Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff has witnessed the wrestling company he works for make huge strides in recent years with a big partnership with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
At the ROH 16th Anniversary show, Impact Wrestling Champion Austin Aries made his return to Ring of Honor with his title belt in tow. When speaking to Brian Fritz of Sporting News recently, Koff opened up about the working relationship between Impact and ROH, which he says 'they had to agree to it.'
"I've always had a very good relationship with Impact Wrestling. I try to have a good relationship with all of the promotions because why wouldn't I? We're all in the same space. We're all doing the same thing. It's good for the business. That was a creative angle that came out. Austin Aries, who’s a former Ring of Honor wrestler, has never held the belt (ROH Television Championship), and I think he's on a quest to hold every belt he can. It seemed like a natural opportunity. There was no agenda involved. It was a good spot. It surprised the fans. That show had a lot of surprises. When the bear took off his head and it was Kenny Omega. That was unbelievably exciting. But our relationship with Impact, we're happy. They had to agree to it. They did. It certainly doesn't hurt their brand. It was a win-win for all," Koff said.
2018 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Bully Ray appears on ROH TV as an enforcer, Koff doesn't think that WWE is particularly interested in much more crossover between ROH and WWE.
"Anything is possible. I don't think that's in their mindset. We've almost been more open to ideas and thinking like that. I won't speak for them and I really do have a lot of respect for that organization. It just doesn't seem to be the kind of thing that they would be interested. But if they were interested in it, they know how to reach me," said Koff.
You can see the full interview with Joe Koff at this link.
