December 14, 2018. The Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The Elite (specifically Cody, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page) announce their departure from Ring Of Honor shortly putting on stellar performances at the company's last show of the year, Final Battle. Not too long after, Cody and The Bucks building up momentum for their own promotion, All Elite Wrestling, with their first show Double Or Nothing coming up later this spring.
Because of this, many wrestling fan began to speculate: What's next for ROH? What will they do after their top draws have left? Given the events that have transpired since then, ROH seemingly hit the reset button, and if the title of this post wasn't enough of a giveaway, it seems like maybe the company will be just fine without their presence.
After The Elite left, ROH was missing part of the star power and brand recognition the merch masters brought to the company. They sought out new, fresh talent to add to the roster, and needless to say, they didn't disappoint. Aside from bringing in two of the world's top luchadores with Bandido (pictured) and CMLL's RUSH (leader of the Los Ingobernables stable), top independent stars such as Mark Haskins, Brody King, PCO and others were added to further deepen the roster and give it a new breath of life.
And aside from full-time competitors, ROH has added other big names to the rosters. The most well-known is Zack Sabre, Jr., who made his ROH PPV debut at Final Battle against Jonathan Gresham, then subsequently his TV debut against Tracy Williams and has been popping up in various shows ever since. Aside from ZSJ, ROH has also been graced with the presence of current IWGP United State Champion Juice Robinson, who has a funky little stable that I'll transition to...
...right now. Recently, Robinson aligned himself with Haskins, Bandido, Williams and Women Of Honor standout Tenille Dashwood, calling their group Lifeblood, which aims to restore the traditions which ROH was founded upon. However, they aren't the only stable in ROH to have recently formed, as Marty Scurll teamed up with King and PCO to form Villain Enterprises. So as far as stables go in ROH, rest assured we'll be seeing much fresher faces from here on out.
Whether it be full-time or part-time, the addition of talent has worked to ROH's advantage, as they inject a new sense of passion and direction into the company. For so long, the promotion admittedly just felt like The Elite Show as Cody and the Bucks dominated a good portion of the product, with Scurll and Page being thrown into the mix to a lesser extent. Their departure ultimately benefited the product, forcing the company to think on their toes and bring in new faces that can mold the promotion into something more fresh and interesting as opposed to just being an Elite vehicle.
The addition of new talent also benefits the existing roster, as it gives them new faces to work with and ultimately creates more interesting match-ups. One of the people who benefits the most is Scurll, who now has a chance to lead a stable of his own and really build his own brand up separate from The Elite. On top of that, the tag team division as a whole benefits; we're not gonna be seeing the same mix of Briscoes/Bucks/SoCal Uncensored (as fun as they were) anymore. Rather, we'll be seeing unique mashups throughout, congealing to the ROH product over time and building up more interest in the division.
Pretty much everyone wins with the acquisition of new talent in ROH. Whether it's singles or tag, main-event or midcard, everything starts to feel much fresher and more interesting. The new talent build their name up in ROH and the already existing members of the roster get to work with new faces. And working with new faces ultimately builds...(dramatic tension as I reveal the next title below)
New Opportunities
With The Elite around, the title scene definitely was fun and engaging; Jay Lethal carrying the brand as World Champ, a constantly shifting TV Title scene (from Silas Young to Punishment Martinez to the pictured Jeff Cobb) and The Briscoes being the end-all, be-all of the tag division. But with all of that, you could still feel The Elite breathing down the neck of the ROH title scene; the Bucks and The Briscoes fighting until eternity, Cody poking his nose into the World Title scene whenever he could.
And don't get me wrong, it was fine and the matches were always solid to great, but something had to give eventually, and people knew that.
Heading into 17th Anniversary and we've got the same champions, but different opponents. Lethal is defending his World Title against Matt Taven and The Briscoes are defending against Brody King and PCO, and it couldn't be better. No word on Cobb yet for 17th Anniversary, but he's been defending his title on the regular on TV and other PPVs, putting on arguably the most consistently good matches and is probably the best midcard champ in the business. There's loads of talent who can gun for any title at any moment, and given none of it involves The Elite, it's all the more interesting.
And with a more interesting title picture brings more interesting feuds. At the start of the year, we saw the genesis of The Kingdom vs. Villain Enterprises, which has been put on the back-burner for now, but will likely pick back up after 17th Anniversary. Aside from that, Silas Young, Bully Ray, The Briscoes and Shane Taylor have been popping up (on TV and PPV) to disrupt various matches and generally cause havoc in ROH, much to the chagrin of Lethal and other babyfaces. Speculatively speaking, it seems like they're slowly sewing the seeds of a feud between this conglomerate and Lifeblood (insert Dave Meltzer *plans change* impression here). Time will tell, but's more than likely the clash of morals/styles will come to a head eventually, and I'm all for it.
Speaking of Scurll and Taven, let's talk about how The Elite leaving ROH benefits the mainstays of the company in all aspects (titles/feuds/etc.). Scurll, despite being a big part of ROH for the last 2 years, was always overshadowed by his Elite constituents. I mean, let's break down the ROH title success of the group, starting from when Cody and Scurll joined the group up until The Elite's separation from Bullet Club. In that time span: The Bucks are former World Tag and World 6-Man Tag Champs (at one point holding both belts simultaneously, if only briefly), Cody is a former World Champ and World 6-Man Tag Champ, Page is also a former World 6-Man Tag Champ while Scurll is a former World Television champ.
And apart from the title victories, Scurll's spots on any PPV card were always overshadowed by his constituents. He main evented both Supercard Of Honor and Best In The World last year, but Cody shrouded Scurll's spotlight both times with A) His match against Kenny Omega and B) Being part of the triple threat at BITW, which was no fault of his own, but his presence alone sort of just made Scurll seem like the sore thumb in that situation. Even at Final Battle when the World Title wasn't the main event (The Young Bucks took the honor that time), Cody still overshadowed him by wrestling Lethal for the World Title, leaving Scurll to defend his #1 Contendership against Christopher Daniels.
Scurll ultimately benefits with their departure because he now doesn't have to share as much of a spotlight and build his brand up that much more sans Elite (as far as his time in ROH is concerned). He's already got a 6-Man Tag Title shot coming and also, due to the recent partnership with NWA, a chance to capture the company's world title at the Crockett Cup, on top of the fact he's leading a stable of his own. While his future in ROH is uncertain, Scurll has more than benefitted by sticking around while the others left. I'm definitely on board for however long this ride is going.
And as far Taven goes, holy fuck does this guy deserve the push he's getting right now. Whether it was his TV Title run in 2013, tag-teaming with Mike Bennett or his current position as leader of The Kingdom, he's more than proven just how versatile of a worker he is and how deserving he is of a World Title run. With that being said, Taven and The Kingdom always took the backseat to The Elite as far as title oppotunities go. Cody covered the World Title scene while The Bucks dominated the tag scene. While deserving of their positions, it definitely took away some credibility Taven and The Kingdom were always trying to build up.
With Cody gone and ROH in need of a heel to challenge Lethal, Taven has stepped up to the plate and then some, taking advantage of the momentum the son of a son of a plumber left behind. Aside from Scurll, if anyone's going to take the title off Lethal, it's gotta be Taven. For how much work he's put in for pre- and post-Elite era ROH, he's proven without a shadow of a doubt he's deserving of the spot he's in at the moment. And even if he doesn't beat Lethal at 17th Anniversary, I have no doubt in my mind he's still going to be in the World Title/main event scene for quite some time.
Aside from Taven and Scurll, numerous other members of the roster (new acquisitions and mainstays alike) benefit. Lethal's got more interesting talent who can vie for the World Title, and the same thing can be said for The Briscoes with their tag titles; with The Young Bucks gone, the tag team division has new life breathed into it thanks to Lifeblood/Villain Enterprises/etc. And Jeff Cobb's World TV Title run has benefitted immensely, as with no mention of The Elite sniffing around his belt (with the exception of Hangman Page at Final Battle), he's been able to craft one of the most interesting title runs in ROH and wrestling as a whole.
So while all might be fine and well for ROH (as far as creativity is concerned) for the time being, The Elite is still breathing down their necks, but this time in the form of competition.
All Elite Wrestling
So unless you've been living under the rock, AEW has been the talk of the town in the wrestling world, inarguably generating the most buzz for non-WWE promotions in recent time. Ever since the rallies Vegas and Jacksonsville, numerous high-profile names in the independent wrestling scene have signed with the promotion. Names include SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky and Christopher Daniels), Joey Janela, and PAC (formerly WWE's Neville), among other names. The biggest signees so far have been Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, who will be facing off at AEW's inaugural show Double Or Nothing.
And speaking of the show, let's talk about the success of the show. Within minutes, Double Or Nothing completely sold out, echoing the success of Cody and The Bucks' first show All In. Given the card we have so far (Jericho/Omega, Hangman Page/PAC, Bucks/Lucha Bros, etc.), it could prove to be stiff competition for all major wrestling promotions outside WWE, North American and otherwise. But with that being said, just how dangerous could AEW be? Could they overtake ROH as the top North American wrestling promotion outside WWE?
ROH in 2019 so far, Speculative bullshit and the like
Feeding from the spiciness of my questions I just asked to myself, we need to take a look at what ROH has done so far this year, as well as an ultra-huge show ROH is doing on Wrestlemania weekend, but more on that later. So far, ROH has Honor Reigns Supreme and Bound By Honor under their belts as far as PPVs go. Both shows were small but refreshing morsels in the whole meal that is ROH, serving as the aperitifs leading up to the meal. We then feed into the soup-and-salad section as 17th Anniversary approaches, with some interesting match-ups headed into it; aside from what I've previously mentioned before, we'll also see a lucha libre clash in Bandido/RUSH, Mayu Iwatani defending her newly-won Women Of Honor title against previous champion Kelly Klein and Kenny King/Marty Scurll.
And as far as the main course goes for the start of the year, let's talk about the G1 Supercard (I promise to keep the dining vernacular to a minimum from here on out). Co-produced with New Japan, the show sold out Madison Square Garden, the first to do so (North American or otherwise) since 2015, and did so in expedient fashion akin to All In and Double Or Nothing. The matches so far are sparse, but will likely blossom as the weeks unfold.
So with all of this to consider, all of this dramatic build-up towards what'll most likely an unsatisfying payoff from my end, what's it going to be like for ROH and AEW going forward? I mean, Double Or Nothing has a fairly stacked card already, moreso than Supercard, and it's still just a little over two months away. So far, Supercard has the Guerrillas Of Destiny vs. whoever wins between Villain Enterprises and The Briscoes; it also has Jay White defending his IWGP Heavyweight Title against the winner of the New Japan Cup, but that's obviously not ROH-centric.
Given the situation at hand and what I've told you, it seems as though the vanilla midget praising ROH m**ks (censoring in case Uncle Dave sees this) should be shitting their pants in fear that AEW will take over as the newest "challenger" to WWE as far as the North American wrestling market goes; quotations aside, let's at least entertain the idea that a North American promotion could step up to WWE's level. If there was going to be any company in the NA to do so, it'd be either of these two.
I hate to say it, but at this moment in time, and after some brief reflection, it's all in the realm of speculative bullshit. Sure, the Double Or Nothing card looks stacked and should deliver, but we don't know for sure until it happens. ROH as least has the advantage of previous material to show off, while AEW only has the previous work of their talents to speak of. On top of that, AEW doesn't even have a TV deal at this moment in time. And sure, part of why Supercard sold out MSG is because of New Japan, but that's not a valid reason to completely write off ROH in that regards. They've put in the work and then some and deserve the praise for what they've accomplished.
Time will ultimately tell what the future holds for ROH and how they'll fare against AEW, but for now it seems as though they have the edge. And putting the question of competition aside, ROH as a whole benefits immensely now The Elite are gone. It's allowed them to bring in new talent while simultaneously putting a twist on the push/development of current mainstays, altogether creating a more refreshing product in both the weekly shows and the PPVs.
Trust me when I tell you I'm in no way an ROH shill. I'm merely a fan who regularly watches the product and has observed recent happenings. As far as what's happened and what will happen, I can safely say from here on out ROH is ultimately better off as a whole, free from the NWO-esque shackles The Elite had on them. The product's been great so far, and I can't wait for the future. Now pipe down while I rewatch ZSJ/Tracy Williams.
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