Report: Ring of Honor in preliminary talks with Spike TV

[The Dragon Saga]

Richard Gray
‏@wnwdotcom
I'm told Spike TV had preliminary talks with Ring of Honor about monthly specials. Details on those talks http://mf.tt/wjmVL

https://twitter.com/wnwdotcom/status/568581579737423872

So keep in mind this is a "report", meaning you shouldn't be like, "oh how have they done this? I guess I'll give it a try" when nothing is confirmed, but it's just an interesting report and one that comes at a funny time.

Yesterday Joe Koff spoke to PWInsider and said that ROH were in talks with different TV stations about getting ROH onto those stations. They're always trying to do that, but then when he was asked if ROH would do any live specials, that "something on that would be announced soon and It'll probably happen before the end of 2015". Koff who's a big old school wrestling fan wants to do something like Clash of the Champions where every ROH station shows a big ROH event on free TV at the same time.

Dude thats reporting this is very hit and miss. Someone pointed out that he was pretty good with reporting what was happening between TNA and Spike so he might know this more through someone from Spike than through ROH, so yeah, I hope this is true cause It'd be pretty awesome, but I'm sure others will have no problem kicking my opinion in its proverbial balls.

 

[klunderbunker]

And then you would be right there to tell us how Meltzer reports ROH is much better at kicking balls.

As for the report, I'll be taking this with a large grain of salt as always.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

And then you would be right there to tell us how Meltzer reports ROH is much better at kicking balls.

If this was Meltzer reporting it I'd already have a signature of ROH's logo with the Spike TV one saying, "coming soon". Sadly that's not the case.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

GET THE FUCK OUT



Good for them. Hopefully this upgrades some things from a presentation / staff standpoint.

 

[A11oftheLights]

*Assuming its true*

Bit dodgy by Spike to boot TNA then look at ROH, but business is business.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Be cool if true, fine if not.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

*Assuming its true*

Bit dodgy by Spike to boot TNA then look at ROH, but business is business.

Not really, if you consider both the sides, and what they want.



Giving ROH even half of TNA's budget would be a giant boost for them, and be the type of efficient low cost/high return programming Spike so covets

 

[justinsayne]

This is the same network that brought in ECW then booted them for WWE, then booted them & brought in TNA, & then booted them, & now bringing in ROH? How many wrestling promotions Spike going to bring in only to not give a fuck about them & eventually boot them. I mean it'd be good to see ROH exposed to a significantly larger audience, but I'd feel a lot better about this if Spike's history with wrestling companies wasn't so shitty.

 

[Thriller Ant]

This is the same network that brought in ECW then booted them for WWE, then booted them & brought in TNA, & then booted them, & now bringing in ROH? How many wrestling promotions Spike going to bring in only to not give a fuck about them & eventually boot them. I mean it'd be good to see ROH exposed to a significantly larger audience, but I'd feel a lot better about this if Spike's history with wrestling companies wasn't so shitty.

This doesn't sound like a weekly commitment like the rest, though. A Clash of the Champions type agreement would mean only a couple broadcasts through the year, which isn't much of a commitment at all.

 

[Shocky]

As I said to NorCal. I think roh with a larger budget is a legit threat to TNA. Regardless, the ensuing bitchfest between Dixie Cups and ROHbots will be hilarious. I'll be sitting here like "NXT is better than both."

 

[klunderbunker]

As I said to NorCal. I think roh with a larger budget is a legit threat to TNA. Regardless, the ensuing bitchfest between Dixie Cups and ROHbots will be hilarious. I'll be sitting here like "NXT is better than both."

I'd question if TNA is even still ahead of ROH. It's far closer than it was before and TNA seems to still be losing more almost weekly.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Great news (if it's true) because it could result in RoH getting better worldwide exposure. TNA stills performs well on Challenge in the UK and I'm sure a national TV deal in the states would result in another British satellite station taking a punt. Only potential downsides are Spike's far from exemplary record of looking after it's wrestling shows and RoH might be getting force fed Bellator guys for promotional purposes.

As I said to NorCal. I think roh with a larger budget is a legit threat to TNA. Regardless, the ensuing bitchfest between Dixie Cups and ROHbots will be hilarious. I'll be sitting here like "NXT is better than both."

Why would 'Dixie Cups' bitch about this? It's an opportunity for us to catch some of our alumni and get familiar with potential new TNA guys. It was competition that drove wrestling ratings to record highs in the past and if neither can challenge the WWe, they can (at least) challenge each other - pluses all round.

 

[Shocky]

I'd question if TNA is even still ahead of ROH. It's far closer than it was before and TNA seems to still be losing more almost weekly.

I think we've reached the point that there is a Valles Marineris sized chasm between the E and everyone else. I still think future endeavored E wrestlers choose TNA over ROH. There has been a trend of people saying screw that, and simply taking their business out of the country.

Great news (if it's true) because it could result in RoH getting better worldwide exposure. TNA stills performs well on Challenge in the UK and I'm sure a national TV deal in the states would result in another British satellite station taking a punt. Only potential downsides are Spike's far from exemplary record of looking after it's wrestling shows and RoH might be getting force fed Bellator guys for promotional purposes.



Why would 'Dixie Cups' bitch about this? It's an opportunity for us to catch some of our alumni and get familiar with potential new TNA guys. It was competition that drove wrestling ratings to record highs in the past and if neither can challenge the WWe, they can (at least) challenge each other - pluses all round.

You're approaching this from a rational PoV. The history of this forum shows there is a ton of insecurity from TNA fans when the idea of ROH as a no. 2 is slightly suggested.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

As I said to NorCal. I think roh with a larger budget is a legit threat to TNA.

Yeah, like KB I don't think a "threat" is even a word for ROH up against TNA, they're pretty much in direct competition in every sector except for abroad. Some could even argue they fight for the same fans. TNA will always have the advantage that they're on cable TV even if they're on Destination America, but ROH is go to wrestling program for people who either don't have cable or who watch broadcast TV, which considering something like 600,000 people combined watch ROH's show in SBG stations, that's pretty good.

TNA's attendance is still an issue as well, ROH's general touring plan and business stance toward booking buildings is far superior than TNA's. ROH knows what size it is but they try to act bigger in the correct way (mostly advertising, e.g. "the best wrestling on the planet" slogan), while for years and even now TNA still thinks they as a company are bigger than they are, something even Taz has said hes never understood since the day he joined TNA.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Has TNA even re-started doing house show tours yet?

 

[Dirk]

I'm a Dixie Cup, but if a big Spike deal means RoH would air where I live, I'd try the shit out of that, too.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Has TNA even re-started doing house show tours yet?

Nope. Which is a big thing people never seem to point out.

Ring of Honor does live events and tours nationally, TNA just spent four days taping ONO PPV's to save money in the exact same place.

 

[Papa Pillman]

How many wrestling promotions Spike going to bring in only to not give a fuck about them & eventually boot them. I mean it'd be good to see ROH exposed to a significantly larger audience, but I'd feel a lot better about this if Spike's history with wrestling companies wasn't so shitty.

To be fair this is nothing like the deals they've had with wrestling promotions in the past. Spike didn't want to pay TNA what it was costing them to be in the weekly TV wrestling business, they instead decided that it made more sense for them to feature cheaper programming. While TNA decided it made more sense for them as a company, if they were gonna take a lessened deal, to do it with a network that provided a stronger commitment and more growth potential.

This speculated partnership with ROH would more closely resemble what Spike has done with UFC in the past, and now Bellator- semi-regular events that can be promoted as big specials but don't take up a set weekly spot in their programming line-up. It clearly saves Spike money to pay a company for a select number of specials instead of over 100 hours of content a year.

Spike may want to experiment with how they can continue their station's history with pro wrestling, but seeing if they can have success doing that while using their MMA model, which is a model that they have always done well with.

 

[Lowdown]

Just read on the following link that ROH going to Spike is just a rumor. But you never know.


http://www.pwinsider.com/article/91760/rohspiketv-rumor-update.html?p=1

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Dave Meltzer is sometimes wrong, but at least when he is, he corrects himself.

ROH are in preliminary talks with Spike TV.

The company has been in preliminary talks with both AXS and Spike. I don’t know how serious either are, past the point that they, in fact, both have taken place. ROH made a pitch to AXS and I don’t know that anything happened from there, as it’s nothing anyone is talking about. My impression is AXS is happy with New Japan. AXS, when it was HD-Net, aired ROH from 2009 to 2011, when HD-Net opted not to renew the deal. With Spike, the sides are talking right now although it’s premature to say they are serious, since key people in both companies weren’t even aware of the talks, but we have since gotten confirmation that talks are taking place. The idea would be a Friday night show that would air about once per month, with Spike having a regular rotation of Bellator, Glory, Al Haymon’s boxing and pro wrestling. That would be a big coup for exposure, since Spike is in 83 percent of the country and Sinclair Broadcasting syndicated stations make up 37.5% of the country (ROH has a few non-Sinclair stations so they are in close to 40%).