More wrestling companies working together will be the key to a prosperous 2020
The only way wrestling will flourish this year is if companies start to stand together and work toward a greater goal instead of tearing each other apart.
WWE not playing well with others has been well-documented for years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean other wrestling companies have to follow in their footsteps in order to be successful.
In fact, every wrestling promotion out there not named WWE will benefit big time from forming working relationships and establishing talent exchanges to give fans what they want. It may not make the most business sense right now, but it will certainly pay dividends over time.
The only way for wrestling to survive outside of the WWE bubble this day and age is for companies to come together, not feud for free agents. Thankfully, from what we’ve seen so far in 2020, it appears many promotions have caught on to this and are already on the right track to making it happen.
Marty Scurll, who was reportedly appointed to be a booker for Ring of Honor upon re-signing earlier this year, deserves a lot of credit for getting the ball rolling in that regard. In the span of one month, he has made appearances for ROH, the NWA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling and has rebuilt the bridges between all three promotions.
ROH and the NWA previously severed ties last summer, and although the NWA has been doing just fine on its own with Powerrr and its pay-per-view, it would benefit from additional exposure. That was where Scurll came in and ensured that the two companies started working together again.
As for ROH and NJPW, they’ve had a working relationship for several years, but it seemingly died down after ROH’s disappointing showing at G1 Supercard last April. Again, thanks to The Villain, ROH and NJPW are exchanging talent once again and will have their first cross-branded show since last year with Supercard of Honor.
Many fans were stunned Scurll stuck around with ROH instead of making the move to AEW, but there’s still a chance that happens down the road. If he’s been able to continue working with the NWA and NJPW, who’s to say he won’t pop up on Dynamite one of these days?
To be honest, he may have more value to ROH as a booker and liaison than he would in AEW solely as an on-air performer. He understands that all of these companies had their thunder stolen by AEW once it launched, and by working side-by-side instead of against each other, they can be relevant again and not be overshadowed as much.
On the subject of AEW, they’ve established a few connections with other companies in their own right including OWE and AAA. The one fans are holding out hope for, however, is with NJPW, which almost has to happen at some point.
Kenny Omega has mentioned in multiple interviews that he had it written in his AEW contract that he could continue wrestling for NJPW if he so wished, but he has yet to be brought back. Surely there is still animosity from NJPW’s end for The Elite leaving when and how they did, but once the two sides work through that, the possibilities are endless for the magic they can make together.
With their AXS TV deal recently expiring, NJPW needs more exposure in the United States, whereas AEW could use the additional talent. It’s a win-win for both companies, assuming they can overcome the politics and realize what can be gained from working together.
Oddly enough, NJPW may be more willing to work with AEW than IMPACT at this point after IMPACT’s poor use of Kazuchika Okada a decade ago. The powers that be at NJPW have yet to get over that, despite the drastic change in IMPACT’s management since then.
ROH and IMPACT also didn’t appear to be working together a few years ago (The Young Bucks vs. The Broken Hardys was almost an inter-promotional feud prior to Matt and Jeff’s IMPACT departure), but there has been nothing new on that front in a while.
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With AEW stealing most of their thunder, ROH and IMPACT would be crazy to not consider establishing some sort of talent exchange eventually. ROH and AEW aligning wouldn’t be a bad idea either considering a majority of AEW’s wrestlers spent time in ROH and contributed to the company’s rise.
Finally, WWE has started to step outside its comfort zone a bit by establishing partnerships with EVOLVE, Progress and ICW with the idea being that they may soon be featured on WWE Network. NXT UK, for example, would not be what is today without Progress, nor would NXT without EVOLVE.
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There’s enough room in wrestling for everybody to succeed, and in time, we could see the business become even bigger and brighter if these companies can put their differences aside and lay the groundwork for an unprecedented era in the industry where synergy takes precedence.