All Elite Wrestling President and CEO Tony Khan announced Wednesday night he has acquired Ring of Honor from Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI).
ROH, which launched in March 2002, had been on hiatus since December. Terms of the deal were not released, but it includes ROH's video library, brand assets, production equipment and intellectual property.
For now, professional wrestling fans can only speculate about what Khan's plans for ROH and AEW will be, but here are four ways the deal could make a major splash in the industry.
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1. ROH Will Survive
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports ROH approached both Khan and industry leader World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) about a buyout, and Khan clearly made the better offer.
Given WWE already has three major U.S. brands in Raw, SmackDown and NXT, it's unlikely WWE would have wanted anything from ROH other than its tape library to add to the WWE Network, which is available exclusively on the Peacock streaming service owned by Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA).
It seems unlikely at this point that Khan won't preserve the ROH brand and attempt to use it to boost the profile of AEW.
2. ROH Could Be AEW's Version Of NXT
NXT is generally considered WWE's talent development brand, and Khan could use ROH in a similar vein.
Critics have already questioned the total number of talent signings by Khan in recent months given AEW's limited TV airtime. Having another brand to spread the talent wealth to could help address that overcrowding problem and give younger talent more opportunities to hone their skills without having to compete against AEW headliners for air time.
AEW YouTube shows Dark and Dark: Elevation currently serve as AEW's developmental brands.
3. There Could Be More Deals Coming
The ROH buyout is Khan's first major third-party brand acquisition, but it may not be his last.
For years, WWE has aggressively purchased smaller competitors and third-party libraries, most recently acquiring Evolveand the video library of Dragon Gate USA in 2020. The ROH deal could potentially raise the buyout value of other major U.S. wrestling promotions if the consolidation continues, including Impact Wrestling, which has partnered with AEW since December 2020.
4. An AEW Streaming Deal Could Be Imminent
Likely the biggest potential impact of the ROH buyout is the fuel it provides to reports AEW has been in talks to launch a streaming service, specifically on HBO Max.
While AEW is only about three years old, the ROH content library dates back 20 years and could contribute a significant amount of value to HBO Max and parent AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). It may also be enough to draw interest from other streaming services interested in AEW's version of the WWE Network, such as Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) or Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX).
Photo: screen shot courtesy of AEW YouTube/TBS.
