Kevin Owens Reveals Real Reason No WWE Stars Sent Promos For ROH Final Battle
All of WWE's former ROH stars were notable by their absence at Final Battle.
With Ring of Honor's Final Battle 2021 having taken place earlier this month, several former ROH stars sent in video promos for the company's final PPV under its current guise. Names like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, 'Hangman' Adam Page, Adan Cole, Colt Cabana, Christopher Daniels, Eddie Edwards, Moose, Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks all sent well wishes to ROH, but notably absent was any such promos from WWE's ex-ROH contingent.
Speaking during an appearance on Pat LaPrade's les Anti-Pods de la Lutte show (as per WrestlingHeadlines), former ROH World Champion Kevin Owens revealed that the reason why no WWE sent video message for Final Battle is simply because nobody was asked.
As KO detailed:
"The answer is quite simple: Ring of Honor didn't ask any wrestlers from WWE to do that, nor contacted anyone at WWE. I knew it was going to be their last show, but I didn't think to send a video so they could play it at the show. I've watched it. I was at a WWE show, and I was watching it on my phone, so it was not something I simply ignored. I've read some people on the internet saying that probably WWE didn't let us do it, but that's incorrect. It's just ROH who didn't ask us, and I bet that if they had, we could have done it, but that wasn't the case."
In addition to Kevin Owens - as Kevin Steen - being a key part of ROH's history, WWE also has other former ROH mainstays within its ranks in the shape of Sami Zayn/El Generico, Seth Rollins/Tyler Black, Roderick Strong, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Jamie Noble/James Gibson and Nigel McGuinness.
As alluded to, Final Battle was the last PPV to take place for ROH in its current form. The indie standout promotion is going on a sabbatical until the second quarter of 2022, with all talent freed from their contracts and able to seek work elsewhere.
When ROH returns, the current belief is that it will operate as more of a traditional independent promotion, cycling in talents for spot shows rather than contracting stars with a long-term creative plan in place.
Already, two-time ROH World Champion Jay Lethal has surfaced in AEW, with current ROH Pure Champion having worked an episode of AEW Dark, and current ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoe Brothers on a collision course with FTR. Additionally, current and inaugural ROH Women's Champion Rok-C was a part of the most recent set of WWE tryouts at the Performance Center.