Tony Khan discusses the return of HonorClub and previews Ring of Honor's future.
Khan announced that he acquired ROH in March. Over the next several months, ROH titles were often defended on AEW programming, and Khan held three pay-per-views over the course of the year. After the Final Battle pay-per-view on December 10, Khan announced that the company will be relaunching HonorClub, which will be the home for its television show once it returns.
Speaking with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Khan was asked what fans can expect from ROH with the launch of Honor Club. He emphasized that there are plenty of possibilities for ROH, and he brought up its relationship with NJPW, which Khan highlighted in the initial announcement. He stated that he wants to rekindle that connection. In a more general sense, Khan stated that it's the perfect time to take the training wheels off.
"As I understand it the numbers we already reached in a very short time are strong in membership and customer base. More than ever before. It’s a great value to join HonorClub right now. We’re going to be following up soon to talk about when the weekly Ring of Honor TV will launch and stream on HonorClub for sure. There are a lot of interesting partnerships and possibilities with great wrestling companies. Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling had a great working relationship we are rekindling. We are looking to rekindle that long relationship. Ring of Honor may be in the strongest position they’ve ever been in its 20 years. It’s the perfect time to take the training wheels off," Khan said.
Khan then highlighted how, in this new era of ROH, the brand has more familiarity now, following its presence on AEW programming and the successful pay-per-views throughout 2022. He also recalled how he had planned on having Claudio Castagnoli be a top star in the new ROH, and having him debut at Forbidden Door helped ultimately launch his career with both companies in a big way.
"We’ve created a lot of familiarity with the brand. It’s also beneficial to both brands. For example, I had earmarked Claudio [Castagnoli] to be a top star for Ring of Honor, but when we had this mess of injuries back in June before Forbidden Door, he came to AEW. It really helped us and came in to debut with Ring of Honor. He ended up coming out a month earlier and cutting his vacation short. An example having the two companies benefited us," Khan said.
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More information about the relaunch of HonorClub is available here.
