Report: WWE Discussing ROH Buyout with Sinclair Broadcasting

WWE taking over Ring of Honor? This seems like a possibility, although nothing is a foregone conclusion with this.

When TNA’s financial situation was in flux, WWE reportedly had interest in buying them out. That never happened, as Anthem took over and is now operating Impact Wrestling shows. Could the Leader in Sports Entertainment be trying something else, though?

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, WWE and Sinclair Broadcasting have “secretly” been discussing buying out Ring of Honor. They have been talking since January about a “full takeover.”

The interesting add-on to this is the weekly ROH show airing on the WWE Network. That would add an unprecedented wrinkle to WWE’s streaming service, which hasn’t ventured to other pro wrestling companies to officially put them on there yet.

A ROH takeover could shake up the wrestling business. It would be a monopolization of one of the biggest pro graps companies in the country, possibly the No. 2 of them all. This isn’t a new thing, however, as WWE did take over WCW in 2001. That came during a buyout of a fledging company, though, which Sinclair Broadcasting doesn’t seem to be.

WWE has also poached ROH talents for years, so this could be a way of forgoing the inevitable. They acquired Kevin Owens (Kevin Steen), Sami Zayn (El Generico), Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson), CM Punk and Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli), among others, almost directly from the promotion. It weakened their crop of wrestlers, which has always risen back up, until they are signed away.

By taking over ROH, that means wrestlers like Adam Cole, Christopher Daniels and Jay Lethal would be under Vince McMahon and company’s control. Could them and other opt to not go through this the transition, however?

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This WWE-ROH situation is going to be one to monitor over the coming days, weeks and months, if anything develops. Could we see the latest wrestling merger?