BJ Whitmer Departs ROH Amidst Frustrations With Company

BJ Whitmer is no longer with Ring of Honor. The 40-year-old tendered his resignation earlier this week. According to a report from Pro Wrestling Sheet, Whitmer was unhappy with the company, leading to his departure.

“We’re told BJ had been unhappy with management for months and that was his reasoning for quitting,” wrote Ryan Satin.

According to PW Insider, Whitmer sent an email to ROH employees which was critical of the company. He said he had been treated with “utter disrespect” by ROH in the email. The report from PW Insider would continue to say an incident involving a WWE PC guest-coaching spot may have been the catalyst for these events. ROH evidently would not let Whitmer accept a guest-coaching spot with WWE. Such temporary positions are often offered to industry veterans for a few days at the Performance Center in Orlando.

“In leaving ROH, I want to say thank you and it’s been a pleasure working with all of you,” Whitmer wrote to ROH employees. “I wish everyone nothing but the best and I’m certain I’ll cross paths with most of you again.”

ROH has declined comment on the matter.

Update On The Evolving Landscape Headed Into 2019

As we head into 2019, there are plenty of unanswered questions surrounding what the pro-wrestling landscape will look like in the new year. One of the most burning questions is where will members of the Elite end up?

Cody, the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and eventually Marty Scurll (he’s under contract to ROH until the spring) are expected to form the nucleus of the All Elite Wrestling. Still, many members of the Elite are hoping to continue working with New Japan Pro Wrestling next year.

What could possibly prevent the Elite from returning to NJPW, is the promotion’s approach to talent-sharing deals. This issue was addressed in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Obviously, both AEW and ROH will want a business relationship with New Japan,” Meltzer wrote. He would continue to say every promotion in the United States would like to have such a relationship.

“New Japan has blocked its talent from working for Impact, even though Don Callis is an announcer for New Japan, because of the ROH relationship,” he continued. “They have not blocked people from working for MLW.”

The question then becomes whether NJPW will allow their talent to work for All Elite Wrestling as they do for MLW or if they will block them from doing so, as they have done with Impact Wrestling.

A possible sign the Young Bucks could be staying occurred this week, however. The popular tag-team announced they are finally being flown first-class to Japan for NJPW shows. This was something the brothers had complained about on their YouTube series in recent weeks.

“New Japan could work with both AEW and ROH,” Meltzer concluded. “The ball really is in their court.”

We expect to hear some big announcements out of the Elite camp after New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event on January 4th.

Flip Gordon Signs New Contract With Ring of Honor

One of the fastest rising prospects on the Ring of Honor roster has re-signed with the company.

According to a report from PW Insider, Flip Gordon has just reached a deal with Ring of Honor which will keep him in the promotion through to 2020. He still has yet to reach a deal with Cody and the Young Bucks to participate at All-In on September 1st, 2018, however.

It has been a big year for Gordon. Not only has he re-signed with Ring of Honor but Gordon also made his debut in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in Japan this spring. His new deal with ROH means he’ll likely find himself in the tournament again next year. His new contract also ensures he will be with the promotion when they run Madison Square Garden over WrestleMania weekend next year.

Gordon began his pro-wrestling career in 2015 and found himself on the Ring of Honor roster in 2017.

Earlier this year, Gordon spoke with reporter Chris Van Vliet about his attempts to join Bullet Club. “I tried. Kenny and Cody didn’t want me in there,” Flip said. “So if The Bucks can convince them then sure.”

Earlier this summer, Gordon spoke with the New York Post about being positioned as a little-brother type character on Being the Elite.

“It’s kind of funny because I’ve never been the little brother,” Gordon said. “I’ve always been the oldest brother out of my family. I’ve never had an older brother. I always looked to my cousins or other people that I looked up to as big brothers. So it’s kind of funny. I guess that is kind of my character because the Young Bucks, Marty, all them are like big brothers to me.”

Ring of Honor will be back on the road in mid-August. They’ll run shows from Edinburgh, Doncaster, and London before returning to Philadelphia on August 25th.

ROH & NJPW Book Madison Square Garden For April 6th, 2019

In a landmark announcement, ROH and NJPW have just announced a super-card from Madison Square Garden.

“ROH and NJPW are proud to announce that on April 6th, 2019, the companies will join forces to present the ultimate wrestling event,” an ROH press release reads. “G1 Supercard, to fans from around the world, LIVE from Madison Square Garden in New York City!”

It had previously been reported that talks between ROH and the historic venue had broken down.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ring of Honor Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling to Madison Square Garden for the much anticipated G1 Supercard,” said Joel Fisher, Executive Vice President, MSG Marquee Events. “We expect April 6th to be another memorable night of wrestling at The World’s Most Famous Arena.”

“This is destined to join a long list of historical wrestling moments and where better to hold it than at Madison Square Garden,” ROH Chief Operating Officer Joe Koff said.

Koff would continue to say that this would not be possible without the tremendous fan support they enjoy.

Tickets will go on sale August 8th, 2017 at 10AM ET for Honor Club VIP subscribers. They will go on sale to the general public August 10th.

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.

Cody Left WWE 2 Years Ago, Here’s What’s Happened Since

Cody Runnells was granted his release from WWE on May 22nd, 2016. A lot has happened since that time. It was believed then that Cody was frustrated with WWE’s creative department. He had been pleading with writers to end the Stardust gimmick for months and felt his numerous storyline pitches were being ignored.

Shortly after Cody was released, several members of the media chimed in with their belief WWE never gave Cody a chance.

“I can’t say I blame him a bit. Not even a little bit. WWE never gave him a real chance, and that’s just sad to me,” Dave Scherer of Pro Wrestling Insider stated.

Dave Meltzer noted at the time that Cody was “used as more of a lower and mid-card wrestler in a number of changing roles”, and also added that “his career had gone nowhere and he hadn’t been used well.”

Cody’s frustration would continue shortly after leaving the company when it was revealed WWE would be preventing him from using the last name “Rhodes”. Although he had never used the name outside of WWE, Cody protested against the patenting of a name his father made famous and that was associated so strongly with his family.

Cody debuted in Ring of Honor at the Final Battle PPV that December. He promptly turned heel during his match with Jay Lethal at the event. Cody then signed a deal to make Ring of Honor is home promotion but a few months later the deal would be re-worked.

On December 10th, 2016, Cody was shown in a video package which aired during NJPW’s World Tag League. Cody was announced as the newest member of Bullet Club.

Cody won the ROH World Title at Best in the World 2017. He defeated Christopher Daniels after being involved in a 3-way feud for the title which also involved Jay Lethal.

He defended the title 14x and held it for 175 days before dropping it to Dalton Castle at Final Battle 2017. Cody has only recently announced he plans to cash-in his rematch clause later this summer.

That September, Cody reacted negatively to news WWE would be running an event named Starrcade:

Michael Hayes then offered Cody a spot on the show:

Just days after Hayes’ offer to appear on a WWE show, Cody and ROH announced he had signed a multi-year exclusive deal with the company.

Tension began to mount between Cody and Kenny Omega over the leadership of Bullet Club in 2017. This played out mainly on the YouTube series “Being the Elite” as well as on NJPW and ROH shows.

In 2018, the long-teased rivalry between Omega and Cody kicked off. Cody turned on Omega at the New Beginning in Sapporo after Omega lost his IWGP US title to Jay White. The split in Bullet Club would lead to a Young Bucks vs Golden Lovers match at Strong Style Evolved and a match between Cody and Omega at ROH’s biggest show of the year.

Cody would defeat Omega and recently defeated Kota Ibushi at Wrestling Dontaku 2018. There has been tension teased between Marty Scurll and Cody recently as well which could turn into a storyline soon. His feud with Omega appears to be on the backburner as Omega prepares to face Kazuchika Okada on June 9th, 2018.

Not long after leaving WWE, Cody tweeted a list of goals he was setting for himself. One goal he has mentioned repeatedly in the last 2 years is to main event a show in a 10,000 seat arena.

The All In event organized by the Young Bucks and Cody sold out the Sears Center in Chicago just minutes after going on sale. Cody will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the event.

It’s been an eventful 2 years for Cody, ROH, NJPW and Bullet Club and it’s possible we haven’t even seen the full extent of what Cody can do outside WWE.

All In Sells Out In Under 30 Minutes

All In on September 1st, 2018, from the Sears Center in Chicago, will be the biggest non-WWE wrestling show in the United States or Canada since the closing of WCW in 2001.

Yesterday, all 10,000 tickets to the event were sold in under 30 minutes. Many are rejoicing at the news today as it signifies just how successful non-WWE wrestling can be in the current era.

Some fans are upset scalpers purchased a good chunk of tickets to the event, however. Unfortunately, this is a reality for all ticketed events which are expected to sell-out.

Friday’s ROH show in Toronto was sold-out and tickets were available on the secondary market for 4x face value. Ticketmaster and other outlets have methods in place to limit how many tickets scalpers can purchase but there is only so much they can do.

At yesterday’s press conference, Billy Corgan announced the NWA World Heavyweight Championship will be defended at All In. The challenger will be none other than Cody himself. The title belt owned by Billy Corgan and held by Nick Aldis played a significant role in Cody’s father’s career. It is fitting that Cody would challenge for it at such a significant event in his own career.

A question which will probably go on unanswered until the event itself is what will happen if Cody wins the championship? It’s not clear if he would take the belt with him to Ring Of Honor. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship has been defended in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where Cody also works, on multiple occasions.

The events at All-In may go a long way in determining how closely promotions such as ROH, the NWA, as well as Impact and Lucha Underground are able to work together.

Mike Kanellis Comments On Birth of Child, Getting Sober

The last year has been an eventful one for Mike Bennett, aka Mike Kanellis. He recently celebrated the birth of his first child along with his wife, Maria. The 32-year-old has also been open about his recent battles with pain medication, however.

The former IWGP heavyweight tag-team champion recently posted the following message to his social media channels:

"Less than a year ago, my days were spent sitting on this couch, taking pain killers, and watching everything I loved slip away. Now, almost 10 months sober, this is how I spend my days. Life doesn’t offer 2nd chances very often, but I feel like it has offered me one. And I plan on making the most of it. This little girl deserves that! #sobriety #daddysgirl #daddyslittlegirl #princessfred #familytime #wwe"

Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis signed with WWE in 2017 and debuted at the Money in the Bank PPV that summer. Previously, Bennett and Kanellis had a brief stint in Impact Wrestling. Bennett won the X-Division championship during this time.

Bennett wrestled for several years in Ring of Honor, even winning the top prospects tournament in 2011. He would form a successful team with Matt Taven and win titles in both ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Bennett and Taven were involved in a memorable feud over the tag titles with Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows when Anderson seemed to fall hopelessly in love with Maria. Anderson’s infatuation with Maria allowed Taven and Bennett to defeat them for the belts.

Since debuting in WWE, Bennett has taken Maria’s last name.

At last week’s Greatest Royal Rumble, Bennett was eliminated in near-record setting fashion. While he didn’t last long in the actual match, he did get a few laughs for his entrance. Bennett opted to mime his normal entrance with Maria even though Maria was not there.

Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes With An Interesting Twitter Exchange

Former members of Legacy, Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, had an interesting exchange on Twitter recently.

Cody was interacting with a fan when Orton decided to chime in.

Earlier, Cody had sent out a Tweet stating his belief that Vince McMahon doesn’t hold wrestlers back. He was responding to a fan who said his comments were political:  "Don't comment directly on my tweet as if I don't see it. How's my answer to a fan in a random Q/A remotely political? I have zero to gain. I worked there, you didn't...you bought a ticket, not an education. Sit the fuck down."

Orton was impressed by Cody’s handling of the situation:  "DAMN! (Ron’s Simmons voice) Can’t wait to have you back one day codeman. Legacy reboot? Ha I kid I kid"

Cody responded with what is likely an inside joke:  "...lean your head out the window and get some air on those stitches..."

Randy Orton led the stable “Legacy” from 2008-2010. Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. were his two main cronies during that time. Dibiase has since retired and Cody left WWE in 2016 and is now a former Ring of Honor champion, having lost the title to Dalton Castle at Final Battle.