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To say that the Ring of Honor name has been tarnished is the extreme understatement of the year. The promotion's sterling teflon image came crashing down unceremoniously with the revelation that founder and owner Rob Feinstein was caught on the Philadelphia NBC affiliate's 11 PM newscast coming to a home allegedly to meet with an underage boy for sexual purposes. With Ring of Honor having built quite a buzz for themselves over the past two years, poised to enter new markets and a major show scheduled within the shadow of Wrestlemania XX next weekend, the timing of the incident couldn't have been more dramatic had it been scripted by a Hollywood screenwriter.
Following the outrage over the incident, the initial statement from Feinstein, followed 24 hours later with an announcement that he had been dumped from not only Ring of Honor but the affiliate video company he founded in the early 1990s RF Video, left Ring of Honor in an unfamiliar position; that of being heavily criticized by the online community that had for the most part embraced their product.
With the most trying time of Ring of Honor's short history ahead, Booker Gabe Sapolsky discusses the most stressing week of his life, Rob Feinstein's departure, rumors of whether Rob is truly gone, where ROH hopes to go from here, and more.
MIKE JOHNSON: Obviously it goes without saying that this has been a really crappy week for ROH. When was the first indication there was an incident with Rob Feinstein that you knew of?
GABE SAPOLSKY: He called me.
JOHNSON: When was this and did Rob tell you what the situation was initially?
SAPOLSKY: Wednesday morning and he told me everything when I arrived at the office.
JOHNSON: Do you mind discussing your initial feelings when you learned?
SAPOLSKY: I'd rather not discuss that kind of thing simply because I don't want to relive that moment now.
JOHNSON: OK. So, obviously you saw the newscast and the footage of Rob.
SAPOLSKY: Yeah.
JOHNSON: Did you think the company had a fighting chance of surviving at that moment? Its been two years of growth and the hardest issue had seemed to be making sure DVDs were out timely, and now this. Two very different worlds. What was going through your mind seeing this with a show a week away?
SAPOLSKY: At that moment I was in tears and didn't know what to think. I was hurt, angry, I don't even know that words can do justice to how I was feeling. It will always be one of the lowest moments in my life. I couldn't think of the company surviving or the show at that moment.
JOHNSON: There's been a lot of talk about how ROH has handled the situation. Rob released an initial statement the morning after the newscast saying he was stepping down while the allegations were ongoing. The next day it was announced he was removed from the company and Doug Gentry was named President. The first question on most fan's minds were how Feinstein could be out from the companies he founded so quickly. Do you mind going into the decision making that went into his removal from ROH and RF Video?
SAPOLSKY: We are distancing him from ROH and RF Video as fast as we can. We realize that for people to support us and believe in us they have to be assured that Rob Feinstein is not benefitting from either company in any way, shape or form. We are doing this as quickly as possible. Rob will not benefit from ROH or RF Video in any way now. We will have more proof next week as the legal work gets completed. I should say that I'm not privy to all the business info but that is what I know. Rob is gone. He's not benefitting from either company. It's that simple. We wouldn't have it any other way.
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