Cary Silkin Comments On Tony Khan Buying ROH
ROH founder and former owner Cary Silkin was a guest on Tuesday's episode of SiriusXM's Busted Open Radio.
Silkin was asked about Tony Khan's new ownership of the promotion, and how he personally felt upon hearing the news that the AEW President would be taking over.
"Well, I don't know if this is going to make sense, but the combination of a gut-punch and great joy at the same time," Cary said. "Because I knew after processing it, and the gut-punch was going away, and no disrespect to Joe Koff, but we were in a much better position than we were a week ago."
Silkin elaborated on Ring of Honor's position a week ago and stated that the promotion needed some real help behind the scenes to keep moving forward.
"Tony Khan, he's a pro-wrestling guy," Silkin explained. "You know, Joe Koff, he – you guys [LaGreca and Bully Ray] have both worked with whether it's at Sirius or at WWE, these are big corporations. So the pressure that comes above you is tough. So Joe could only do what he can do. There needed to be a bigger budget. They needed to get the production correct on every show.
"They needed more help in the back. Delirious, you know, he's probably set the all-time record for the longest booker, and we know how that goes, and he needed more help, and there were different eras in the later stages. I liked when Bully was there, and he's gonna think I'm blowing smoke, but I liked when he was there. Just for his knowledge, just for the other guys that were chipping in, and as we all know in pro-wrestling, it can't be a dictatorship or a one-man thing, or you get burned out."
With the future in mind, Cary Silkin discussed what he'd like to see, and how he'd like to see Ring of Honor be presented in the coming months under Tony Khan's leadership.
"In a perfect world, I would love to see Ring of Honor continue as a brand and obtain an hour of television, even if it is on YouTube," Cary Silkin said. "They always needed a destination. And even though Sinclair – when I sold it to them guys, they had seventy-five stations, and I'll never forget Jim Cornette saying, 'oh, you know what Vince McMahon would do to have these seventy-five local affiliates?' Well, at that point, they didn't mean a damn thing.
"Just to have a destination. Maybe a network spot. Once again, at least YouTube. I think with Tony Khan behind it, we're going to see a lot more cohesive, steady, properly promoted company."
In regards to the Ring of Honor library, which is now owned by Tony Khan, Silkin believes there are a lot of opportunities ahead for the brand and a number of wrestlers.
"It's got a place to breathe now and to live on," Silkin stated. "What I would hope Tony would do – no one has spoken to him really. You have over twenty guys on the active roster, I think it's more than that, that have stepped into the Ring of Honor ring that is with AEW now.
"And naturally, CM Punk and Bryan Danielson are AEW guys, but between the guys that are there, I'd love to see them bring in The Briscoes, and bring in Jonathan Gresham, and Dalton Castle, and Matt Taven, and some of the guys that were sort of synonymous with the last current era of Ring of Honor, and add that to the mix and I think we can have one hell of a show."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit SiriusXM's Busted Open Radio with an h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.