Marty Scurll re-signed with Ring Of Honor and got a shiny new role, but could barely get the wheels in motion before the Coronavirus pandemic took over.
Few expected "The Villain" to re-sign with WWE, considering he was one of the most sought out free agents in 2020, but he did. Along with that came a booker role that looked to reinvigorate a brand that lost significant buzz in 2019. For 2019 signing Joe Hendry, he understands why Ring of Honor was willing to put their trust in someone like Scurll.
"I think that Marty knows how to get over. He has his finger on the pulse of professional wrestling. I think to have someone like that in management who, it’s almost like he can almost, I don’t want to translate but he knows better than anybody about what it takes to get over in today’s wrestling environment. So, to have him in that position and have that understanding of, not just like the Ring of Honor fan base—because I think sometimes it’s like if all the product that you consume is Ring of Honor, and Ring of Honor and Ring of Honor—you might miss what’s going on in this company, what’s going on in that company. Whereas Marty’s been all over the world. He’s been everywhere, again at the highest level," Hendry told Fightful in an exclusive interview.
For Hendry he looks at Scurll's ability to get over anywhere and everywhere as an element that ROH needed to draw inspiration and advice from. His time traveling around the globe didn't hurt, either.
"I think he really is in touch with what the modern professional wrestling fan is looking for and to just add that flavor into management, who are so on the ball with production and booking cards and shows, story building. It feels like another essential ingredient that is going to help the product. Again, you see Marty’s influence hiring people like Slex, for example, from Australia. Because he’s been all over the world, he got his pulse when it comes to, as you say, international talent," said Hendry.
Just as Scurll was getting started with his new job, ROH was forced to cancel dozens of shows over the course of months. Ring of Honor wasn't interested in testing their luck with the COVID-19 spread. Because of that, Scurll's vision for ROH didn't really get to unfold before shows wrapped up at the end of February.
"I think the sad thing for Marty is that he won’t have had much of a chance to show the work that he had planned for the future and I feel for him in that regard because now wrestling has changed so much because of Corona Virus. It didn’t give him the chance to execute his vision and the way he wanted to do it in that time. But, again, in tough situations people have a chance to innovate and adapt and this might be a way for him to show a completely different skill set and a different way of presenting wrestling. So, look, the guy knows how to get over and that’s what great wrestlers do. They can get over in any circumstances, so it’s great to have someone like him in management for sure," Hendry said.
You can see our full interview with Joe Hendry at the top of the page. When wrestling gets started up again, you'll be able to catch him on ROH HonorClub, but for now you can see him on Youtube, as well as social media.
