Spike Is In Talks To Get Back In The Wrestling Game With Ring Of Honor

Is Spike looking to build a full Friday night around shirtless dudes throwing hands, or do they just miss AJ Styles that much? Rumors have been put out, then denied, then put back out there again that Spike is in talks for a television deal with Ring of Honor.

ROH TV is currently produced by their parent company Sinclair Broadcasting Group, and shown in select markets in the U.S. A Spike TV deal would mean a wider reach, even though preliminary talks only seem to be for “Best Of” specials.

Our sources tell us that Spike is, and has been, reasonably serious about this deal, despite the back and forth reporting.

While it would be nice to have wrestling back on Spike, there are some serious issues that Spike would have to address before moving forward. If they were to produce more than “Best Of” specials, a certain amount of creative control should be negotiated. While Impact Wrestling certainly had it’s share of issues, the vein of misogyny that runs through Ring of Honor operates on a much more malicious level. That is, of course, leaving out that fact that it’s production looks like someone got their old ECW VHS tapes out.

The upsides are, of course, the more recognizable names Ring of Honor has enlisted. AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Alberto El Patron all have bigger name recognition, and the continuing partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling would play well into NJPW’s campaign to slide into your country and steal all your fans. Ring of Honor’s budget could use a serious boost, and if they worked together to produce a show of a higher caliber (or at least more standards than they ever held Impact to), both parties stand to benefit.

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