Ring of Honor has always been the underdog promotion, trying to stay alive as the little guys in the wrestling business. It's been ever harder during the tough economic times of the past few years.Now, the group has another uphill battle with word that HDNet has decided to end its weekly television show when the current contract expires on April 4. But ROH president Cary Silkin remains optimistic going forward.
"It gives us an opportunity to ... naturally, we're going to look for another outlet," Silkin told FanHouse. "But besides that, we should be filling in some extra weekends now with some additional house shows. We have the time open and we're also looking towards doing more of the i-pay-per-views (online pay-per-view shows) which are becoming pretty successful. We've gotten increased numbers on each one of them. The "Final Battle" (on Dec. 18) was significantly better and I think people are getting more accustomed to that forum of media. It's new. As people are learning about it and they realize they can see the show live for not that much money, they're enjoying it. So, we'll be working on those aforementioned avenues."
As for losing the weekly shows on HDNet, Silkin admits that the news came down just recently but hopes to work with the cable channel in the future.
"We appreciate our time with HDNet. As a regular TV show, they were the first ones to give us an opportunity. They made us look like a million bucks. Their production was fantastic. The good news is that they're open to working with us to do a live special, hopefully in this year. That was legitimately spoken about so maybe we're not fully done with HDNet yet and they'll take another look at us through a live special."
Silkin says no reason was given as to why HDNet decided to stop airing the weekly ROH shows when the current deal expires. His promotion won't be losing any income but added that they will miss out on having that exposure.
Now, he is focused on finding a new television partner although he has no timetable on when something might get done.
"It's not easy but there are a lot of networks out there. I think one thing HDNet did give us was the platform that we're a real company, a real wrestling company. We needed to be legitimized a little. They gave us two years of national exposure so it gives you a little backbone going into this."
While many wonder what the future holds for Ring of Honor and if the group can survive, Silkin says it's not all gloom and doom.
"There have so many occasions where they were tolling the bell, like the ten-bell salute for us. Whether it's been losing major stars simultaneously or other things that have happened in the past and now this. We've been able to come out of it. Sometimes these adverse situations lead to new opportunity. So, that's how we're looking at it and we're looking forward to 2011."
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