Ring of Honor looks as though they could be staring into a talent exodus very soon.
Once purchased by Sinclair, they immediately lost the Kings of Wrestling to the WWE. Since then they have lost El Generico again to the WWE, Kenny King to TNA and Shelton Benjamin to Japan. The most recent loss to the roster has been the Briscoes, long standing tag members in the promotion. Recently, a video circulated with Davey Richards saying the American Wolves were currently in discussion with TNA and the WWE. Rhett Titus worked a tryout with WWE and appeared in a backstage segment on Raw. Adam Cole also worked in a WWE boot camp.
ROH has tried filling their roster now with people from the past like Karl Anderson, Paul London and the Young Bucks to try to fill temporary holes in the roster. Back in 2010, ROH was looking to add new talent and brought in a young Toronto native named Michael Elgin into the House of Truth. Since then he has impressed ROH and American fans with a five star match with Davey Richards and was the number one contender to the ROH World Championship when Jay Briscoe vacated it. It goes without saying that Elgin is one of the most impressive new stars in ROH. What’s bewildering to me is why ROH hasn’t thought, “What else is there in Ontario?” because Michael Elgin is just the tip of the iceberg.
When you talk Ontario indies, the talk starts with Tyson Dux. Head trainer at the Can Am Wrestling School and promoter of Can Am Rising in Windsor, Dux has been one of the very best wrestling competitors in the world without a major contract. He has had dark matches in WWE, a short stint with Team Canada in TNA and once filled in for Nigel McGuinness at an ROH show against Tyler Black but every chance he gets, it doesn’t seem to stick. At 35 years old, Dux has proven he can work with anybody and fit in any role needed. It would be crazy for ROH to not finally look at Tyson Dux as the kind of guy they need on a very young roster.
You then have to look at the “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander, a 6’2” wrestling machine at only 26 years old. He has had countless match of the nights against the likes of Elgin, who knows him in the ring very well. Any show that has Alexander on their roster in Ontario has a guarantee on it. ROH needs a guarantee like Alexander.
You also have guys like Ethan Page whose charisma is off the charts and would fit a guy like Truth Martini far better than Matt Taven. Psycho Mike Rollins has the look and attitude. Sebastian Suave, “Hacker” Scotty O’Shea, Pepper Parks, Justin Sane, RJ City, Tiberious King, Tyler Tirva, Brent Banks and Crazzy Steve all have charisma, skill and a great look for television. Tag teams like the Pissbeaters and the Flatliners could replace losses like the Briscoes and potentially the American Wolves. Female wrestlers like Courtney Rush, Cherry Bomb and Detroit native Allysin Kay could boost their ranks if ROH is getting serious with a Women’s division.
That’s 21 names that ROH could choose from. I’m not just naming random wrestlers here. I’m naming people I’ve watched time and time again captivate crowds, wrestle the best matches and then repeat those same matches because the Ontario independent scene knows these guys make their cards better. Ontario indies are spoiled with talent and unfortunately until some of these guys get picked up by a company like ROH, the Ontario scene is going to be stale. The young guns waiting for their shot will have to wait because there’s no sense trying to give them more opportunities if you can bring in a Josh Alexander or Tyson Dux onto the card. The elite talent need to get signed so the new blood can rise.
For anyone outside of Ontario reading this they may just think I’m putting over the province I’ve watched the most independent wrestling in. There’s great wrestlers available everywhere and it might look like I’m just doing free promotion for these guys. But anyone in Ontario who travels around North America doesn’t see the kind of high end talent that Ontario presents unless they hit a top promotion like PWG. This is like a National Hockey League team deciding to not scout Sweden. Ring of Honor used to be the home for talent that was better than what you got in the WWE or TNA until those companies caught on and signed the likes of Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and Austin Aries. They are now facing a situation where they are losing their top guys all over again. ROH hit it out of the park once already with Michael Elgin. I can promise you he isn’t the only diamond in the rough. It’s time for ROH to step up and make the best of Ontario the best in North America.
Photo credit: Holly Lengyel
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