ROH stars spoke to the media following Death Before Dishonor.
During Friday’s press conference, Tony Khan spoke about the possiblity of using AEW branding with Ring of Honor moving forward, saying he’s come to the realization that it could be the best path forward for the promotion.
“I don’t think it’s out of the question to say, and I don’t think it’s sacraligeous to say that it would only help grow the ROH brand if I were to license it, sublicense, if it were AEW ROH,” he said. I don’t think that’s a crazy thing and I don’t think it would be sacrilegious or bad. I think it would actually be good for everybody. Then I think people would see more of the connectivity that exists between promotions and what we’re going for.”
“Would Ring of Honor, frankly, have a lot more value as AEW Ring of Honor? Yeah, probably it would,” he said later. “And I think I’ve come to that realization as far as the presentation. And that might mean, frankly, a more cohesive absorption of the promotion.”
Here are more notes from Friday’s press conference including Mark Briscoe, Athena, Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs, Lee Moriarty, and more from Tony Khan:
Mark Briscoe
- The ROH Champion said that he is “really, really” enjoying his current run both as a singles and trios wrestler. He said after Jay’s death he wasn’t sure if he wanted to wrestle again, and now two years later, he’s surprised at where he is in his career.
Athena
- Athena said her entrance gear and post-show outfit were based on the film ‘The Sandlot’.
- The ROH Women’s Champion spent most of her time dressing down Billie Starkz and praising Lexi Nair, her minions.
Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs
- Rhodes talked about the three being generational wrestlers, saying it was harder to make names for themselves than people think.
- He said that opportunity is knocking, bringing up their ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship match at Battle of the Belts XI. Khan said one of his first memories of Dustin was seeing him compete for the Six-Man Tag Team titles on WCW programming.
- Von Erichs said their relationship with Shibata dates back to their run in NOAH and their reaction to him coming to the ring following their match at Death Before Dishonor was a genuine response.
- Dustin said Cody Rhodes is doing an amazing job, bringing up that AEW is a fun place to be. He said he’s happy for his brother but he’s doing “God’s work” in AEW.
Red Velvet
- The new ROH Women’s TV Champion said she wasn’t sure where she was going to go after returning from her injury, but thanked Queen Aminata saying she brought this out of her and said she respected Billie Starkz.
- One person asked if people like Jennifer Pepperman have been helping Velvet since her return. Velvet thanked Bryan Danielson, as well as Tony Khan. Velvet says at 32, she wants to enjoy her time in AEW and make her name.
Lee Moriarty
- It was brought up that he was almost set to join ROH following Death Before Dishonor 2021, but AEW offered him a shot and went there instead during that time. Moriarty said he almost joined ROH during the pandemic, but because of contracts, that did not happen. After making appearances for AEW, he was offered a AEW contract following a match against Daniel Garcia.
- He said he considered himself an AEW wrestler, but also an ROH wrestler too because of his style.
Tony Khan
- Someone asked if their current residency in Texas could be used again in the future. Khan was receptive to the idea, saying it was an experiment but also a great thing for AEW and ROH. He doesn’t know if it would work in every single market, but he thinks it works in Arlington.
- Another person asked about bringing in bigger pay-per-views in the area, like All In at AT&T Stadium. Tony Khan praised the owners of AT&T Stadium, saying he was friends with them, and that they could do a lot of great things in the area.
- In a follow-up question, someone asked if it was too ambitious to run a stadium show. Khan responded by saying a lot of people thought they couldn’t run big shows like the first All In initially.
- Regarding ROH being part of the WBD talks and possibly airing on TNT or TBS, Tony Khan said there are a lot of great channels in the WBD family ROH could air on. He doesn’t think it’s crazy that ROH TV could end up being on television again. It’s something that has been talked about and discussed.
- The final question was about if he would tape ROH shows individually moving forward with the person pointing out the ROH TV tapings this weekend. He didn’t give a yes or no answer, saying that AEW casts a big shadow and a lot of energy goes into those shows. He said ROH is a top priority for him.
