More Details on WWE Blocking ROH From Running MSG

Last week, it was reported that the Ring of Honor was looking at booking Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania 35 weekend next April. A report from Pro Wrestling Insider then stated WWE had blocked them from booking the famous arena.

Chief Operating Officer for Ring of Honor, Joe Koff, spoke to PWI’s Mike Johnson.

“You know, I’m going to tell you Mike because you are asking. I’m not going to discuss beyond this statement because I am not going to litigate this in the press. We had a deal with (the) Garden and they then told us they were backing out after communications from the WWE. We are not able to get any other dates in any kind of discussion. I’m expecting that our lawyers will be contacting all the parties involved and the best we can hope for is that we can find resolution, and we can bring the kind of energy and excitement that ROH and our partner New Japan brings to a bigger audience and to bigger arenas to the fans of New York City.”

A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now stating WWE was able to block ROH booking the building with just one phone call.

According to the Observer, ROH officials are furious about what happened and are looking at legal options:

"We were told last week by sources close to the situation that it could and probably would turn into an ugly legal fight." Dave Meltzer said.

Ring of Honor officials had been of the belief a deal had been struck, although the terms were agreed to orally and not in writing. MSG canceled the deal reportedly after one phone call from a high-ranking WWE employee (not Vince McMahon).

Sinclair believes a court would not uphold MSG’s cancellation of their agreement. This is the case despite the agreement never having been signed. There is also speculation that Madison Square Garden officials were looking for other wrestling promotions as WWE only runs house shows in the arena a few times a year. WWE does not generally broadcast television shows or PPVs from the arena due to the increased cost the venue charges for such rights. Some are saying MSG was upset the company will not be running WrestleMania from the arena despite being in the surrounding area.

AAA Lucha Libre has also expressed interesting in running MSG later this year.

WWE & Pro Wrestling NOAH Reach Deal To Share Hideo Itami

WWE has reportedly reached an agreement with Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH, on a talent sharing deal. The agreement will see Hideo Itami return to the company he first made his name for.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE and NOAH reached a talent-sharing agreement at least as it concerns Itami. The wrestler formerly known as KENTA, will return to NOAH for a show in August.

Kenta Kobayashi, better known to WWE fans as Hideo Itami, has struggled to become relevant in WWE. He spent 13 years in Pro Wrestling NOAH previously, winning their Junior Heavyweight Championship on 3 occasions. Near the end of his career with NOAH, Itami would enter the heavyweight division and win the GHC Heavyweight Championship as well.  Itami signed with WWE in 2014 but injury woes caused him to lose momentum on the NXT roster.

The wrestlers Itami shared the roster with in NXT have all been on the main roster for some time now. Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tyler Breeze, and even the Ascension were some of the top names in NXT at the time.

Itami dropped his KENTA name when he debuted for NXT. Before his first match, he announced he would be going by the name Hideo Itami. The name translates to “Hero of Pain”.

Eventually, Itami’s lack of success led to a heel turn. In 2017, he was moved to the cruiserweight division on 205 Live. On Tuesday night, Itami moved closer to his first shot at the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali in a 3-way match. The win likely moves Itami into a position to be the next to challenge Cedric Alexander for the title.

WWE will run two shows from Tokyo on June 29th and 30th next week. Shinsuke Nakamura will challenge for the WWE Championship each night.