More on ROH Taking a Hiatus & Status of Tape Library

As noted before, Ring of Honor announced last week that they will be going on a hiatus after their upcoming Final Battle 2021 event this December that will last until at least April of 2022.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that the main reason why ROH will be going on a hiatus is due to budget-related issues from their parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group. Johnson reported that this is usually the time of the year when ROH would be informed of their operating budget for the next year as part of Sinclair’s yearly reviews of the company. Johnson reported that ROH’s rising costs during the coronavirus pandemic and lack of revenues coming in made it easier for Sinclair to decide against providing the budget needed for ROH to operate normally for the next year.

Johnson also reported that Sinclair themselves are also currently dealing with serious financial issues related to their recent purchases of regional sports television networks and the delay of the planned launch of their Diamond streaming service. Johnson reported that their current issues with Major League Baseball for Diamond are serious enough to potentially cause their entire Diamond franchise to file for bankruptcy. Johnson also reported that making things even worse for the company is their recent ransomware attack that has cost the company a lot of money in both lost revenues and expenditures.

In regards to ROH’s tape library, there have been conflicting reports over if ROH is actively shopping it around. Sports Illustrated reported that their sources stated that ROH has been shopping their library to potential buyers but are currently asking for an amount that is much higher than its current market value. PWInsider reported that COO Joe Koff denied in a recent interview with them of Sports Illustrated’s report being true and stated that the company is not interested in selling their library. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that his sources within WWE, AEW, and Impact stated that they had no knowledge of ROH’s tape library being currently available for sale.

In regards to ROH’s management, Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Koff had informed those within the company that the current plans are for the office staff to remain intact during the hiatus, including head booker Hunter Johnson who is also known under the ring name of Delirious.

Johnson reported that prior to ROH’s announcement, the company had plans in place with Game Changer Wrestling for the Briscoe Brothers to defend the GCW Tag Team Championship against GCW talent at upcoming ROH TV tapings. Johnson reported that it is currently not known if those plans have been dropped due to ROH’s current situation.