Joe Koff speaks ahead of ROH Death Before Dishonor.
Ring of Honor is set to hold their next big pay-per-view event, Death Before Dishonor on Friday, Sept. 27. Ahead of the event, ROH COO Joe Koff spoke to Newsweek about a variety of topics. Koff was asked about the Women of Honor division, which has come under heavy scrutiny by fans as the division has not been highlighted to the same level as the WWE or AEW women's divisions.
"Talent will speak to that. And the reason you see a slower growth is because we have high standards for our talent," stated Koff. "There's a lot of women's wrestling and good women's wrestling. To be a wrestler right now is an excellent time. To be a fan is an excellent time. The business right now, it's a cyclical business. If you've followed wrestling before, you've seen these cycles before. Maintaining, staying focused keeps you in the game to keep playing and playing on."
Koff continued, "Our women's division is strong, it's not huge. We are still looking for a stable of high-profile women, and that's not to say women who are wrestling aren't, but you need more than four, five, or six to have a robust division. And there's a lot of training and development going on, and we are a patient company, so I don't feel the need to rush that out. We've had some pretty good signings over the last couple of months in the women's division, and I think you'll see an uptick in that shortly."
ROH signed Maria Manic in June, debuting her at ROH Best in the World on June 28.
"She's not necessarily the profile that you would expect to see from a women's wrestling perspective. That element is what we see. It's the eye of our creative and bookers so see something different. Lots of women can wrestle right now. When Maria Manic walks into a ring, you know she's a wrestler."
Manic has yet to have an official in-ring match since her debut in June. The promotion recently signed Session Moth Martina as well. It is unknown when she will make her debut.
The Women of Honor Championship will be on the line at Death Before Dishonor as Kelly Klein will defend her title against Angelina Love.