Matt Hardy Beats Kevin Steen, No More iPPV; is ROH Dead or Dying?

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

At Ring of Honor's last iPPV event - Best in the World - Matt Hardy defeated Kevin Steen in a No DQ match to become the #1 contender to the World Championship. Speaking of which, the Briscoes have apparently left the company, leaving the World title theoretically vacant. And after a myriad of stream issues, it appears there will be no live ROH iPPV events any more. All viewing will be done the next day via On Demand, or by the sale of their DVDs.

I find it ironic that ROH is running this "SCUM Kills ROH" angle, because I can't help but wondering if the company is fading. They still have their TV deal, and I'm not trying to jump to any sort of conclusion, but they're just in a place right now where I'm not sure where the company is going. Originals like Davey Richards have come out and said they don't feel like there's a place in wrestling for them any more. CHIKARA has apparently closed its doors. I know from talking to a lot of bookers that there's just not a ton of money being made in the indy scene any more. Workers are asking for money that just isn't there, and shows aren't drawing big enough gates to bring in big names anyways.

ROH has always kind of been the exception to that, because they're the third biggest promotion in the US. But a lot of fans saw Matt Hardy going over Kevin Steen as one of those "sinking ship" moments. I personally don't. Hardy isn't an in-ring phenom, but he draws heat from ROH fans because he's not the normal indy star. He's a well-established talent, and his lack of in-ring excitement actually adds to how much they hate him. It's ridiculous. It'd be ridiculous for ROH NOT to push him. But I suppose a case could be made that the old "spirit" of Ring of Honor is dead or dying.

So what do you think? Is ROH fine? Are they a sinking ship?

 

[Bernkastel]

I haven't seen the phenomenon, nor do I really care to, but despite Matt Hardy's short comings he is an established star with undoubtedly more name value than anyone else that ROH would have. Even casuals would probably be drawn to it if they were fans of Team Extreme way back in the day.

You are pretty much spot on with your musings Killam. The only reason why ROH wouldn't push Hardy if he generates the heat that you describe is if they hated money. Not saying that Hardy could carry the company to TNA levels or anything, but at least he'd be able to stop them from shutting down.

From my experiences I've found many ROH fans to be very fickle, but I'm sure many of them are probably already gone thanks in part to the mass exodus a few years ago. At least with Matt ROH has somewhat of a fighting chance to draw new types of fans, and maybe modify their product a bit.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

I think you and Echelon covered the basics here - I too have been thinking about ROH's current status. Their storylines are very weak at the moment, and nothing they have really makes me excited - their last iPPV had one good match in Elgin x. Ciampa and that was it. The problem however goes much further than that - when it's all said and done, ROH's roster is a poor one. Sure you still have a Kevin Steen and a Davey Richards, but the rest of them are not big names - you have some guys coming out just like Michael Elgin, Adam Cole and ACH, but that is it. There is nothing in the current ROH, that even resembles the ROH in their prime - I mean, when was the last time you thought that WWE and TNA would have had a lot of better matches than ROH in a year?

I don't know if I can mention spoilers, but for those who read it, can please someone explain me what was the purpose of SCUM? Matt Hardy is by far the most interesting guy they have in their roster - they billed an iPPV with just two matches, being only one the focus in the brother vs. brother. If you cared for Jay vs. Mark Briscoe, odds will tell me that you pretty much like every crap ROH puts, so you'll always be there, but if you were more like me, a ROH and Wrestling Fan in general, you were just not interested. ROH is working for the wrestling hardcore fans, so they need to have better storylines, and not always - special attractions, or as I call it, a Random Match because we were to lazy to do something better than that.

For me The Briscoes leaving ROH to WWE is a blessing in disguise - they are both stale at the moment, they are not exciting or fresh into the scene so ROH is gaining nothing with them on top. It's time for them to make new guys, like they did in the past. They need to go after some cool kids in the independent scene and sign them to a contract. A guy like Chuck Taylor or Johnny Gargano, if they tune out some of their comedy, they would fit greatly in ROH's roster. They need to push some other guys, and choose who they want as their number one guy - because right now, Kevin Steen seems to be that guy,s o work around him until someone really shows that they can have the ball. Michael Elgin, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Mike Bennett, ACH... - those guys are pretty much the future of the independent scene, not Matt Taven or Jay Lethal. So use them properly, hell I would be happy if they started to push BJ Whitmer, since he has a great look and a great wrestling background (I know he's 38, but why not?). If ROH wants to get their mystique back, they need to start making great wrestlers relevant again, and they need to create better storylines and freshen up their concept.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I'm a big fan of most of ROH's tag teams, and really always have been. It's how I become a Kenny King, Antonio Cesaro, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, and Kevin Steen fan. I think they have a TON of talent. Adam Cole is great, and super young. He has a definite future in the business. Steen could carry a damn company, and probably shouldn't have lost the belt if the Briscoes were that close to not signing new contracts. Lots of potential in SCUM.

My new favorite obsession has been ACH and Tadarius Thomas as a tag team. C&C Wrestle Factor are alright as well. I'm not a huge reDRagon fan, because I think the name is stupid. Also, I've always thought Bobby Fish and O'Reilly over-sell moves to the point of not taking their matches seriously. But, I used to hate Roderick Strong for no-selling most of the damage he takes, and now I kind of...sort of like him. So, maybe eventually I'll get why everyone enjoys reDRagon.

 

[HBsam31]

You hit it on the head. Kevin Steen should have never lost the title if the Briscoes were that close to not resigning. Truthfully he shouldn't have lost the title either way. I will admit I am new to ROH. I only started watching when they got the tv deal so I am no expert, but I just haven't been enjoying it as much lately without Steen on top. They could have built a pretty good program between Steen and Hardy with Steen as champ. They could have still ousted Steen saying Hardy is the next big thing in SCUM. I think that would have been the best way to maximize any star power Matt Hardy has. I have no clue if they are dying, but things sure seem different than even when they first got the tv deal.

 

[justinsayne]

At Ring of Honor's last iPPV event - Best in the World - Matt Hardy defeated Kevin Steen in a No DQ match to become the #1 contender to the World Championship.

That part in bold is completely wrong Hardy already had his title shot set & promoted for the TV tapings the following day. I realize fact checking on the main page is optional but come on man.

The Steen/Hardy match was Matt Hardy's best singles match since, fuck IDK, he came back to WWE to feud with Edge. It was a great match & him going over Steen made sense, also Steen didn't look weak at all in defeat.

Speaking of which, the Briscoes have apparently left the company, leaving the World title theoretically vacant.

Their contracts expired, plus this isn't the first time they've taken time away from the company, there have been rumors that they were taking the summer off, as Jay's & his wife is expecting another kid, & other rumors saying they're getting try out offers from WWE. When CM Punk left to come to WWE it didn't kill ROH, when Daniel Bryan left for WWE it didn't kill ROH, when guys like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, & Austin Aries, & Christopher Daniels left for TNA it didn't kill ROH, Jay & Mark Briscoes leaving ROH will not be the death of ROH. As for the title being vacant, it's happened in just about every major wrestling promotion at one time or another, & it's rarely if ever the death nail in a company.

And after a myriad of stream issues, it appears there will be no live ROH iPPV events any more. All viewing will be done the next day via On Demand, or by the sale of their DVDs.

This is just for the better, you don't have an angry fanbase, instead the fans now know that when the purchase the show they're gonna get to see it. Most ROH fans have seen most ROH shows via DVD & VOD anyway

I find it ironic that ROH is running this "SCUM Kills ROH" angle, because I can't help but wondering if the company is fading. They still have their TV deal, and I'm not trying to jump to any sort of conclusion, but they're just in a place right now where I'm not sure where the company is going.

Of course you don't know where the company is going, you've openly admitted just a few weeks ago that you don't & haven't watch any wrestling for awhile now, how the fuck would you know the direction a wrestling promotion is going if you don't watch the fucking product?!?

ROH is fine, this isn't ECW with Heyman running things with his piss poor money management skills, ROH is much more financially secure. They have a ton a great young talent to work with & build the future of the product around, guys like Elgin, Cole, Steen, Edwards, Taven, Richards, reDRagon, Ciampa, Strong, Bennett, Jacobs, etc.

ROH has always kind of been the exception to that, because they're the third biggest promotion in the US. But a lot of fans saw Matt Hardy going over Kevin Steen as one of those "sinking ship" moments.

Like who? ROH's fans are ridiculously loyal, I have yet to hear of anyone call that match a sinking ship moment, & if anyone actuelly thinks that they're either not very smart, didn't watch the match at all, or both.

I personally don't. Hardy isn't an in-ring phenom, but he draws heat from ROH fans because he's not the normal indy star. He's a well-established talent, and his lack of in-ring excitement actually adds to how much they hate him. It's ridiculous. It'd be ridiculous for ROH NOT to push him. But I suppose a case could be made that the old "spirit" of Ring of Honor is dead or dying.

The company is evolving with the times, if any company wants to survive some shit needs to change every now every once in awhile, it's not the first time a bigger star as come to ROH & won, & it won't be the last.

 

[Indylover2013]

OP,I'm not sure if I agree with you or not but I lost interest in watching ROH all together lately. I used to be big into it in the early 2000's. I just got back into it in 2011, and for the past couple of months, its just been boring. Of course, I still like some of the wrestlers there are great, I just can't sit through a whole show anymore like I used too.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I actually think the biggest issue is that the company has still been in a transition phase creatively with the Cornette to Delirious switch.

SCUM was kind of the final remnant of Cornette's creative direction. Hopefully the ending of SCUM and the upcoming title tournament signal a reset button of sorts, and we will see what the Lizard Man is really made of. The roster is strong enough to succeed.

Also the company is in no danger. It is merely a TV property for SBG. It is especially valuable programming for them when they buy networks in new markets, which also helps ROH expand its viewer base.

With the loss of IPPV, ROH needs to realize that it is most viable right now to focus on being more of a "TV company", and start building to big televised events (like the SCUM/ROH cage warfare, and the Hardy/Briscoe title match; showing ROH may agree with me), and more PPV quality TV matches.

As for this...

I'm not a huge reDRagon fan, because I think the name is stupid.

It is a little bad, but its just a way to take a shot at Richards, it fits Fish and nods to his and Davey's angle.

Also, I've always thought Bobby Fish and O'Reilly over-sell moves to the point of not taking their matches seriously.

I don't think Fish oversells at all. He may appear to oversell due to how much no-selling can occur on an ROH card, but I think he is actually one of the best in the company when it comes to selling convincingly, consistently, and effectively.

As for Kyle he over exaggerates everything. From his selling, to his offense, to his facial expressions, etc. He is hyper-animated in the ring, and while he is actually pretty great to watch live, it can come off as a little much on screen.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Matt Hardy isn't a big enough name to go over one of the faces of RoH. Personally, I find both Hardy Boys reprehensible as wrestlers and as people. The effect Matt has on me as far as RoH is concerned is simply turning the channel when he's on - and I'm not alone on this. I know a lot of RoH purists are pissed at this development simply because it's deviating from a tried and true formula. And to most RoH fans, Hardy is the Antichrist of RoH style of wrestling.

That being said, RoH isn't in trouble. They'll stick around as long as they keep going with the 'pure wrestling' moniker it's known for. If they end up trying to bring in names like Matt Hardy and other WWE/TNA retreads, then it'll end up being just another wrestling promotion and their fan base will abandon them and move on to another niche promotion.

And streaming PPV's stupid. I streamed a UFC PPV once and that was the LAST time I ever done such a thing. All I've heard is how RoH has had issues with their iPPV's and to me, going to a simple OnDemand or DVD format's the best way to go.

But as far as this being the death knell for RoH? It's not there - yet.