Cary Silkin Discusses ROH Coming Back After Going Into A Slump In 2019
More so than any other wrestling promotion, ROH experienced a number of departures in 2019 with most of them becoming the brain trust of AEW. That led to a bit of a slump for ROH in the eyes of the fans when compared to other promotions.
Former ROH owner and current ambassador Cary Silkin talked about why he feels fans were so hard on the company when he joined The Wrestling Inc Daily.
"Going back to the beginning of 2019, we lost seven guys simultaneously. We know who those guys were [The ELITE and SCU]. Then we had the MSG show which, for me, was the thrill of a lifetime. Some people tear it up and say the New Japan stuff was good and the ROH stuff could have been better. All I know was that I was in Madison Square Garden," stated Silkin.
"Following that we just went into a slump. AEW came out. NXT was competing against them and ROH was in a slump. The wrestling's still okay but I've experienced these slumps prior."
He then compared 2019 to 2005 when they lost Punk, Samoa Joe, Daniels, Low Ki and a few others within a few months of each other. He added that ROH re-grouped with Aries, Tyler Black, Jimmy Jacobs and others.
"Then in September of 2009 we simultaneously lost [Daniel] Bryan and Nigel [McGuinness] at the Hammerstein. If that wasn't going to kill us, then I don't know what would. That was the show Jim Cornette came back and we also brought back two-time champion Homicide," recalled Silkin.
"Then Tyler [Black] really elevated. Davey Richard, Eddie Edwards ? so I've been through this before. To bring it back to 2019-20, we were just in one of those slumps. But with the turn of the decade, things are looking better. Our relationship with New Japan is well. We're working with Dave LaGana and Billy Corgan with NWA again. Right now, the stock is going up and the stock in wrestling, in general, is going up."
In addition to being an ambassador for ROH, Silkin also jumped into the podcast game recently. He talked about launching his podcast Last Stop: Penn Station.
"I've been sitting on this project for a long time. About five years ago I started chronicling some of my stories ? not just about wrestling ? but my experiences in my prior lives. You talk about a cat having nine lives, I've had more than nine lives. These stories are from hustling tickets on the streets, working small-time with rock 'n' roll bands and tons of wrestling stories along the way which led to ROH," Silkin said before adding that he thought there were too many podcasts already until Jimmy Jacobs had him on as a guest and encouraged him to launch his own show.
"He was an inspiration. [Co-host] Ian Riccaboni pushed me along. My buddy AJ, a non-wrestling guy who did the website [also helped] and here we are. Today it was released and I'm really happy."
One of the most infamous moments in ROH history was the Cow Palace convention in 2009 and that is the crux of the first episode of the podcast. Silkin delved into the problems ROH ran into with that convention.
"We have recorded nine episodes in the can. So, when we recorded the first one in October, it was right around the anniversary date of that Cow Palace Show which was one of the biggest disasters in ROH history," admitted Silkin. "It was advertised with every big name in the book from Bret Hart to Ric Flair. It looked on paper like it was going to be a slam dunk or a WrestleCon before there was a WrestleCon. It all looked good until a few weeks before when there was word that certain guys didn't get their advance. Guys were pulling out but we were committed to going.
"We found a building in Vegas and the convention turned out to be a disaster. The guys who were running it were running for the hills literally. Do we do the show or don't do the show? Because we ain't getting paid. We do the show and the rest of it you'll have to listen to."
Silkin said they made it out alive but then joked that he wanted to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge that weekend.
Cary Silkin's new podcast "Last Stop Penn Station" drops every Friday morning. Subscribe on iTunes to get it as soon as it drops here.
Silkin's full interview with Wrestling Inc. aired as part of today's episode of our new podcast The Wrestling Inc Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they are released Monday through Friday afternoon: https://apple.co/2NQnHuC. The full interview can be heard via the embedded audio player below: