ROH is counting on having plenty of star power when they roll into Madison Square Garden in 2019.
But the contracts of key stars may leave them shorthanded come April. Much has been made about the contract situations of Cody and the Young Bucks. The ROH contracts of both men, along with other Bullet Club members Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, expire in early 2019. Cody has already stated that the group will stick together in some capacity, making a verbal commitment to each other.
Jim Ross offered his insight on the situation on a recent appearance on Busted Open Radio. When asked if he believed Cody and the Bucks will be at MSG, Ross got to the point.
"No. I don't think. I don't have anything concrete to base that on. My gut instinct is no," said Ross. "There's too many big dollars that are possible to obtain. Money's big and in this delicate business. Bubba (Ray Dudley aka Bully Ray), you're a goddamn tank. You don't get hurt. But everybody isn't like you. Some of these kids can't even tie their shoes nowadays. And they didn't save their money. I hope some of these kids will learn from some of their peers and their predecessors. 'Hey, I can have my run and sell a bunch of t-shirts. But bottom line is, I gotta have a bunch of money in the bank.'"
Bully Ray challenged him on the point a bit, believing that, as the NWA World Champion, Cody would want to help re-build the National Wrestling Alliance with Dave Lagana and Billy Corgan. Ross spoke highly of Cody, and his ability to recruit other wrestlers to join him in the NWA, but still believes it comes down to one things.
"If the money is there. And you can bring talent in around Cody that motivate him creatively and in the ring," he said. "Cody would attract a lot of great talent to be with him. If you're in a company, you want that young blood to be involved in your creative."
Ray changed lanes a bit, believing Cody and the Bucks could parlay the success of All In and run their company. Ross believes it's a good time to get into the wrestling business, but laid out the challenges ahead of Cody, or any current company, if they want to have sustained success in wrestling.
"You still gotta have talent and television to make it work. And a lot of capital. If you're a speculator -- like oil guys -- there's no better time to speculate in the wrestling business than right now. And content is king, as we all know," said Ross. "Everybody has has their flag up in a potential home for content. Talent would be the easier part of everything because there's a lot of good talent available to make good money again and be consistent, not a 'money mark' thing. The key thing is television. Whether it be Ring of Honor on a national basis again; they're the sleeping giant if they want to be. They may content to do what they're doing. There's room in the marketplace for a television show on a major network -- not a ABC type, but a cable network -- that if you do it right with the young talent; you got a chance."
Ring of Honor, teaming with New Japan Pro Wrestling, heads to Madison Square Garden the night before WrestleMania 35. Meanwhile, Cody will defend the NWA World Title on Sept. 29 at ROH Death Before Dishonor television tapings against Willie Mack. If he is victorious, he'll battle Nick Aldis in a rematch at the NWA 70th Anniversary Show.
