AEW Announces Acquisition of Ring of Honor

AEW has acquired none other than Ring of Honor, with the announcement made by Tony Khan on AEW Dynamite. Khan announced that the company has agreed to aquire the company’s assests from Sinclair Broadcast Group including its video library, IP and more.

The announcement comes as ROH is set to return from a months-long hiatus next month at Supercard of Honor on April 1st in Dallas. The announcement does not make it clear whether ROH will exist as a separate entity from AEW, and most of ROH’s roster had their contracts expire at the end of 2021 so any contracted talent would have to be re-signed.

It was reported earlier today that there had been rumors about the company being up for sale for the past two years. ROH has also continued to promote Supercard of Honor, with it being announced by Ian Riccaboni last night that new TV tapings are set for April 10th. As such, it would seem that ROH will continue to operate at least in the short term.

The deal ends Sinclair’s ownership of ROH that began in May of 2011. ROH TV has aired in syndication on Sinclair affiliates among other places; it is also not clear what this means for that or whether Hunter Johnston will stay on as booker of ROH.

One thing of significance to note is that among the ROH video library is the footage to the All In PPV that led to AEW’s launching, so AEW has gotten rights to a very significant piece its history.

AEW sent a press release to 411 that you can read in full below:

TONY KHAN ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE RING OF HONOR
Video Library, Brand Assets, Intellectual Property from Independent Professional Wrestling’s Most Prestigious Promotion Purchased Under New Partnership with Tony Khan
Moments ago on AEW: Dynamite live on TBS, it was announced that Tony Khan has agreed to acquire the assets of Ring of Honor Wrestling Entertainment, LLC from Sinclair Broadcast Group, including the promotion’s extensive video library dating back to 2002, brand assets, intellectual property, production equipment and more.

Known widely as the independent promotion that birthed some of wrestling’s biggest stars of today, including AEW’s CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, and highlighted dozens of members of the AEW roster, Ring of Honor’s purchase signifies a new chapter in the future of professional wrestling as AEW’s meteoric rise continues to draw the youngest-skewing wrestling audience on television.

“Ring of Honor’s influence on modern professional wrestling is etched permanently in the history books, and this acquisition ensures that its legacy will be kept alive and treated with the utmost respect,” said Tony Khan, CEO of AEW, Chief Football Strategy Officer of the Jacksonville Jaguars and GM/Sporting Director of Fulham F.C. “This deal adds thousands of hours of content to our rapidly growing library and creates new opportunities to expand our footprint on a national and global scale, while having the potential to produce new content under the ROH banner. I will immediately begin exploring opportunities to make ROH’s video library available to fans, who’ll have the opportunity to witness the beginnings of the careers of some of AEW’s biggest stars.”

More than 40 members of the AEW roster have appeared in Ring of Honor during their careers. The promotion launched the careers of numerous AEW superstars, including CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Hangman Page, Dr. Britt Baker and Adam Cole. Additional members of the AEW roster have made their mark in ROH, including the late Brodie Lee, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, ReDragon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly), Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent? Beretta), Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, Mercedes Martinez, Serena Deeb, Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky, Keith Lee, Eddie Kingston, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, QT Marshall, Danhausen, Lance Archer, Griff Garrison, Thunder Rosa, Wheeler Yuta, Luchasaurus, Orange Cassidy, Ethan Page, Austin Gunn, PAC, Kip Sabian, Jon Moxley, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Jerry Lynn, BJ Whitmer and Sonjay Dutt.

“Ring of Honor has produced some of the best professional wrestlers over the past 20 years, but more importantly, it created a family. I will be forever grateful to everyone in the ROH family who has worked tirelessly for the past two decades to take ROH to levels previously unimagined,” said Joe Koff, Chief Operating Officer, Ring of Honor Wrestling. “Tony has the utmost appreciation and respect for Ring of Honor, and I’m truly excited to see how he continues the legacy.”

#AEW GM #TonyKhan's HUGE announcement is…

Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TBSNetwork! pic.twitter.com/OyNr2BUPmd

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 3, 2022