ROH COO Joe Koff Discusses Talent Leaving For AEW

It’s no surprise now that many promotions are trying to lock down talent. With All Elite Wrestling becoming a major new player, both New Japan Pro Wrestling and WWE have become acutely aware that other viable options now exist. Another promotion that has been actively signing talent is Ring Of Honor.

ROH recently bade farewell to the majority of The Elite (bar Marty Scurll), as they left to begin their new venture with AEW. We’ve written before about ROH’s COO, Joe Koff’s positive attitude regarding ROH’s future.

Koff recently had an interview with WrestleZone where he was once again asked about AEW, and the impact that losing some of the major players on their roster could have on ROH.

“Talent leaving Ring of Honor is not new to us. Like many of the other stars that have gone onto other promotions, we thank Cody, Hangman and the Young Bucks for their contributions. They, like all of the ROH Alumni will always be part of the ROH family.”

Those names Joe Koff mentioned, and Bullet Club as a whole, helped to bolster ROH during recent years, being a known promotion to feature the group. This was during a time where Bullet Club’s popularity was noticeably growing worldwide.

“Throughout the years, ROH has provided our wrestlers a unique platform to showcase their talents to a worldwide audience,” Koff said. “We are proud of the wrestlers who have not only gone on to enjoy successful careers outside of ROH but, most importantly, the ones who continue to make ROH the most forward-thinking promotion in the industry.

Changes are a natural process of wrestling and any organization, but there has never been a shortage of exceptional and deserving men and women willing to take advantage of those opportunities. Our incredibly talented roster will continue to move this company forward as we continue to aggressively expand globally and be on the forefront of content distribution through HonorClub and broadcast affiliates across this country.”

ROH has been a proving ground for many wrestlers over the years, and their alumni section is stacked with people who have gone on to achieve great things in other promotions. Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, and many more grew and honed their abilities in ROH.

Koff has a good attitude towards this situation. Rather than pine over what they’ve lost, he seems to want to actively grow their roster and develop new stars to grab that proverbial brass ring. This is evidenced in their signings of Mark Haskins, RUSH, Bandido, PCO, Brody King, and more.