Ring of Honor (ROH) may not sell to Vince McMahon and Family anytime soon, but if the current spate of WWE rumors circulating are true, it could be on the verge of going back to square one.
Cageside Seats reports via the subscription-based Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Vince has his eyes on “a significant amount of current Ring of Honor talent,” though many of the names are currently being kept under wraps.
The motivation: build NXT beyond its current standing as a “farm system” for WWE talent and make it the next big thing in sports entertainment.
The McMahons’ desire to build the NXT brand into something more is no mystery. Since Triple H took the reins, it’s been his goal to turn the one-hour program of raw talent into something special.
Many believe he’s already accomplished one part of that goal, but now the plan is to make it bigger and actually take the guys out on the road for touring dates. To do that, NXT would need some additional name recognition, and Ring of Honor is definitely the place to find it.
Despite its lackluster production values, the show is consistently commended for its wrestling talent, and it gave the business greats like CM Punk and Kevin Steen (Kevin Owens, the current NXT Heavyweight Champ).
So clearly, Vince doesn’t have an issue with bringing in ROH talent, but these new rumors are different in that it seems as if he’s planning on causing a mass exodus of talent, and he’s certainly got the money to do it.
Despite the 2014 hiccup of losing $750 million in two days, McMahon carries a net worth of $1.2 billion, and many of the woes he was experiencing several months ago — primarily related to the fledgling WWE Network — are starting to pick up steam.
With how WWE fans have responded to past inclusion of ROH talent, this is a move that most WWE fans would love to see, although it may not ultimately be the best thing for the wrestling business.
The company’s ratings were never higher than when it had direct competition in the form of a second national wrestling organization (WCW). Since buying out his competition in 2001, Vince’s product has experienced a steady television ratings decline.
The Inquisitr speculated in a past column that a better approach might be to cut content deals with ROH and TNA to try and grow the industry as a whole. But Vince has rarely been one to lend a helping hand to the competition.
He would rather just buy them out.
Would you like to see Ring of Honor become a WWE joint, or would you rather Vince just take the talent and leave the company to rebuild?