Big ROH Update: Ex-WWE Stars' Appearances Scrapped, Old Faces Not Returning?
The latest on Ring Of Honor ahead of Supercard of Honor, following Tony Khan's takeover.
Ring Of Honor returns from a four-month hiatus with its Supercard of Honor event on 1 April 2022. It'll be the first ROH show under Tony Khan's ownership following the AEW founder's buyout of the cult promotion from Sinclair Broadcasting Group earlier this month, with the following matches announced thus far:-
- ROH World Championship: Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido
- ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Briscoes vs. FTR
- Alex Zayne vs. Swerve Strickland
- Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty
Fightful Select published a big update on ROH's current situation on Tuesday, noting that The Briscoes vs. FTR took work to put together. The two teams brawled in a red-hot Final Battle 2021 angle last December, planting seeds for a future match, but things didn't start coming together until January. WarnerMedia chiefs effectively blocking AEW from signing Jay and Mark Briscoe seemingly became another obstacle, though Khan was able to put the clash together under the ROH banner.
Described as "quite the process", booking FTR vs. The Briscoes took a lot of hard work after initially looking relatively simple.
Fightful also note that while long-serving ROH booker Hunter 'Delirious' Johnston is still in place, he won't be committed to the group after Supercard of Honor. Other faces familiar to ROH audiences may not be coming back either. While some ROH alumni had hoped to return following the company's planned hiatus, which was announced in October, they haven't had contact from the new management team. At the moment, several are of the belief that while things can change, if they aren't bound to a deal, they won't be coming back.
Similarly, it looks like several planned Supercard of Honor appearances were nixed following the buyout. Former WWE wrestlers Scarlett and Killer Kross are amongst this group. The duo were once set for the event and had spoken with Johnston, though they haven't heard anything back since the takeover.
Khan tweeted the following on Supercard of Honor 2022 on Tuesday:-
I promise to work hard to make ROH Supercard a great ppv + a show to carry on the incredible 20 year legacy of @ringofhonor. I’ll continue to make announcements on the card; I might even have a trick up my sleeve (which I wouldn’t announce).https://t.co/ZfdFyFyKpLPPV on @FiteTV https://t.co/PcywV5bK8G
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) March 22, 2022
Further match announcements are expected imminently.