ROH COO Joe Koff is excited to finally resume operations with Ring of Honor amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking with Kenny Herzog, Joe opened up about the steps Ring of Honor has taken prior to their restart, Flip Gordon’s publicized skepticism as it pertains to the virus, and more.
Credit to Kenny for passing along the following quotes.
On initially shutting down in March:
"I think this whole COVID pandemic is really about controlling what you can control. And there were so many different ways we could have wrestled. We could have wrestled in Florida where the other two major promotions wrestle, where there seems to be no real rules. The governor says, you know, just be careful."
On protocols for the first taping in Baltimore since March:
"If there were more than three positive tests, we were going to shut it down. We knew the risks. Fortunately, everybody was good. Everyone was healthy. Everyone took care of themselves. And I think that's because we took care of our talent [during the shutdown], so they weren't forced to do other things to maintain whatever lifestyle we provided them. [The taping] was one match at a time, cleaned the entire ring, changed the mats."
On Flip Gordin's Covid skepticism:
"That's one person tweeting whatever he's tweeting. Flip understood what he needed to do to be part of the taping or not to be part of the taping, and that will continue. I'm not going to be influenced by the Twitter world or what people say or don't say. We'll do the right thing based on [roper protocols and governance and common sense."
On criticism of patent company Sinclair Broadcasting:
"If someone is that aware of it and wants to draw that line, they have an agenda and I'm not sure I can ever change it. We're not news. We are an entertainment vehicle.
There's no politics in Ring of Honor. If people have a burr under their saddle for Sinclair, nothing's going to change that. Frankly, I have been faced with very little Sinclair backlash. I think people are able to make that separation just like if they watch The Simpsons on any one of our Fox stations, that's also Sinclair in a way."
Check out the full interview here.
