More Details On Tony Khan Ring Of Honor Deal

Written by James Holder • Published 3rd March 2022
AEW President Tony Khan

A new report has claimed to shed some more light on the shock deal which has seen AEW President Tony Khan purchase Ring of Honor.

After weeks of teasing, Tony Khan opened the March 2nd episode of AEW Dynamite with his ground-breaking announcement. After praising AEW’s fanbase for keeping the promotion going throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Khan got down to the matter in hand.

The AEW boss pointed to the fact that another company, much like his own, held their first-ever show 20 years ago. That company was Ring of Honor. Via a cheeky reference to Shane McMahon’s storyline purchase of WCW in 2001, Khan announced that he was the new owner of Ring of Honor.

You can read the full press release regarding the deal here.

Meanwhile, a new report from Fightful Select has unearthed some more details about the shock purchase. The report states that aside from Khan there had been “multiple overtures” made with regard to buying the company since 2020. Fightful add that one source recently said that “another offer came and Joe Koff and Sinclair wanted to go that direction.”

Many within WWE were reportedly under the impression that Khan had brought the video library for a Japanese promotion which wasn’t New Japan Pro Wrestling. However, this didn’t end up happening.

Furthermore, talent who are booked to appear on the Supercard of Honor show in April where unaware of the deal until Khan took hold of the microphone on Dynamite. There are very few people still under contract with ROH but there were planned dates through the end of the year. However, it is currently unclear as to whether these will go ahead, or if the Sinclair syndication is part of the deal.

With regard to Supercard of Honor, the card wasn’t complete ahead of the announcement, with some within ROH being unsure that any AEW stars would appear on the show.

At time of writing there has been no confirmation as to how much Tony Khan has paid for ROH, although Fighful report they have heard figures from $20 million up to $40 million.

Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor will take place in Fort-Worth, Texas on April 1st. The show will be the company’s first since going on a break in late 2021.

Back in October, Ring of Honor announced that the promotion would be going on hiatus after their Final Battle event in December. At the time it was tentatively suggested that a “reimagined” version of the company would return in the first quarter of 2022.