Kenny King and his TNA/ROH contract situation

[The Five-Star Frog Splash]

Its been a very long time since I posted in the forums at all, but I didn't see a thread about this yet, but if this is in the wrong place please put it where it needs to be, I wasn't sure if it should go in the TNA section or not, so I put it in general.

The following info is straight from ROH's facebook page so they give us their rundown of the situation.

ROH-Kenny King Update

The appearance of ROH wrestler Kenny King on another television wrestling program tonight has raised speculation on his future as well as how this appearance could occur.

The contract Kenny King signed in June 2011 expired 11 days ago. Before that expiration, an agreement was reached between Kenny and ROH management for an extension of that contract, with a provision to allow him to negotiate with any other promotions so that he could evaluate his options and any potential interest in him elsewhere. When that short extension concluded he would then be free to accept an offer elsewhere, or sign another long term contract with ROH. Under this agreement, Kenny was free to negotiate but not to wrestle for another organization without ROH's permission.

When Kenny was presented with the written extension reflecting this verbal and handshake agreement, he informed ROH he was unsure if other promotions would accept the negotiation clause. He was told he could take the document to be examined by his attorney or other interested parties before executing it to be reassured any other offers would not be viewed as contract tampering. He also informed ROH that he would keep us apprised of any developments.

He contacted ROH on Tuesday July 3 to inform us that he had a meeting in Orlando on Thursday, July 5, which was within the scope of the agreement he had made. Then, early morning on July 5, he contacted an ROH official to say he would be wrestling on the Orlando event that night. He was told he did not have permission to appear live on television as it violated the agreement that had been made. His response was that the deal he had shaken hands on and agreed to in principle "seemed fair at the time", but "others" had told him it was not, so he did not intend to honor it.

Ring of Honor is disappointed that Kenny has chosen to make this decision, after the company had agreed to and followed through on everything he had asked for at the time of our negotiation. However, we consider this breach of his verbal agreement unacceptable, and regardless of his future employment status with any other wrestling company, ROH will not be doing business with Kenny King going forward.

A statement from ROH will be forthcoming regarding the future of the ROH World Tag Team Championship. Co-holder Rhett Titus remains on the active ROH roster.


Now I wonder if TNA will have a response to this but time will tell. As for the purpose of this thread, I just want to discuss who do you guys feel is in the right here, Kenny or ROH. Should Kenny have honored his agreement, or did he do the right thing by going to Orlando to have his match?

There doesn't seem to be any legal trouble here due to the statement by ROH saying, "Before that expiration, an agreement was reached between Kenny and ROH management for an extension of that contract, with a provision to allow him to negotiate with any other promotions so that he could evaluate his options and any potential interest in him elsewhere. When that short extension concluded he would then be free to accept an offer elsewhere, or sign another long term contract with ROH." It never says he actually signed a contract and that this really was just an ol' handshake agreement, just like they used to do it. Kenny did what was best for Kenny and this could be terrific for King's career. Heck, he may even be X-Division champ by Sunday for pete's sake.

Was it the right thing to do? I don't know if this should become a moral dilemma here, but really if ROH had signed him to a new deal before they let the competition take him, ROH wouldn't be down yet another big star. I mean from one standpoint I guess you could argue that the right thing to do would be to at least stay with ROH until this agreement they had had run out and he could be free to sign with whoever. But due to the current circumstances in TNA, it was just the right moment.

But what do you all think about the situation?

 

[The Bearded One]

While what Kenny King did may not be the honorable thing to do (no pun intended), he technically didn't do anything wrong. A handshake agreement is not binding in any way than in the hopes that both parties keep their words. King, for what it's worth, did not keep his word. So while that makes him look bad to those in ROH, there really isn't anything they can do about it.

This begs the question as to why they would put the belts on King when they knew his contract was expiring. Actually, if my math is correct (and it's usually not), King's contract either expired the day of or the day after he and Rhett Titus captured the ROH World Tag Team Titles June 24 at "Best in the World 2012." Sure, ROH thought he would stick around and they thought they had his word. But looking through wrestling's history has proven time and time again that hand shake agreements are just not good enough. They should have not put the belts on King and Titus until King's name was signed on a contract. This was just a really stupid move by ROH.

I can't help but feel bad for Titus. He's gone from comedy jobber to a tag champion. Where does this leave him? He and King were tag champions before this happened, so will he continue with the belts? Or will he be stripped? This is just a really bad situation for him to find himself in, and I feel bad for him.

There's no denying that this whole thing makes ROH look really, really bad.

 

[dman1373]

people can talk technicalities, and say he did nothing wrong, but really it was a dick move. He was a champion for a company and instead of just saying im done and take the title off, he said hey i might or might not be, and then appears on another promotions tv show. Its dick especially considering if it weren't for roh, no one would care about kenny king.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

It was not the honourable thing to do, as Kenny had agreed in principle to a deal with ROH, but he technically did nothing wrong as there was no legally binding contract stating that King could not appear on TNA programming. That is the fact of the matter, and I would be shocked if any legal repurcussions came King's way from this.

Wrestling is a business and Kenny King is not at the top of the payscale right now. He had a good spot in ROH but TNA would offer him more more, more exposure and more opportunities to be seen worldwide and boost his reputation. Plenty of other wrestlers would have done the same, you need to look out for yourself in this business.

ROH is struggling right now, so King probably thought it is time to look elsewhere to ply his trade. It's another kick in the balls for ROH who have lost alot of their main stars in the past few years, but great for TNA, as King is a very good performer and will definitely boost the X-Division.

 

[scomvp316]

I have said for about six months now that ROH and TNA should have a merger. Bisch knows he has to have new talent so he doesn't fall into the same problem at the end of his tenure for WCW. I do think Bisch has cleaned up the backstage politics as much as he can from a producer's standpoint. The one thing I don't get about some of the fans is they complain about the WWE product but they slam ROH and TNA at the same time. WWE flourished when they had competition from JCP/WCW. Just take a look at the "New Generation" product and most of the time it was crap. The stuff WWE puts out know is just crap. VKM says he cares about the fans and most of the time he puts out what he thinks is entertaining cause there is no competition. Most ROH talent would prefer TNA over WWE just because the care about wrestling. If TNA can get the talent with good storylines you will see an improvement in the ratings. If fans want WWE to improve they must give TNA a chance. I admit this company has made some boneheaded mistakes but lately they are doing much better. WWE will only push itself if TNA pushes back. So root for TNA if you want the industry to improve to numbers like the MNW!

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

people can talk technicalities, and say he did nothing wrong, but really it was a dick move. He was a champion for a company and instead of just saying im done and take the title off, he said hey i might or might not be, and then appears on another promotions tv show. Its dick especially considering if it weren't for roh, no one would care about kenny king.

Probably not true. ROH isn't the clear cut indy kings anymore. They've dropped off a lot. You would have heard about King in other ways.

ROH pulled a dick move by not resigning him for more money. King leaving isn't the biggest problem ROH has but it's definately one of them.

King puts his life on the line for his dream. He's going to go to where there is more money and more exposure. If you are saying he was pulling a dick move by doing what's best for him in a business where EVERYONE does what's best for them and nobody has ever gotten ahead by being a nice guy then maybe a "dick move" is the right move.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I have said for about six months now that ROH and TNA should have a merger. Bisch knows he has to have new talent so he doesn't fall into the same problem at the end of his tenure for WCW. I do think Bisch has cleaned up the backstage politics as much as he can from a producer's standpoint. The one thing I don't get about some of the fans is they complain about the WWE product but they slam ROH and TNA at the same time. WWE flourished when they had competition from JCP/WCW. Just take a look at the "New Generation" product and most of the time it was crap. The stuff WWE puts out know is just crap. VKM says he cares about the fans and most of the time he puts out what he thinks is entertaining cause there is no competition. Most ROH talent would prefer TNA over WWE just because the care about wrestling. If TNA can get the talent with good storylines you will see an improvement in the ratings. If fans want WWE to improve they must give TNA a chance. I admit this company has made some boneheaded mistakes but lately they are doing much better. WWE will only push itself if TNA pushes back. So root for TNA if you want the industry to improve to numbers like the MNW!

ah, the old IWC staple of "WWE doesn't have competition".

Uh, WWE competes with EVERYONE sports and entertainment show on TV. In fact, with more channels now, and more avenues to watch sports and entertainment, it's safe to say that the WWE has more competition now than ever before. The attitude era was cheap pops. Trash TV. Barely even a wrestling show. Jersey Shore is popular too you know, but it's not sustainable. There is only so much garbage you can throw and so many car wrecks people can see before they get sick of it.

WWE is pushing themselves. They elevate talent, they put on really good shows. I challenge you to actually go back and watch old Attitude era raws, not just the highlights, not just the memorable moments, but who seasons and then come back and say it was anything other than trash TV. They lost a lot of wrestling fans and gained a lot of trash TV fans. Harley Race started an indy promotion in 1999 with the slogan of "shut up and wrestle" because he didn't it was really wrestling. WWE is more successful now among actual wrestling fans than at a lot of other times in their history.

TNA isn't going to change that. ROH isn't going to change that. WWE has too much brand recognition and market power. TNA, everytime I've watched it and I admit it's been awhile, has been booked like a mark. Like someone on here booking guys they like/are friends with instead of who is actually over.

TNA's problem isn't merging with ROH or not, or who is on their roster. It's how they're ran. They aren't ran like a business.

 

[DirtyD79]

He went where the money is and you can't blame him for that. Granted he did it in a dickish way but ROH has nobody to blame but themselves for putting themselves in a position like that. They put a belt on him with just a handshake agreement at best that he'll sign a new deal with them.

 

[dtroppe]

Well I like most of the Wrestling fans in the world, have no idea who Kenny King is- but that doesn't mean that the situation is not of interest. I think wrestling made the most money at a time when wrestlers could jump around and appear anywhere. But lets be clear he was a loud to explore his options- and he told ROH that he was going to appear. What Indy wrestler in their right mind would turn down TNA? Even one match in front of Hogan, Sting , Bischoff, etc?

 

[Strife543]

If Richards leaves wrestling for MMA and the Briscoes leave then ROH may be screwed. As for the current King/ROH situation I can see them pairing Titus up with someone else and have them defend the titles under the freebird rule or Titus Might follow King to TNA

 

[scomvp316]

So WWE is pushing themselves you say. Lets see they still jam cena down everyone's throat when at the very least the crowd is split 50/50 on him. Not elevating new talent into the main event picture. Just thinking after Sheamus had jobbed for six months now he is unstoppable. Doesn't sound like they are trying at all. If they are trying why have focus groups every few months when VKM has stated he wants to somehow bring back the fans he had lost from 02-06. So what is so exciting on Raw these days that makes people tune in every week instead of dvr the show? Raw's ratings are right where they were pre-attitude. In fact some insiders have said that WWE's politics are worst than what it was in WCW. Don't get me wrong I am a WWE fan but anyone that thinks the industry is better with them on top with no competition they are insane. If Raw was built as a wrestling show I guarantee it would do 3.6-4.1 every week. The problem is VKM is so obsessed with not being a wrestling show and trying to compete with hollywood. Wouldn't it make more sense to make movies for your talent when you have 15-20 mill fans watching instead of just 5 mill fans. The industry will rise again when other promotions figure things out if that was to ever happen. Just to prove how much WWE is a hypocrite they tout the weeks they beat MNF but then complain when UFC kicks there ass in domestic PPV buyrates and WWE says well they are a sport. I thought the NFL was a sport?