
Are You Ready?
THEY THINK THEY CAN TELL US WHAT TO DO
Big shake ups in WWE were the first sign that there were going to be cracks in the ship. In September 2021, Paul “Triple H” Levesque was relieved of his duties running WWE’s developmental territory NXT with some believing that the failure to stop AEW Dynamite’s momentum led to a loss of faith in the product’s vision by executives. In the subsequent weeks of this demotion happening, people who were seen as “Hunter’s Guys/Girls” started being removed from the product, if not outright released. With the writing on the wall, it seemed uncertain if Levesque would really be entrusted to run the creative side of the company should McMahon step down in the future like previously thought.
That uncertainty didn’t last long, however, as it became certain just three months later in the first week of December as the wrestling world would change forever in a very quick timespan. As talent releases nearly got to the triple digits as we near the end of the year, something nobody saw coming hit major news outlets. On December 5th, 2021 Paul Levesque officially left the WWE and cashed out his remaining stocks and benefit options, totaling to a profit of just over 8 figures. Alongside Levesque, his best friend and longtime tag team partner Shawn Michaels also stepped down from his role as trainer and creative director for developmental.
MEANWHILE
One of the premiere independent companies for the last 2 decades, Ring of Honor, had an easier time than most during the pandemic as it is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting. However, Sinclair as a whole did not have as easy a pandemic financially. Due to this, entire divisions of the company have been downsized and some departments even cut. ROH went on a hiatus for TV tapings over the summer, instead airing various “Best Of” episodes for members of their roster. Things still seemed to be normal, however, as they announced they would be taking part in the yearly WrestleMania Weekend events of shows with one of their flagship events Supercard of Honor. On October 27th, 2021, the announcement went live on all ROH social media platforms that effective on January 1st 2022 all ROH contracts would be considered null and void.
ROH management were adamant that the company would continue in a new form, though unclear what that form may be, and that the first event where we would see the “new” Ring of Honor would in fact be that Supercard of Honor event. ROH management were correct about some things; Supercard of Honor would be the next ROH show and it would be the start of a new era for not just the company, but for the entire industry.
BOW TO THE MASTERS
Friday February 18th, news dropped officially that Shawn Michaels and Paul Levesque had made a move that could rival their Kliq brothers The Outsiders in terms of shocking company moves. It was announced through a press release on multiple avenues, the day before WWE’s Elimination Chamber show in Saudi Arabia, that the former executive had officially purchased Ring of Honor. With a message of change, evolution, and faith in their vision, the new ROH confirmed that there would be Supercard of Honor taking place as previously announced. There was also a Press Conference held with the new executive board of ROH to give statements publicly for the first time after the purchase held the next day at 2 PM EST.
At the press conference, we saw the executive layout of the company to be far more than just Michaels and Levesque. While not all members were in attendance, there was a structure of 9 official executive roles introduced. Some included were former WWE talent/management, some former ROH management, and some outsiders as well. The full list of known ROH executives are;
Paul “Triple H” Levesque - Owner and President
“Heartbreak” Shawn Michaels - Chief Creative Officer and Head of Talent Relations
“Road Dogg” Brian Armstrong - President of Talent Development
“Lord” William Regal - Head Talent Scout and Training Head Coach
Brandi Rhodes - Chief Brand Officer and President of Community Outreach
Jeff Jarrett - Chief Event Coordinator
Cary Silkin - Company Ambassador and Brand Consultant
William Patrick Corgan - President of NWA and Head Music Industry Liaison
Anikka Evans - Executive with Amped Insurance & Head of Human Resources
“Heartbreak” Shawn Michaels - Chief Creative Officer and Head of Talent Relations
“Road Dogg” Brian Armstrong - President of Talent Development
“Lord” William Regal - Head Talent Scout and Training Head Coach
Brandi Rhodes - Chief Brand Officer and President of Community Outreach
Jeff Jarrett - Chief Event Coordinator
Cary Silkin - Company Ambassador and Brand Consultant
William Patrick Corgan - President of NWA and Head Music Industry Liaison
Anikka Evans - Executive with Amped Insurance & Head of Human Resources
Things that shocked some that we learned from this press conference - with Billy Corgan on the ROH board came the announcement that the NWA would actively work as a feeder/developmental company for ROH and that NWA championships would at times appear on ROH television. Levesque cited the storied history of the NWA, as well as Corgan’s mind for both wrestling and music as a reason he was glad to work alongside Corgan. Anikka Evans of Amped Insurance shocked some as well, with the partnership being announced that ROH would be working alongside the sports insurance firm to get health benefits as a part of the ROH contracts. While many had wondered in the last 24 hours how ROH would combat the finances behind AEW and WWE to lure talent to work for them, the answer may just come in the health benefits they would receive from signing on with ROH. Perhaps the one that turned the most heads, however, was Brandi Rhodes officially being on the ROH executive board. While Cody Rhodes is still without a contract apparently, Brandi was said to be approached independently of her husband due to her history running community events with AEW early on. Whether this will lead to Cody signing to ROH rather than the expected WWE return many were quick to debate on twitter, but Cody was neither mentioned nor hinted at during the event. The conference was relatively short, making sure to explain the roles of each of these people yet not seeming to go much further than the surface level explanations. Things were intentionally held close to the vest. Levesque would end the press conference telling everyone to keep an eye out for announcements coming soon for Supercard of Honor, and that big changes were going to be coming to the professional wrestling world.
With not too much clear about the upcoming future to the company, behind the scenes moves were swiftly being made. From contacting talent both familiar and new to the new regime, to looking to align unique working relationships among companies foreign and domestic, to even figuring out the issue of a television deal without Sinclair as owners, one thing is for certain - Supercard of Honor is going to be a must-see show.
UPCOMING TIMELINE:
NEXT - SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2022 PRESS CONFERENCE // UPDATED CODE OF HONOR & RULES ANNOUNCEMENT // PREDICTION CONTEST
THEN - SuperCard of Honor // April 1st 2022 - Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX
Author’s Note: Figured I’d jump over with everyone else, and wanted to do something I thought would’ve flooded the market way more than it did; a Triple H custom fed idea from the end of last year. I have some fun ideas for this thread and have a decent amount planned, let’s see where it goes. The “timeline” is January 1st starting, with all WWE releases happening as did in real life. This also may lead to more releases at some point in the future of the thread, and more contracts expiring since Triple H wont take over WWE, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I think there's room for a third big company in America, kinda like ECW, and I also think this will be my chance to book some indie/foreign talent that AEW or WWE threads wouldn't have let me. Plus, ROHHH gives me a bit more freedom to build what I want than something like Impact without me having to fully create a company and start from scratch. Here's hoping this lasts for a bit, I'm excited to be back in the BTB game!
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