Jay Lethal On Why Ring Of Honor Attracts UFC Fans Compared To Other Promotions
Ring of Honor World Champion Jay Lethal was interviewed by the Lewiston Sun Journal to promotion the upcoming Global Wars tour in Maine. Lethal said that fans are experiencing a "boom period" in pro wrestling right now, and promotions are more exposed now due to social media and the Internet.
"A lot of people weren't able to see Ring of Honor are now getting to see it because of the internet," Lethal said. "It's not just Ring of Honor. A lot of people who weren't able to see, maybe PWG, can now see them via the internet. So every wrestling fan is getting access to every wrestling product out there, which is helping everybody."
Lethal also commented on why Ring of Honor has the ability to attract fans from UFC compared to other promotions.
"Ring of Honor really focuses their product on the in-ring action," said Lethal. "I feel that's what really makes us stand out. Also, we've been able to pull some of the guys who love UFC because once you focus on just the in-ring product you get that feeling of real competition happening. The people don't feel like they're just watching a show."
In its 16 years as a company, Ring of Honor has been the hub of world champions, with names such as Seth Rollins (as Tyler Black), Kevin Owens (as Kevin Steen), Daniel Bryan (as Bryan Danielson), CM Punk, and AJ Styles have reached the top of the WWE mountain. In addition, names such as Samoa Joe and and Austin Aries have reached World Championship status in Impact Wrestling during their respective tenures.
Lethal commented on the success of Ring of Honor being able to create stars, "If you look at most of the champions around the world, most of them came out of Ring of Honor."
Although most know that matches are predetermined, Lethal shared his thoughts on the reality aspect of the pro wrestling industry.
"Wrestling is real, to an extent," said Lethal. "The outcome is predetermined, but I think nowadays people are taking it for what it's worth, and they understand, but they still want to be entertained. For a lot of people, they want to feel that two people are in the ring and being as competitive as they possibly can for one person to win. I think that's what we really focus our product on."
Lethal is currently in his second reign as ROH World Champion, and recently passed Nigel McGuinness as the second longest reigning champion of all-time. He is also just under four months away from passing the 645-day total from Samoa Joe.
Source: Lewiston Sun Journal