ROH Final Battle was set to be headlined by Bandido defending the ROH World Title against Jonathan Gresham.
Unfortunately, Bandido tested positive for COVID and was pulled from the event just two days before it was scheduled to take place. The next day, December 10, announced Jay Lethal would take Bandido's place.
Speaking on the ROH Strong podcast, ROH COO Joe Koff revealed that he wasn't involved in the decision to bring back Lethal.
"No," said Koff when asked if he helped secure Lethal. "As much as this might be surprising, and it really shouldn't be because it's been the same way, they called and told me that's what they did. I trust my people to make the right decisions for the organization because they feel about the organization as I do. When I heard it, I smiled, like I'm sure many fans did, and I said, 'that's fantastic. I'm happy to hear that. How fitting, how nice, how right,' but no, I had nothing to do with it. I didn't even know. They told me."
Lethal is one of the most decorated wrestlers in ROH history, but was not originally booked for Final Battle after signing with AEW.
Elsewhere during the interview, Koff discussed ROH's return in April. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
