Ring of Honor is currently on hiatus, but its collaborations with other promotions are keeping the brand alive and well during this dormancy. Moving forward, ROH’s lead broadcaster Ian Riccaboni hopes this inter-promotional friendliness continues because he believes that it could open the door for countless dream matches, among other benefits.
In a recent interview with WrestleZone, Riccaboni discussed ROH’s newfound friendliness with IMPACT Wrestling. Despite the previous tension between the two companies, the veteran broadcaster noted that multiple olive branches, starting with the way IMPACT let members of its roster send in supportive video messages for the Final Battle: End of an Era pay-per-view, helped melt the ice. Riccaboni later called some of ROH World Champion Jon Gresham’s matches on IMPACT TV, and he shared his belief that this crossover wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago, but the two companies are on much better terms now. As a result, several possibilities for future collaboration are available.
“I don’t think it would have happened a couple years ago,” said Riccaboni. “There were times and it’s documented, I know PWInsider covered it, I know The Wrestling Observer covered it, where IMPACT and Ring of Honor could not get along. There was the very kind of famous public spat regarding the Hardy Boyz, the Hardys and the Young Bucks, and there’s public information on that. And it just was oil and water for a while. I remember when Austin Aries was technically a free agent, but he was the IMPACT Champion and he was on a pay-per-view with us, and I couldn’t mention the IMPACT belt because we didn’t know where we stood in the relationship or how it was there. So there was always kind of tip-toeing around IMPACT.
“But with the hiatus, I think everybody’s eyes are opened a little more. Scott [D’Amore] was awesome, he allowed any talent that wanted to send in a video [for Final Battle]. He encouraged talent to send in video, as did Jimmy Jacobs, who’s a part of their team, as did RD Evans, who’s a part of them. And we love Jimmy, we love RD, and we’re getting to know and love Scott as well. So that was a big olive branch right there. And then Deonna, him allowing Deonna and IMPACT allowing Deonna to be on our pay-per-view, another big olive branch. So for us, there’s suddenly water under the bridge there, and there’s all these new exciting opportunities.”
? #FinalBattle pic.twitter.com/OxVWXlQAA9
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 12, 2021
Specifically, Riccaboni named crossover matches featuring The Good Brothers, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers, Moose and Mickie James as some of the potential match-ups that can happen now. He also stated his own goal of calling a Mickie James match; the legend is the reigning IMPACT Knockouts World Champion, so seeing her compete in an ROH would be a remarkable occasion.
“Like Rok-C, depending where her career takes her, wouldn’t it be amazing to see her challenge for the title in Texas, where she’s from?” said Riccaboni. “Wouldn’t it be exciting to see the IMPACT Tag Team Champions the Good Brothers take on The Briscoes? [That’s] a long-standing feud that dates back years and years to New Japan and some of their battles in Ring of Honor. To me, the possibilities are endless. I mean there’s so much overlap. You know, Moose, the world champion in IMPACT, former Ring of Honor guy. He never really got a shot at the title here in Ring of Honor. Wouldn’t it be cool to see him do that? We’ve never really seen Brian Myers, we’ve never really seen him in Ring of Honor. We’ve never seen Matt Cardona in Ring of Honor. We’ve seen Chelsea Green. So there’s definite crossover.
“I’d love to call a match with Mickie James. Absolute legend. There’s stuff as a broadcaster that I wanna do and I wanna make history, and I want to be a part of, and I’m hoping that partnership or at least the friendliness continues because I think there’s a lot to be said there.”
Riccaboni emphasized his belief that this collaboration between multiple promotions can create an “amazing situation”, given each company’s respective strengths. He pointed to IMPACT’s presence on cable, ROH’s prominence on syndication, GCW’s success with live events, AEW’s national platform, and NJPW’s impressive roster as some of the leading traits that could combine to produce a partnership that benefits everyone involved.
“I think it benefits us to scratch each other’s backs,” said Riccaboni. “They have good clearance on cable, we have really good clearance on syndication. If you combine the two, you get a whole lot of composite eyes together. Same thing with GCW. They have an amazing fan base that does amazing live events. That’s one piece that right now, they’re probably doing better than almost anybody else, especially at the level they’re doing it. So I mean if there’s a way to triangulate the three…and then you can’t rule out the big dogs in the room, AEW, who’s got amazing cable coverage.
“So suddenly now you’re talking about amazing cable coverage, very good cable coverage, very good syndication, amazing live events, and then throw New Japan in there, who’s got the history, the legacy, and the ability to bring over some great talent. And suddenly those are five organizations that if they’re all kind of working together, you can get dream match after dream match and just be in an amazing situation.”
"Change is upon us! And this is Honor no more!"
What does this mean?!@MariaLKanellis @RealMikeBennett @TheHorrorKingVM @PCOisNotHuman @MattTaven #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/s2XFS4I94u
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 21, 2022
As someone who called shows for several of the companies he named in just over a month, Riccaboni personally knows it’s possible to work for multiple promotions at the same time. While he admitted that ROH’s hiatus could be a special circumstance, he posed the question, “Why can’t this be a real thing for the wrestlers? Why can’t this be something where it turns into the Avengers?”
He referenced the way the ROH stars in Honor No More have helped IMPACT Wrestling’s TV viewership, along with the response that Brody King, Jay Lethal, and Danhausen got upon their arrivals in AEW, as evidence that fans want to see ROH’s wrestlers pop up elsewhere. With this in mind, Riccaboni stated that even if this collaboration was “accidentally unlocked” by the hiatus, it could turn into something special.
“I think there’s an appetite to see people in different places,” said Riccaboni. “Everybody can have a home base, but I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world for there to be a little bit of movement and a little bit of cooperation. And I really think it could build into something special. So I’m really excited about what may have accidentally been unlocked with this hiatus….”
"Welcome to #TeamIMPACT"@SteveMaclin #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/vo8ynsmZsr
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 11, 2022
To drive the point home, Riccaboni explained that the companies he named have shared values, and the pandemic brought this similarity to light; the challenging circumstances showed the wrestling world that ROH, GCW, IMPACT, AEW, and NJPW are willing to “step up to the plate for their talent.” With this common ground in mind, Riccaboni believes even a loose partnership of some sort should be possible.
“I think there’s a place for at least kind of a loose partnership and a loose alliance,” said Riccaboni. “Because the reality is that every company that I name seems to care about their athletes and their staff in the same way, and there’s a lot of consistent values, especially during the pandemic. I think we found out during the pandemic which companies are willing to step up to the plate for their talent. And I think that’s what binds the five companies, including New Japan, that I just mentioned.”
