We’ve hung out, traveled, and been doing this for a while together, so it made the most logical sense.”
TK O’Ryan comments on facing Bullet Club in their first match together in their current formation:
“They just threw us right in the fire. First day on the job, main event against Bullet Club.”
“Our first match is against Adam Cole and the Young Bucks, in front of what’s basically our hometown. I mean, you can’t really ask for better than that. We came out of the gates running and I’m glad that it happened like that. I think we picked the ball up, and we ran with it from there.”
O’Ryan talks about sticking together after his infamous broken leg injury during a ROH event:
“We were just getting this rolling. I had never been seriously hurt in wrestling before while under contract with a company. I mean, I’ve gotten some nicks. I broke my hand on the indies. But this was serious. This is a real problem. There was a little bit of that going on where I was, ‘Oh, man, not only did I just get myself probably fired because I got hurt,’ but it’s not just me. I mean, I’ve got these two other guys that are depending on me to go out there and be this workhorse.
“Not only does this affect me, not only does it affect Matt Taven, not only does it affect Vinnie, but Vinnie’s got a family. He’s got a wife. He’s got a daughter. Taven’s got an apartment and his girlfriend. I’ve got my girlfriend and my apartment. We’ve got all these things to worry about. But friendship’s a hell of a thing, and it ended up all being all right in the end.”
Vinny Marseglia comments on the bond everyone in The Kingdom, past and present, shared with each other:
“I would travel with Taven, Maria and Bennett, and it felt like I was always traveling with real friends. It’s a real deal outside of the ring. I would always travel with those guys. I always felt like I was a part of it.”
