ROH Getting PPV Deal, Does Not Mean They Will Compete With WWE

Courtesy of ROH.com graphic team

Just before I get into this I just want to address something. First off I understand that ROH is not even in the same league as WWE. Also, I understand that WWE has been around since 1952 compared to ROH which was founded in 2002. I also understand that both of their products are completely different. Lastly, I want to say that I am a fan of all wrestling, WWE, TNA, ROH and lately PWG out in California. Therefore, I am not a WWE or ROH mark. I am a fan of all wrestling, which I watch on a weekly bases. Now let me get into this.

Ring of Honor sent out a press release today saying that they were switching to traditional PPV on June 22nd starting with Best in the world PPV. It will air on Sunday night for 24 bucks which is a pretty good deal. Comparing WWE and or TNA, WWE runs for 44 bucks and TNA for 39 bucks. From that standpoint that is a hell of a deal.

Now please do not tell me about how ROH is so different from WWE because i know and understand that.

WWE has been around since 1952, they are the top dog in pro wrestling. We all know that. ROH is different, they pull a few thousand in attendance compared to WWE which pulls over ten thousand easily on any given night, show and location. TNA tried to compete with WWE and that did not work. You can name any other wrestling promotion that tried to compete with WWE that was not successful. However, there was one organization that competed and actually beat WWE for some time and of course that was NWA/WCW.

IF there are ROH fans or WWE haters out there that says that ROH can compete with WWE then let me give a history lesson to you.

NWA was founded in 1948, they did not get a major TV deal until 1984 on TBS. WWF was founded in 1952 and did not get a major TV deal until 1972 where they aired WWF Championship Wrestling. That show ended in 1986 and they began airing Superstars of wrestling since 86 all the way to 2001. Later they created Raw in 1993 and Smackdown in 1999. NWA turned into WCW in 1988 and began airing a variety of shows. WCW Prime, Main Event, Powerhouse and others. Nitro came about in 1995 and the rest is history.

Also WWF aired WrestleMania in 1985 on close circuit networks. NWA actually beat WWF to the punch as far as super cards go when they aired Starrcade back in 1983. WWF got on PPV in November of that year with a show called Wrestling Classic and then from that point on they were on PPV. NWA turned into WCW and in 1988 WCW came out with the Bunkhouse Stampede in 1988 with their first PPV.

I explained all that because I want you to get the idea that WWE actually had a competitor in the PPV business. WWE was the leader in that market, but still they had a competitor.

I listed all that history to make this a very clear point. It took NWA 36 years to get a major TV deal and 40 years to get on PPV. It took WWE 20 years to get on Major National TV and 33 years to get a PPV deal.

All this leads to ROH, Ring of Honor was founded in 2002, still does not have a MAJOR National TV deal. It took them 12 years to get on PPV. Now wouldn’t you think it would be easier for ROH to get a TV deal today with so many TV networks out there compared to back then?

I hope ROH can make the wrestling business competitive again. However, I just do not see it. No one will ever be able to compete with WWE. They have history, the name and most importantly the brand. You do not say wrestling, you say WWE. They have the moments and major names that all fans think of. Yes, you have guys like Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, CM Punk and countless others who have made it big from ROH and thank god for them. However, what happens when a big name is made from ROH? They go somewhere else. That is their downfall at the end of the day. WWE is the biggest, baddest wrestling company out there. When you get into wrestling, you want to work in WWE. That is the ultimate goal if you are into wrestling. It’s that simple.

If you have an opinon about this topic i would love to hear it. If you cannot think of anything and write something that has nothing to do with this article. Or want to be negative about this piece, your comment will be deleted. I want feedback, i want a good discussion. Let me hear them. Thanks for reading along.