“There should be a Ring of Honor, and I think I’ve got the resources to present a better version than anybody else can.”
Follow Us
The evenings at AEW PPVs are not over when the final bell rings. There is still the post-show media scrum to contend with! Tony Khan is the owner, president, and booker of AEW. Who is also now the owner of, Ring of Honor. However, more on that in a moment.
To begin, Khan discussed one of the two former WWE employees who made their debuts in Orlando Mar. 6, former WWE Director of Talent Development & Head of Global Recruiting and on-screen NXT General Manager William Regal.
Regal seems to be tasked with an immediate plot role with Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley. His new employer did not reveal anything in that respect, but hinted at it briefly during a discussion of the three men’s shared history:
“People who follow his career closely know that he has a very long-established connection with Bryan Danielson and was instrumental in shaping the pro wrestler that Danielson has become and he is one of the greatest pro wrestlers today and all time. Regal had a big contribution to that…
READ MORE: Pat McAfee’s WrestleMania 38 opponent is Austin Theory
“I think he can contribute on-screen in a major way to Danielson, and he has a history with Jon Moxley. Some of the last matches we saw Regal wrestle were against Moxley, they had a great rivalry. He’s very familiar with both men and they have a lot of respect for him. We saw that after the violence, and the way they bled together. They built a lot of mutual respect with each other. That’s very exciting.”
The 53-year-old from Blackpool, England, is expected to be more than an AEW performance. Khan did not disclose details there either, but hinted that this would be the case. He also expressed astonishment that WWE let Regal leave in January, but noted that their arrangement was not in the works for that long:
It was very surprising to see he had been released and would be available. I have tons of respect for his mind and I think he’s going to be a very valuable person in AEW…
“… behind the scenes, I think Lord Regal can teach all of us, everyone here, a lot. It’s great to have him here, on-screen and off-screen. It came together very recently and he fits very well with what we’re doing.”
One job that fans instantly speculated on was Regal becoming the helm of the second wrestling organisation Khan purchased, Ring of Honor (when they weren’t speculating on Cody Rhodes‘ return to ROH, but I digress). Much of what TK stated about the legendary indie promotion was in the tone of the press statement announcing the transaction, which concluded, “Further specifics about the scope of this acquisition will be released in the coming weeks.”
Khan has not yet responded to questions about the distribution of new or archival Ring of Honor content — including whether they could find a home on TBS, TNT, or WarnerMedia’s streaming service HBOMax — as well as the status of the existing Honor Club service and Baltimore’s status as ROH’s home base.
However, he said that he intends to continue producing events under the ROH name, which seems to be part of AEW’s developing structure.
