Ring of Honor Wrestling

[bradhindsight]

Supercard of Honor will be available live on rohwrestling.com or through the FITE app. I was hoping they'd go the $20 price point here, but looks like it's $30. That's a big miss by them as there's better bang for your buck that weekend.

 

I skipped the 15th show, and there are a couple matches I'm pretty interested in here. The FITE app is HD and can cast, a much more ideal avenue than their limited website viewer.

[Mad Dog]

They really love overcharging for those shows don't they? You lose a lot of impulse buyers at $30.

[Grimmas]

Supercard of Honor will be available live on rohwrestling.com or through the FITE app. I was hoping they'd go the $20 price point here, but looks like it's $30. That's a big miss by them as there's better bang for your buck that weekend.

 

I skipped the 15th show, and there are a couple matches I'm pretty interested in here. The FITE app is HD and can cast, a much more ideal avenue than their limited website viewer.

I tweeted:

 

29.99 for a single @ringofhonor iPPV

20.00 for 8 WWN events on @FloSlam

9.99 for NXT Take Over/Hall of Fame/WrestleMania

[bradhindsight]

I don't think anyone is trying to compete with the WWE Network value, and no one expects their price point (or FloSlam's) to compete there. Just different scales of companies.

 

I think they could have leveraged the FloSlam $20 group if they went at $15 (meaning people would feel comfortable having FloSlam but spending again for ROH at that point), but I also won't pretend to know the production costs around iPPV. I figured $20.

[Grimmas]

When it comes to it 30 is just ridiculous a price for a wrestling ippv in 2017.

[Migs]

When it comes to it 30 is just ridiculous a price for a wrestling ippv in 2017.

 

Yeah, WWE has really crushed that market. If it's $10 for Wrestlemania, it just can't be $30 for ROH.

[Mad Dog]

When it comes to it 30 is just ridiculous a price for a wrestling ippv in 2017.

Yeah, it's poor value. There's far more bang for your buck out there.

[Memphis Mark]

I watched SCOH last night . I loved the show. However the Bucks vs. Hardys program is over. Adam Cole appears to being to leaving in May.

 

So assuming the company is not being sold , the question is where does ROH go after drawing 3, 500 paid for SCOH ? It appears to Cody is going to challenge Daniels for the belt and Fish and Young are going to feud. After that I see nothing else in the works . What other new programs will start in Baltimore ? Will the company rebuilt their depleted roster or just try to get by booking special attractions ? Is there any available indy talent in the market place that ROH could book that would draw ? Should be interesting.

[Mad Dog]

I think Fish is leaving too.

 

I joke about it but you're going to be getting Bully Ray vs. Jack Swagger main events at this rate.

[Memphis Mark]

I think Fish is leaving too.

 

I joke about it but you're going to be getting Bully Ray vs. Jack Swagger main events at this rate.

 

I think ROH and Fish came to an agreement that allows Fish to work more indies. Fish is working without a contract similar to the deal that Roderick Strong had a few years back. Fish has stated that he plans to continue working for ROH.

 

I have not given up on ROH yet. ROH tends to pull a rabbit out of their hat when things look grim. Marty Scurll for example. I don't know whose WWN or Impact deal is up or who the WWE is going to fire. If Sinclair is serious at all about ROH we should see a few new talents on board soon.

[TonyPulis'Cap]

I watched SCOH last night . I loved the show. However the Bucks vs. Hardys program is over. Adam Cole appears to being to leaving in May.

 

So assuming the company is not being sold , the question is where does ROH go after drawing 3, 500 paid for SCOH ? It appears to Cody is going to challenge Daniels for the belt and Fish and Young are going to feud. After that I see nothing else in the works . What other new programs will start in Baltimore ? Will the company rebuilt their depleted roster or just try to get by booking special attractions ? Is there any available indy talent in the market place that ROH could book that would draw ? Should be interesting.

 

3,500? Wow, that's a really impressive number, especially considering the negative perception of ROH right now and that a couple of months ago people were showing the seating arrangements for the arena and showing that not many tickets had been shifted at that stage. I guess that shows the drawing ability of the Hardys, as outside of them there didn't look to be a stand out match that screamed that it would precipitate a bigger attendance than a regular ROH show, For those that have seen it, did it come across well on screen that a big number of people were there? Also wondering how that compares to the other biggest ROH attendances - that's the biggest they've ever had right? I guess the ones at the Hammerstein would be pretty high and I think the event in Toronto where Steen won the title had one around the 1000 mark? I was there at the York Hall last year which was pretty much full so that would prob be around 1000 as well.

 

Hopefully they can use that to build some momentum, but as highlighted above, with all the departures you still worry about where they are going next.

[bradhindsight]

SCOH XI was their largest attendance ever.

 

Here's the thing with negative perceptions and what I like to think is vacuum buzz - it's pretty clear, just like with WWE to an extent, that ROH's audience isn't just hardcores as maybe it once was (when they would have gone bankrupt had they not sold to SBG). They've appealed to casuals/normal fans through being available in syndication - and I think the Bully Ray signing was another move to appeal more to that maybe more serious Busted Open Radio / Tazz Show fan that isn't at PWO. The talent leaving - if not replaced - will catch up to them by end of year one would think. But they put out a good weekly TV show, and their PPVs - priced traditionally to play off your investment of watching 8 weeks of TV - are very good. In addition, their house shows are always solid so the output is still there.

 

Meanwhile, the FloSlam funded WWN drew 250 people to their Mercury Rising Supershow Saturday night where they crowned their first champion. It's another example of how ROH and PWG absolutely dwarf Evolve when it comes to being on wrestling fan's radars. I don't know what FloSlam has done to appeal to any other fans other than hardcores. They'll eventually bail when they're tired of losing money.

[stro]

I can't imagine non-hardcores are staying up until 2-3 AM during the middle of the week to watch wrestling, though. My area has it on both Comet and a local MYTV affiliate. One is on Wednesday at 2AM, the other on Saturday at 12 or 1 AM. Who other than hardcores or drunks are watching that?

[goc]

Most of the people I know do far more watching of television off their DVRs than they do actually watching the show when it airs.

[stro]

I guess, but how many people that aren't fairly hardcore search for "wrestling" on their cable boxes? I just kind of have a hard time wrapping my head around "casual" fans (whatever that means in 2017) watching ROH or even TNA. How do you even find out about ROH unless you're a hardcore?

[bradhindsight]

Probably not casual in the loosest definition, they have to have an inkling to want to explore other wrestling so there is definitely a barrier. I think after 15 years of being around, social media and all, they've had to ingrain themselves more. And as WWE has increased in popularity of late as a part of geek culture - plus coverage on mainstream sites (which ROH has had also - ESPN, Rolling Stone, VICE) - they've grabbed more eyes.

 

I would guess a bunch of people watch for free on either the FITE app (which I recommend, since it casts in HD) or the ROH website.

[Mad Dog]

The thing with that number is TNA drew 10k for that one Lockdown PPV and were getting thrown off Spike a year later. It's cool that they drew that many people but that doesn't mean they're headed to a good place.

[Migs]

The thing with that number is TNA drew 10k for that one Lockdown PPV and were getting thrown off Spike a year later. It's cool that they drew that many people but that doesn't mean they're headed to a good place.

 

Especially when it seems pretty clear the Hardys drew that number.

 

However, the speed at which Scurll has shot up the ladder has shown that they don't need a big runup to get someone over if they find the right guys.

[Mad Dog]

That's true but they've shown an inability to get the right guys or to get them over the hump if they do get them. I really did love the RoH product in 2014 and through most of 2015. It's what frustrates me so much with the current product. They can do better and just refuse to go outside of the box.

[Migs]

That's true but they've shown an inability to get the right guys or to get them over the hump if they do get them. I really did love the RoH product in 2014 and through most of 2015. It's what frustrates me so much with the current product. They can do better and just refuse to go outside of the box.

 

Yes, for sure. It's far more likely they are dying ECW than on an upswing. They keep failing at elevating guys beyond a certain point (see Castle, Dalton).

[bradhindsight]

I don't disagree with you Mad Dog re: going outside the box and general frustration. I haven't watched much this year myself.

 

And you're right, the Hardys helped draw that number. But unlike TNA, ROH was up against NXT (and Mercury Rising) and people had to travel to Lakeland. Will be interesting to see how the crowds are for the rest of the year. WrestleMania weekend is right place, right time, but they at least took advantage of it (and had by all accounts another great show).

[Mad Dog]

I try every couple of months to get back into the TV but I always seem to hit those, showing some house show for a month straight because they didn't feel like doing better or what I was tuning in to check out because I got interested in an angle hasn't hit TV yet and won't for a few more weeks.

[stro]

I don't disagree with you Mad Dog re: going outside the box and general frustration. I haven't watched much this year myself.

 

And you're right, the Hardys helped draw that number. But unlike TNA, ROH was up against NXT (and Mercury Rising) and people had to travel to Lakeland. Will be interesting to see how the crowds are for the rest of the year. WrestleMania weekend is right place, right time, but they at least took advantage of it (and had by all accounts another great show).

Mercury Rising drew like...under 200 people, though.

[Dylan Waco]

I was at Mercury Rising. The house was poor in comparison to other shows in the venue but there were way more than 200 people in attendance. More than double that in fact

[Migs]

I try every couple of months to get back into the TV but I always seem to hit those, showing some house show for a month straight because they didn't feel like doing better or what I was tuning in to check out because I got interested in an angle hasn't hit TV yet and won't for a few more weeks.

 

I try to keep tabs enough to watch the first episode in the taping cycles, and then whatever follows up until the big event they're promoting. After the big event, the TV is brutally boring.