Greetings, ladies, gentlemen, and select equines. Today we will touch base on an interesting little rumor that was going around a couple months ago. Around the time of WrestleMania, several people reported rumors that the WWE was on the verge of purchasing Ring of Honor wrestling. Although the rumor was quickly dismissed (and similar rumors pop up all the time), it got me thinking. When WWE purchased WCW, they brought on a few of their stars but did not really have a plan for them. They had a half-assed invasion angle going, they had DDP as a stalker and ultimately getting beat by Undertaker’s then-wife, and they had whatever the hell Buff Bagwell was doing. All these things fizzled quickly because they were not well thought out and it showed. Each of them felt like they were thrown together on the fly and therefore they sucked.
Well, what if the WWE did purchase Ring of Honor? I have decided to spend the next few weeks going through some scenarios on how I would book various Ring of Honor personnel so that we didn’t see a repeat of the WCW mess.
Let’s start over at NXT. One week at the beginning of the show we would have someone that everyone already assumes the WWE is signing as soon as they are legally able to. We’d have William Regal come to the ring and introduce the newest NXT signee, Kyle O’Reilly. O’Reilly would come out and talk a little, but quickly interrupted by Paul Ellering. Ellering would come halfway down the ramp, ignore O’Reilly completely, and complain that Regal is giving time to everyone except the NXT champions. There has been too much time given to newbies and rookies and nobodies. He’s also stated that teams his team have destroyed have gotten more time, such as #DIY (shamelessly mentioned to keep the crowd up).
O’Reilly will stop Regal from responding and then tell Ellering that he is not a newbie, a rookie, nor a nobody. He’s wrestled around the world, held titles around the world, and if Ellering doesn’t know who he is, then he can come right down there and show him. This threat will bring out the Authors of Pain to stand behind Ellering and look tough. The crowd would “ooo” and Regal would try to calm the situation. All of a sudden, the lights would dim and the loudspeakers would start blaring “Dance Away” by Damn Valentines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA5HHTgDkQw
Bobby Fish will then come through the curtain and tell everyone to chill out. He’ll walk down to the ring, right past Ellering and the AoP without showing any fear. He may even bump into the AoP on his way down but keep going. He’ll enter the ring, give Kyle a hug, and shake Regal’s hand. O’Reilly will then say it is great to see him but what is he doing here? Fish will laugh a little and say, “You haven’t heard? The WWE bought out Ring of Honor, so I figured I would come see what all the hubbub was about NXT. So I’m walking around backstage saying hi to some old friends and I hear you out here talking about your resume. Well, as you and I both know, your, and my, resume is not complete without discussion of our 3-time Ring of Honor tag team champion and 2-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team champion, reDRagon. And looking out at these two chumps, I have a feeling reDRagon could add NXT tag titles to that resume if Mr. Regal cared to sanction a match.”
Paul Ellering would start to complain from the ramp, but William Regal would start to set the match for a future date. However, the Authors of Pain would keep trying to get in the ring with Ellering having to hold them back. Regal would eventually tell Ellering that it looks like his guys want to go, so “let’s just make the match now!”
It would be very poor booking to have reDRagon lose in this scenario, so we will have them take the match and the tag team titles. Nigel McGuinness would be able to put them over like crazy, talking up Ring of Honor and the quality of their talent who would be coming to WWE. This would be the beginning of the rebuilding of the tag division in NXT, immediately show ROH wrestlers are a force to be reckoned with, and start a feud which could really help the Authors of Pain grow and develop.
Later in the show, we would see a very odd promo from Delirious. Obviously no one in NXT would understand Delirious’ promo, except Nigel on commentary. Delirious would continue cutting odd promos and video packages in the upcoming weeks, giving rise to a running gag that the only ones that can understand him are those who have spent time in Ring of Honor.
Other Ring of Honor wrestlers would would appear on NXT in the following few weeks would include The Kingdom (adding depth to the tag team ranks), Beer City Bruiser, Silas Young, and Caprice Coleman. Coleman would wrestle a few matches but mostly be there to help others with their mic work. Silas Young would take up a role of testing guys to see if they are ready for a call-up to the Raw or Smackdown roster. Young would also team with Bruiser on occasion in order to keep that pairing rolling.
Obviously, Delirious would be around mostly as an entertainment/comedy act, not wrestling, but just doing his Delirious schtick. Eventually someone would get in his face and challenge him physically and Delirious would pull off a “surprise” victory by displaying a wrestling acumen no one would have thought possible. Colt Cabana could also come over to NXT and either start working as a backstage reporter or even have him give Bobby Roode a challenge or two.
Finally, Kelly Klein would come in as a challenger to Asuka. While Klein is still a bit sloppy and green, she has a good look and powerful presence which could help her at least appear to be an interesting threat to Asuka’s NXT Woman’s title.
In now way am I advocating the ROH wrestlers come in and take over NXT. In fact, aside from reDRagon winning the NXT tag titles, I wouldn’t expect any ROH wrestlers to take NXT gold any time soon. But, I think all of these wrestlers could add depth, assistance, and new matchups. In turn, the NXT product would continue to get stronger while still helping rising talent learn and get better.
Next week, we will continue with some of the other Ring of Honor stars The Fantasy Book would bring over. Maybe to Smackdown Live, or 205 Live, or even Raw! Until then, stay hydrated and be safe…
