Ring of Honor Announces Hiatus, Releases All Talent

Ring of Honor is taking time off and reimagining the company. 

In a blow to independent wrestling, Ring of Honor announced a hiatus on Twitter for the first quarter of 2022. The company will continue to Final Battle in December before taking the hiatus. Then ROH will take a break from events in 2022 and “work internally to reimagine ROH”. Their full statement from Twitter is below:

pic.twitter.com/mbEbsmZjBH

— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) October 27, 2021

Ring of Honor still plans on returning for Super Card of Honor in April “with a new fan-focused product”.

On top of this shocking announcement, Ring of Honor has apparently released all of its talents. Dave Meltzer broke the news on Twitter, and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful expanded on the news:

ROH released everyone from contracts, more to come.

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) October 27, 2021

Based on who I've spoken with, ROH releases are effective at the end of the year. If a contract goes beyond that, they're paid until March 31.

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— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) October 27, 2021

ROH has indicated that talent will be able to work for other promotions starting today. According to Fightful, Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff said this when asked about talent working elsewhere: “We’ve had a conversation with them and we will certainly work with every talent for whatever needs they need to fulfill what they’re looking for.”

ROH has tons of talent that will now flood into the market. The Briscoes, Jay Lethal, Bandido, Jonathan Gresham, Shane Taylor, Rush, and more will certainly find dates and homes on the independents or with other companies. Ring of Honor has provided wrestling fans with memorable moments and a proving ground for independent talent since its inception in 2002. Names like CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, and more cut their teeth in ROH before heading off to other companies. Here’s hoping ROH can survive this shutdown and continue to provide us with great wrestling memories in the future.

Evan Gomes is a freelance pop culture & sports writer. Follow him on Twitter at @ItsEvanGomes, and check out his two podcasts: Crossbody of Work and The Pop Capsule Podcast.