ROH COO Joe Koff recently discussed his decision to not run shows during the coronavirus outbreak during an appearance on the PWI Podcast.
Here is what he had to say:
“The decisions that we made, and these go back to early March, we were probably one of the first major promotions that stopped the presses so to speak. It actually happened the week of the Anniversary show, which was on, I think March 13th…I would not have been able to attend the event in Las Vegas because, I was not exposed, but I was in a hotel where somebody tested positively. This was at the beginning of March. Nobody really knew what it was or how to treat it. Everyone was in somewhat of a panic mode. The emergency room wouldn’t even let me come in because I really had no symptoms and had no reason to go in, thank goodness. But, they said don’t travel and don’t go into work.
My guys were already in Vegas. This was Wednesday, the show was Friday. I’m beginning to feel a little uneasy with what I’m sensing and what I’m seeing. One of my concerns was getting everybody home and safe and where they wanted to be. We have a lot of international talent…I just needed to be sure in my mind as a responsible person and somebody who is in a community of human beings with empathy and compassion that we can get these people home…We acted pretty quickly but the main concern has always been and will always be the people, not only the fans who are very important to me. I wouldn’t want to put anybody in any kind of compromised situation by coming to a Ring of Honor show if it wasn’t a healthy environment for them to watch it. It wasn’t a hard decision to make. It was the only decision to make and I’m glad we did it.”
