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https://411mania.com/wrestling/impact-wrestling-reportedly-still-high-austin-aries/

Impact Wrestling Reportedly Still High in Austin Aries

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Impact Wrestling is reportedly still very high on Austin Aries, and the feeling is that while he’s not under contract right now that he’ll be back down the line. The Twitter feud leading into Bound for Glory was Aries and Johnny Impact trying to work their own angle and making it personal with Aries calling Taya husky. Management wasn’t happy with that because they don’t want people working angles they don’t approve, but it got them TMZ coverage so they were happy for the outside publicity
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A company called 'All Elite Wrestling' based in Jacksonville, FL have filed to trademark the following for wrestling, broadcasting and merchandising purposes:

*All Elite Wrestling

*AEW

*Double or Nothing

*All Out

*Tuesday Night Dynamite

The LLC behind the filing is listed as having the same address as TIAA Bank Field, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who's ownership has been rumored to have been interested in getting involved in pro wrestling for some time,

Obviously, the trademarks play off of the Elite and All In names and provide a pretty big clue as to the next step for Cody, The Young Bucks, etc. as their Ring of Honor contracts expire at the end of 2018.
 
https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/11/21/axs-tv-announces-same-day-airing-of-wrestle-kingdom-13/

AXS TV announces same-day airing of Wrestle Kingdom 13

AXS TV has announced that they will be airing a two-hour version of Wrestle Kingdom 13 on Friday, January 4th, 2019 at 8 pm Eastern.

The same-day broadcast will feature Kevin Kelly and Don Callis on commentary calling the top matches from the Tokyo Dome earlier in the day, including the Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito matches.

The network released their schedule for January and February with Wrestle Kingdom split into three episodes that will run January 4th, January 11th (another two-hour version), and January 18th. The New Year Dash card that takes place from Korakuen Hall on January 5th will air on AXS TV on January 25th and February 1st. The New Beginning in Sapporo card will run February 8th, 15th, and 22nd.

The tandem of Jim Ross and Josh Barnett recently taped their final episodes of New Japan for the network and will not be used for the coverage of Wrestle Kingdom. Ross’ deal with AXS TV expires at the end of the year and was not able to extend his deal because of his contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.
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https://www.f4wonline.com/ring-honor/brody-king-signs-ring-honor-271416

Brody King signs with Ring of Honor


Brody King is headed to Ring of Honor.

Dave Meltzer has confirmed that King is headed to the promotion. King has pulled out of all future dates with Major League Wrestling.

King has gained traction over the last year as an independent name. He has was branched out across the United States any beyond, working for AAW, Defy, Progress, WWN, GCW, PWG, The Crash and AAA. He is the current AAW champion.

Originally trained at the Santino Bros. Wrestling Academy, Brody King made his debut in 2015. He’s worked in the Southern California indy scene extensively, making his PWG debut at Neon Knights this fast February. He lost to Adam Brooks, but has competed regularly there since then, even challenging WALTER for the PWG title back in July.

The news of King’s signing comes as Pierre Carl Ouellet, or PCO, was also announced as heading to ROH. He too will be unable to fulfill remaining dates with MLW going forward.
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https://www.sescoops.com/joe-koff-cody-the-young-bucks-not-expected-back-in-roh-next-year/

Joe Koff: Cody & The Young Bucks Not Expected Back In ROH Next Year

Ring of Honor COO, Joe Koff, is not expecting the Young Bucks, Cody, or the rest of the Elite back in ROH next year. Koff spoke to Wrestling Inc recently regarding what the future holds for ROH in 2019.

“I don’t think (the Elite will return), and I don’t think that’s new news either,” Koff said regarding the pending departures. “They definitely have something in mind… and I’m very thankful for Cody and The Young Bucks and Page and their contributions to ROH.”

Members of the Elite played a pivotal role in ROH’s 2018. The promotion is used to talent making a splash and leaving, however.

“They were part of our great year,” Koff continued. “They’ll always be a part of the ROH family and I’m always excited when people choose to take a different direction or go in a different direction because it’s exciting for them as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.”

What Is Next For ROH? What Is Next For The Elite?
“These guys are very good marketers and very strong,” Koff said regarding the Elite. “Throughout the years, we’ve provided wrestlers a unique platform to showcase their talents to worldwide audiences. We’re so proud of our wrestlers, who’ve not only gone on to successful careers outside of ROH, but [also] the ones who have continued to stay here because they understand what ROH represents.”

Another big question remains for Ring of Honor as they approach Final Battle, however. What happens if Cody defeats Jay Lethal and regains the ROH World Championship.

“If he does it, then we’ll have to deal with it,” Koff answered. “I think Jay’s a formidable competitor. He’s been a great champion and I don’t think it will be a walk in the park for either. But as always, the best man will win and that speaks to itself.”
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https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/12/10/new-japan-announces-wrestle-kingdom-card-shows-in-the-u-s/

New Japan announces Wrestle Kingdom card, shows in the U.S.


New Japan Pro Wrestling held a press conference to announce the entire card for Wrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome.

In addition, they announce a return to the United States with two shows billed as “New Beginning USA” for Thursday, January 30th and Saturday, February 1st. The show will feature some young lions from the New Japan Dojo in Los Angeles. Wrestlers that are not part of New Japan’s New Beginning card in Sapporo that weekend will be part of the U.S. shows.


The January 30th show will take place from the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, which is the home of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. The February 1st card takes place from the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Charlotte location is interesting given that New Japan’s U.S. partner Ring of Honor is running nearby Concord, North Carolina two weeks earlier.

Tickets for the U.S. dates go on sale Saturday, December 22nd.

Here is the full card for Wrestle Kingdom 13 that will air at 3 am Eastern on Friday, January 4th on New Japan World, Fite TV and will have a two-hour edited version airing that night on AXS TV.
*Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP heavyweight title
*Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP United States title
*Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White
*KUSHIDA vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP junior heavyweight title
*Cody vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States title
*Guerrillas of Destiny vs. The Young Bucks vs. EVIL and Sanada for the IWGP tag titles
*Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the Revolution Pro heavyweight title
*Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado vs. Shingo Takagi and Bushi vs. Roppongi 3K for the IWGP junior heavyweight tag titles
*Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay for the NEVER Openweight title
*Gauntlet Match to become the #1 contenders for the NEVER Openweight six-man tag titles on the pre-show

Unlike previous years, there will not be a New Japan Rumble on the pre-show and instead, a gauntlet match will take its place. The Guerrillas of Destiny and Taiji Ishimori are the current six-man tag champions and involved in separate matches on the show.
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https://deadspin.com/as-ring-of-honor-closes-the-book-on-2018-a-new-startup-1831102730

As Ring Of Honor Closes The Book On 2018, A New Startup Wrestling Promotion Looms

Ring of Honor’s year-end pay-per-view event, Final Battle, will air live on Friday night from the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center in New York City. It’s become one of the biggest events in independent wrestling, but there’s more intrigue around it than usual this year, as it looks likely that several of ROH’s top stars, including their top draws, could be on their way out of the company after this weekend. They would be Cody Rhodes (who has been working on a handshake deal after his contract expired), The Young Bucks (whose contracts expire this month), and “Hangman” Adam Page (ditto). Along with Marty Scurll (under contract for another year) and Kenny Omega (not a ROH regular, but under contract with sister promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling through January), they form The Elite, a stable of stars in ROH and NJPW. Normally, the rumors and speculation about indie stars coming off contract would be about whether the free agents would stay put or head to WWE. But, seemingly out of nowhere, a new player appears to be entering the game: Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan, who has positioned his new promotion to steal some of the brightest stars in the sport.

Khan’s new promotion was first broken by SEScoops.com on October 19th, with Chris Jericho and Jim Ross mentioned as point men and the outgoing, ROH-contracted members of The Elite reported as already being committed to signing. Jericho made a point of denying it, and that was about it for a month or so. Then, in late November, Reddit users spotted that, earlier in the month, a number of trademarks had been filed by “All Elite Wrestling, LLC” with a company address at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, the home of the Jaguars; Delaware corporation records show that company being incorporated on July 17, 2018. Those trademarks included the company name and titles for a TV show—Tuesday Night Dynamite, which is notable because it would fill a familiar night when WWE’s SmackDown Live moves to Fridays in October 2019—and follow-ups (“All Out” and “Double or Nothing”) to the All In pay-per-view event that Cody and the Bucks promoted back in September. At that point, this was clearly a real story, if only because the rumored financial backer was the one filing the trademarks. (Jim Ross, for his part, denied a version of the story that nobody reported, with he and Jericho putting up the money for the startup.)

Rhodes has made it fairly obvious that something is happening, even sitting in the owner’s box at a Jaguars game. The Bucks, meanwhile, decided to blatantly lie about it, saying in a podcast interview that they had just registered those trademarks to protect themselves in the event of All In sequels, a reasonable claim that is made less so by the fact that they aren’t the ones who registered the trademarks. (Unlike the AEW trademarks, “All In” and the Bucks’ other trademarks are registered to their Killing the Business, Inc., which has a California address.) Ring Of Honor COO Joe Koff told WrestlingInc that he doesn’t expect the Bucks, Cody, and Page in his company in 2019, which is not exactly the normal way that the wrestling business handles this kind of thing.

The Khans, whether with their own money or the kind of investors they can bring in or or a combination of the two, have the resources necessary to back a wrestling company that can challenge WWE. Sinclair could have, too, but ROH has always been cheap programming to them first and foremost. After being acquired by Sinclair in 2011, ROH shows were infamously still being shot in standard definition long past the point when that should have been considered an option, and have only been professionally lit with a full lighting grid for the last few years. Sinclair seems to have allocated more resources as interest in the promotion climbed, but that’s also where things start to get complicated.

Ring of Honor has inarguably grown in large part due to its deepening relationship with NJPW, and by building around The Elite as that top stars. But the promotion has also over-relied on both the imports that relationship made possible and the star power of The Elite, to the point that if or when The Elite leave, no next generation has really been groomed to fill their spots. ROH has started going on a signing spree and are bringing in good talent, but the biggest drawing shows are always the ones with NJPW stars; nobody else in the promotion has broken through to the semi-mainstream level that the Bucks and company have. Especially with The Elite as top stars, All Elite Wrestling jumping in with a (live?) prime-time Tuesday night TV show on a major cable network would instantly put it in a superior spot to ROH’s TV situation. Being in non-uniform time slots as what’s more or less a syndicated show may have worked as a base for wrestling in the past, but ROH still lacks real penetration in a number of major markets as a result. If that problem isn’t solved, its growth will be stunted as a result.

ROH has another potential stumbling block, too, especially if its popularity ends up waning without its signature stars—that partnership with Sinclair, which has been complicated by increasing public animus towards Sinclair. In Koff’s interview with WrestlingInc as transcribed by Pro Wrestling Sheet, he was asked about the heavily right-leaning and often outright dishonest “must-run” and “must-read” segments that Sinclair sends to local news departments, which have been an issue again of late after one defending the tear gassing of asylum-seekers at the southern border.

It didn’t go great. “That is an overblown, overplayed media kind of fodder that people like to pick on,” Koff said. “Those situations are so immaterial to the amount of content that we produce, it just gets picked up because people like to pick that stuff up.” He then added that “I could tell you that the number of people who have told me that they would not watch Ring of Honor because we’re owned by Sinclair maybe has been one person in seven years.” He continued by saying that “it has nothing to do with what we do. There’s no politics inside of Ring of Honor as any fan would know. We operate autonomously to that whole scenario.” Koff feels that “we get an inordinate amount of press for things like that… that I think are unnecessary” because commentary segments and editorials are common. He did not address the fact that Sinclair is forcing the segments on news departments.

Of course the same rule applies for Ring Of Honor and All Elite Wrestling: the wrestling product and the stars are at the heart of everything, and will be the most important part of what appears to be an impending promotional war. If AEW is looking to take on WWE directly and if Sinclair is unwilling to fully invest in ROH, then Ring Of Honor could well be in for a rough 2019.
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