Ring of Honor General Manager Talks Potential All Elite Wrestling Partnership

Ever since All Elite Wrestling launched questions have swirled over which other promotions will [...]

Ever since All Elite Wrestling launched questions have swirled over which other promotions will agree to work with them and share talent.

Given that a good chunk of the roster earned their fame by working in Ring of Honor, many fans wondered whether or not ROH would agree to some sort of alliance. In a recent interview with CBS Sports, ROH general manager Greg Gilleland addressed ROH's stance on AEW.

"Everything definitely ended amicably," Gilleland said regarding The Elite's departure from ROH less than a month before AEW was launched. "We've talked to them since. Right now, there's nothing to explore. There are three events, potentially, and there's the rumored potential of the TV deal. We would have to know what we're exploring, to answer that. Joe [Koff, ROH Chief Operating Officer] and I are businessmen first. We would never turn down an opportunity, but the opportunity has to make sense for us and for our brand. I think probably the best answer I can give you is that we'll explore every opportunity, and we'll do what's best for our brand and, more importantly, our fans."

In the past few months ROH lost The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Adam Page, Trent Barreta and Chuck Taylor to AEW. In their place the company has picked up other independent stars like Bandido, Mark Haskins, PCO, PJ Black, Dragon Lee and Brody King while bringing in Juice Robinson and Zack Sabre Jr. from New Japan. Yet even with all of that turnaround, Gilleland said he doesn't see 2019 as a rebuilding year for ROH.

"I don't think I would classify it as a rebuilding year," he said. "I think, if you look at the past five years, each year has been a growth year. I don't think 2019 is any different. All those guys leaving had been something that was rumored about and talked about, either behind the scenes or even by some media outlets, for a significant amount of time. So, I wouldn't say that it caught us by surprise.

"If you look at some of our new signings, you can see that we had been planning in case of such a thing," he continued. "We're excited to be moving forward. We're excited with the talent that we have. We're excited for Madison Square Garden. We're excited for the things that we have planned beyond Madison Square Garden, and relationships that we have with all of our partners."

ROH and New Japan will host their first event at Madison Square Garden, G1 Supercard, on April 6.

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