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In case you missed it on the main page, ROH announced today they have come to terms with Ric Flair to make a series of appearances for the company. This is something they have been wanting to do since last year Flair first became available on the independent scene but his WWE contract prevented a NYC appearance from happening. Obviously he doesn't have such restrictions now, so it should be interesting to see how involved he is in the events he appears on. Flair's first ROH appearance will be 3/13 in St. Louis, which makes a lot of sense since it's an old school NWA stronghold.
ROH released All-Star Extravaganza IV and Final Battle 2008 on DVD last Friday. Final Battle was a hell of a show live and worth checking out, especially Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima and the Briscoes vs. Kensuke Office. You can order the DVDs at www.rohwrestling.com.
ROH will be announcing the first matches for their initial HDNet tapings later this week. The plan going into the series is to provide a sampler of what ROH is about and who their talents are with the initial tapings.
As we noted a few days ago, several ROH deals are up in the Spring with talent and the company has started the process of signing talents to new deals.
Paul London has been evasive in interviews when asked about an ROH return, so it appears that may be set for down the line. It would actually make sense to bring him in for the Houston events, since he's a Texas native, but we'll see.
I wouldn't be shocked to see ROH use Petey Williams or Jimmy Rave down the line once they are free of their TNA deals, which are not being renewed.
D'Lo Brown will return to the company at the 3/21 Seventh Anniversary show in New York City. ROH has interest in using Val Venis down the line.
Don't expect to see Dragon Gate talent in Houston in April. The word making the rounds after CIMA's Smackdown dark match last week was that DG was no longer working with ROH. I believe that their split may have taken place some time ago and we're just hearing it now.
Ring of Honor's next live event will be Friday 2/27 in Danbury, CT with ROH champ Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Jimmy Jacobs with elimination rules. Also announced for the show is Brodie Lee vs. Necro Butcher in a Street Fight and Rhett Titus and Kenny King against Erick Stevens and the newly freed Bobby Dempsey.
Mike Quackenbush will return to the company the weekend of 3/20 and 3/21 in Elizabeth, PA and New York City.
El Generico won't be at the first TV tapings, explained away by a "knee injury" suffered in an attack in Florida. Added to the tapings are Brent Albright, Brodie Lee, Sara del Rey, Claudio Castagnoli, and Necro Butcher.
Lenny Leonard will indeed remain with ROH for DVD and PPVs.
In regard to Bryan Danielson's theme, ROH announced the following: "ROH Officials have heard the comments of several fans as it pertains to the ring music used by Bryan Danielson. Rest assured that ROH has exhausted itself trying to find an economically feasible way to keep the loved “Final Countdown†playing at live events, on PPV, and on the upcoming HDNet Television Production. We, unfortunately, are at a standstill. Royalty fees are astronomical, and we need your help. If you are a musician, or know a great band, please email rohwayne@gmail.com. We know that music is a huge part of any event, ROH notwithstanding, and we want to do it right!"
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