During the latest edition of the “ROHStrong” podcast, Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff commented on ROH Final Battle being the final appearances for Jay Lethal and FTR, why ROH didn’t do a cross-over with AEW beforehand, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Jay Lethal returning for Final Battle after Bandido had to withdraw: “It was like serendipity. Obviously I would have loved to have both of them of there, but we were prepared either way. As it happened, you know, there’s something to if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. I don’t want that meant to be to go to Covid for Bandido, but for Jay to play Final Battle was kind of sweet for the fans. Sweet for everybody, because Jay was beloved in our organization because he’s a fabulous person, a real professional and respected, as he should be.”
On if he was involved in the details of bringing Lethal back: “No. As much as this might be surprising, and it really shouldn’t be, because it’s always been the same way. They called me and told me that’s what they did. I trust my people to make the right decisions for the organization because they feel about the organization as I do. So when I heard it, I smiled, just like many fans did.”
On Lethal exiting for AEW: “Jay’s been a good steward for the wrestling part of the business. He’s done a good job, he’s admirable, he’s honorable. If any of them came to me on that day with that request, of course, I would do that, why would I stand in their way? I haven’t stood in anyone else’s way. Why would I start doing it on that day? You’ve got to be consistent in how you behave.”
On ROH not doing crossovers with AEW: “Let me touch on that. I’d never even heard of that, I didn’t even know what that meant. Somebody used that term and I asked them ‘what are you even talking about?’ When you think about that for a second, when did we really have a forbidden door? I mean we worked with New Japan, we did promotions with NWA, we worked with New Japan America. I mean yes, we did not work with WWE at the time, but it wasn’t because we didn’t necessarily want to, they wouldn’t want to. I mean, it wasn’t even a thought. They set their own rules, and respectfully so. I would never question what they do, they do an unbelievable job. AEW, you know we didn’t really have a lot of opportunities. They’re building their promotion, they wrestled through Covid. I think had Covid not hit, I think we probably would have seen a little bit more.”
On FTR appearing on the show: “I do want to say one thing about the guys from FTR, and I really hope they don’t mind me telling this story. I went up to thank them for being there because I thought it was important. I wanted to make sure Tony Khan knew how appreciative I was. I met them for the first time. I said ‘I really thank you for being here.’
“One of them, and I’m not sure which one because I don’t know their names off-hand so I apologize guys. He said ‘you know, I’ve always dreamed of wrestling in Ring of Honor and tonight I can cross it off my bucket list.’ That meant so much to me. That’s that respect. That’s that respect for who, and what we are that he felt that, and this is a guy that’s played on the big stage over the last two years. I mean, they’ve been to big places. But to have that sense of that just really meant a lot to me.”