ROH planning to run Madison Square Garden in 2019
Image: MSG.com
If they get their way, Ring of Honor is planning to run their first show in a WWE stronghold next year.
Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley told the Baltimore Biz Journal Tuesday that ROH will run a show at NYC’s Madison Square Garden in 2019. The interview was done in relation to WWE’s recent TV deals and the company’s own prospects for the future.
There wasn’t any additional detail or a time of year mentioned. Of note, WrestleMania is returning to the New York area next spring with the arena events running out of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center due to the costs of running MSG.
ROH has run shows in New York City and the region since their inception, mainly focusing on smaller venues like the Manhattan Center and Terminal 5. This would obviously be a massive step in terms of size, scope, and costs.
However, the recent success The Young Bucks and Cody Runnels had in quickly selling out a 10,000 seat venue in the Chicago region without a card could be bolstering the company’s hopes to sell out MSG with the right mix of talent (i.e. Bucks, Cody, Kenny Omega, etc).
Ripley said they have been scaling their production quality, but that “it’s not quite there yet” to more aggressively bring their TV product off Sinclair stations.
In last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that AAA holds a September date for MSG.
“If this show does happen, it would be the first time since the early 60s when someone other than Vince McMahon or his father would have promoted a pro wrestling event in the world’s most famous arena. It’s also notable that this past week, as there were insiders who found out about this booking, that WWE added Undertaker to its 7/7 show in Madison Square Garden, which seemed unusual given tickets were selling well for the date.”
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.