Holy shit, this is big news. I'm interested to hear more details about this, and who knows what's going to happen next. This could prove to be a good thing for the company as a new booker could really freshen things up, or it could be a disaster and a new booker could completely turn off the fan base.

This is kind of depressing. Even though I don't follow them anymore, I still have a bit of a soft spot for ROH. To hear they're in such dire straits is sad. Though they're obviously not out. I mean, if TNA can come back from what they came back from, they at least have a shot...

What's crazy to me is that it says that Cary was already considering shutting the company down after the last Philly show. I always hoped that if things should go south for ROH that it would be something that I'd see coming a mile away so I could brace myself for it, and it was close to happening out of the blue.

This is different than TNA though. TNA had a 5 year plan for the most part and stuck to it and are now reaping the financial rewards from that.

RoH, honestly, expanded way beyond their means. These trips to Japan, the U.K. and Canada were probably huge financial drains on the company. They're also struggling from not building new stars and lack of quality contenders for their top belts. They also shot themselves in the foot by running shows almost weekly and watering down their DVD sales to the point where it was getting less profitable per show. Here's what they need to do:

1. Stop PPV now.
2. Stop booking Japan talent for the sake of having Japanese talent on the show. Only pay the price if you know the guy is going to push sales or put butts in the seats. No more paying Misawa 20,000 for a single weekend.
3. Greatly reduce the number of shows. No more than 26 shows a year and they would probably be better off running 20 shows a year. Whatever amount lets every show be an A card is what they need.
4. Cycle their talent. Ditch the Briscoes and ditch anyone else that makes too much money. Bring in cheaper Southern talent with mic skills and focus more on storylines and simpler brawling southern matches.
5. Shut down the sister companies of FIP and Shimmer.
6. Run fewer cities and become a more regional area. Run in the New England area with New York and New Jersey mixed in.

Also...

they need to get real with their fucking ticket prices. $50 for front row? I can get really good seats to a WWE show for $30 a pop now and we're talking a major league product on television.

And from just the Gabe point, he needed to go. Bill Watts in one of his shoot interviews said that bookers were good for about a year and then it was all downhill. I tend to agree with that. Look at the guy that booked 2000 WWE. He was in for like 10 months and out and we all remember that fondly. The product had been boring and repetitive for at least 2 years and it had been on a downward slide for at least 3 years. 6 years is just too long to have the same guy booking. You need to spice things up on a regular basis or your product gets stagnant like RoH has been.

Wow, I'm actually surprised to hear about all of this.

I was worried something like this might happen after ROH had a PPV deal and I think it has a lot to do with it. It could also be the reason that the DVD's aren't selling as much anymore.

Plus, as a company that exists on the DVD sales, they really hurt their own market. At one point I was getting ROH shows. I was buying some and trading for others. Then I got to the point where I was just trading for all of their shows. Not only did it get to the point where I couldn't keep up on the shows (there's only so much time in the day) but it was starting to be a hassle to trade for stuff. Could you imagine if you were BUYING all that stuff? After all, Green Lantern fan can't support your company by himself.

Also, they had very little left in the tank as far as great blowoff matches or feuds and they were tremendously hurt when TNA basically pulled their talent.

FIP and Shimmer should be shut down immediately. I've always thought that FIP was a waste. ROH didn't really need a "development" company and that's what it was used for. ROH's "development" should be every other smaller Indy in the US.

Shimmer is a complete and utter waste of time if you're talking from a money perspective.

The Japan talent was a great idea....before it became stale. Obviously you can't bring in Kobashi every show, but you don't need to bring in KENTA and Marafuji 10 times a year either regardless of how awesome they are. They won't draw you a big house. Hell, they aren't even considered draws in Japan.

I have no clue what ROH is paying people, but I'm sure guys on the fringe of having a chance elsewhere are probably charging ROH a LOT of cash for their appearances too.

I know you don't watch the promotion anymore, but I think you'd be surprised to find out just how big Kevin Steen and El Generico have become in the company. I would cite them as evidence of building up new stars nicely. Also, Tyler Black has been having a breakout year. The problem they seem to have with building up new talent is that they have a few guys who have been elevated, but not to the extent that they have the potential to be (Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero, Davey Richards, Erick Stevens).

As much as I enjoy the pay-per-views, I think I'm going to have to agree.

Having Kobashi and Liger come in for special appearances worked out really well for them, I think they had every reason to believe that Misawa would have the same effect. I think if Misawa's matches had been better than "just good" and generated some buzz, those DVD's would have been smashing successes. However, it wouldn't hurt them too much to stop booking guys like Go Shiozaki and Naomichi Marufuji because I've never seen any indication that they've been draws to any real extent over here.

Yes. I wouldn't have agreed this time last year, but seeing how things have gone downhill, I would say you're right.

I wouldn't say ditch the Briscoes, as they have a lot of drawing power within the company, and I can't comment on what they get paid but I'd say they are probably worth it. I know they have the "spot monkey" reputation and use a billion finishers in their matches, but they are over enough to justify keeping around.

About the Southern talent, I think the problem there would paying them to make it worth making the trip up to the Northeast. It would be interesting to see how that would play out, as Adam Pearce was gaining a lot of ground with the ROH crowds before he was dropped (too expensive). If the promotion got too Southern styled, it might turn off a chunk of the fanbase, so they should be cautious if they do indeed head in that direction.

I'm not sure how that would help anything. I know they are sister companies, but I always had the impression that at the end of the day they were sustaining themselves. FIP has a nice little market going in Florida, and SHIMMER is doing well in the one or two locations they perform.

Yes, if they decide to cut down on number of shows at the same time.

I would say Gabe did a fine job up until around this time last year, when he started relying too heavily on the Briscoes, botched the stable warfare angle, and couldn't follow through with the Age of the Fall after their excellent debut.

This is interesting...

So first Homicide returns, and now Samoa Joe. Am I the only one getting the impression that both men are worried about the future of ROH and want to help out?

- ROH owner Cary Silkin made the decision to let Gabe Sapolsky go as booker. Sapolsky was told at the ROH show in Edison over the weekend and was said to have been shocked. Things did end on good terms between the two sides. One of the reasons Silkin let Sapolsky go is because the company now thinks that to grow, it will need to focus more on the entertainment side of things and less on the wrestling side. Silkin wants a new direction and feels like the promotion isn't hitting on all cylinders right now. Sapolsky also drove people crazy with his fits from time to time.

Credit: PWInsider.com

True, but those were rare cases where it was worth it. 2 times out all the times they've brought Japanese talent in. I meant it more in the sense of the Dragon's Gate guys, KENTA, Marufuji and Go. Those are where the wastes are with their money. None of those guys put butts in the seats.

Briscoes need to go for at least a year to freshen up their act.

The southern style would fix a lot of things. Reign in the moves during matches so there aren't 8 finishers used per match. This would also up the selling and allow some real heels on the roster. It would also let stables to spread their wings a little more. I think RoH could do a lot better with stronger storylines and more emotion in the promotion instead of smark wanking.

This is also a good chance to bring in a lot of talent that Gabe was cock blocking. You might actually see some luchadores now that he's gone. And if Pearce is involved maybe they can grab some of the NWA Showcase guys like Joey Ryan and Los Luchas. I would also like to start seeing a few comedy characters on the show like the Order of the Neo Solar Temple and Hydra.

- Gabe Sapolsky said the following about being released from ROH to Newsday.

"There really isn't a side to my story," Sapolsky said. "There was no fight or hard feelings. I understand Cary's decision. I love ROH and hopefully everyone will give the new direction a chance."

- Kensuke Sasaki and Katushiko Nakajima will be working the 12/26 ROH show in Philadelphia and the 12/27 show in New York City.

- New ROH booker Adam Pearce does have some booking experience, as he booked for California independent AWS among other places.

Credit: PWInsider.com

RING OF HONOR AT THE CROSSROADS: LOOKING AT ROH, THE DEPARTURE OF GABE SAPOLSKY AND THE FUTURE
by Mike Johnson @ 2008-10-28 15:31:00

Since word broke early Sunday morning that Ring of Honor owner Cary Silkin had decided to replace Gabe Sapolsky as booker for the company, there's been a lot of concern about the future of the promotion, about the reasoning behind the decision and what this means for Ring of Honor fans.

ROH IN 2008

The reality is that over the last year, Ring of Honor was similar to a sports team that does well consistently but for whatever reason, never seemed to make it to the end of the playoffs. It's no secret I have been a fan of the product from the first live show the company put together in 2002, but while the product was still solid and featured good to great wrestling on the main event level thanks to the likes of Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness (who I don't think gets even a fraction of the credit he deserves), it lacked something.

I described it on Monday as "not hitting on all cylinders" and that's probably the best way I can describe it. It was missing that intangible "it" that had made the company such a breakthrough, cult product and was lacking in the next generation of talent. There came a time in ECW where no matter how hard Paul Heyman pushed the latter generation of Rhino, Steve Corino, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, etc. and no matter how talented they were, they didn't break through for some reason.

To me, that sort of describes the last year of ROH. It just didn't have the heart that it had in previous years. The work ethic was still there, and some of the shows and PPVs were great, but that intangible "it" was missing and anyone but the most die-hard fans were starting to feel that way. It was ROH for sake of being ROH, not something that felt like it was trailblazing it's own legend. I wouldn't say the company itself peaked as much as the direction may have, since it was becoming harder and harder to replenish the talent plucked by larger companies. The new breed worked as hard and some graduated into becoming stars, like Nigel, but others didn't fare as well.

ROH events didn't feel as organic as it had in the past, especially to those who had been following the company for a long period of time. It's hard to explain in detail, because I am sure there are people who are reading this and think I'm out of my mind, because they love their ROH. Still, over the last year - whether it was burnout or the turnover in talent or whether it was what I truly believe deep down - that there wasn't one cause, but a cumulative effect of everything involved plus the pressures of keeping the company solvent in the current economy - there was something different about ROH.

EXIT GABE

When the guillotine dropped, it was Sapolsky's head that rolled. It had to be, because he was the booker. Bobby Knight didn't remain the Head Coach of Indiana forever, despite his past successes. Sapolsky was in the position of being ROH's Bobby Knight. Just by being in that role, he took a ton of credit for the company's successes, but Sapolsky also has to take the blame for when things don't work out.

Sapolsky was a great booker for the company, especially in terms of matchmaking. He took things that made All Japan and ECW great in their prime and used them as bullet points for his own masterpieces and was smart enough to surround himself with top talents. He could see talent in guys way before others could. He was good at what he did, although there were certainly times some of the workers felt the fans online were giving Sapolsky credit for things they put together themselves and that would drive them crazy. For some of them, it even drove them crazy reading it online after Silkin fired Sapolsky.

Still, in the same breath, those same wrestlers would credit him for motivating them and putting it all together, and they liked him. For the most part, Sapolsky was liked, to the point that not one person within ROH had anything negative to say after the firing. That said, Sapolsky's quirks were evident and I think part of this would be that they eventually worked against him.

Some may read what I am about to write as taking a shot at him, but it's actually the furthest thing from the truth. Sapolsky ran on ego. If he thought he was right about a talent or an angle, there was no arguing with him, because he was Gabe and he was right, because he was the booker. In a lot ways, that ego was the very reason for his booking success, because to truly become successful at anything, you have to believe your own hype. There's no room for doubt. Ric Flair was the greatest wrestler of all time because he was Ric Flair and Flair was the greatest, period. Why was he the greatest? Because he was Ric Flair. It was a self fulfilling prophecy.

Sapolsky had a similar mindset in speaking to him, not in a way that would be off-putting or putting himself over, but that he was sure he knew what he was doing. The downside to that was that if you questioned the decisions, there would certainly moments where he would respond immediately in a vicious, protective way, because that's what people in his position should do. I've known and dealt with Sapolsky since 1994, way back when he was running the Sabu Fan Club, and once he got into the booking position, that was an immediate change.

Although I never took it personally, there were certainly times when in asking questions or having discussions about the company, the reactions would come off condescending and over the top. As someone who worked with a lot of actors and writers when I worked full-time in the entertainment industry, this was nothing new to me, because that's how a lot of top level talents were - they were so talented, you overlooked the quirks because the benefits outweighed the aggravations that came with them.

Still, for some, whether it was the wrestlers who called looking for work and were asked to send tape even though they had known him dating back to ECW or whether it was an online writer (not me) who got dressed down for daring to say he thought a show was OK "but not a blow away show", one could easily see where Sapolsky's personality sometimes got a bad reputation. Gabe could drive people nuts. That's a fact. That said, for the record, I liked the guy, because even when he was pissing me off, I could understand where he was coming from when he would act that way, so I respected it once I got over wanting to kill him. That was the story with Sapolsky. You took the good and you took the bad because both are what made him so good when he was on creatively.

When things were looking up and great, the quirks were overlooked and Sapolsky was left somewhat to his own devices to book, working from home and keeping similar zany hours that his mentor, Paul Heyman, used to maintain. As 2008 and the realities of the current economy began to chip away at ROH, with more shows being run, more money being spent, PPV not leading to a turnover of new fans being attracted to the company, a national DVD deal doing just OK, there were no prospects of a light at the end of the tunnel. ROH was on a treadmill where they would do OK but were not making any real bank and at the same time, had some scary moments, such as the West Coast tour that bombed.

Something had to give. Right or wrong, that something was Sapolsky. The reality in a lot of ways is that the product under Sapolsky had probably gone as far as it could go under the current ROH business model and it was starting to show. When Cary Silkin added in the issues that popped up with Sapolsky at times and with the pressure of trying to take something he's invested a lot of money and time into (and in the end, ROH belongs to Silkin and it's his call to do what he sees fit with it, something a lot of fans forget), he made the call to release Sapolsky.

ENTER ADAM

As far as the future of the company, they've tapped Adam Pearce to be the new booker. That decision caused a lot of venom among fans but the reality is that you can't judge anyone until you see what they have in the tank. I can understand some fans complaining about Pearce's booking track record, but really, what track record did Sapolsky have in 2002? You have to see how things evolve before you can decry them - and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that others, including Silkin, are going to have some say in how the booking goes as well. It could be the worst decision in ROH history, it could be the best. It's like a first date - you don't know how it's going to pan out until you actually go on it. That's the stance I am taking with Pearce as booker and really, unless you are such a Sapolsky die-hard that he was the only reason you followed ROH, that's the only realistic stance you can and should take. Let ROH prove themselves (or prove your fears correct) before they are judged one way or the other. It's not like the level of the wrestling is going to drop - the same talents are still there (as of this writing). They will just have a new voice guiding them.

I do expect things to change, but not as much as some of the "ROH is going to turn into sports-entertainment" Chicken Little type emails I've read in the last few hours since I returned to New York after a weekend away. There's going to be a conscious effort to not book as many matches or talents on the shows, which in my mind, is a positive as there has always been a feeling of being overwhelmed with so much, too much during some ROH shows, although the last PPV was perfectly put together in my opinion.

I don't see Cary Silkin wanting to change what brought ROH to the dance to a massive extent as much as I think we'll see a spin on things from a different perspective. I think the days of the four hour plus shows are over. For those who worry that Sapolsky's dismissal means the end of Japanese talents, ROH announced several for their Final Battle event today. I don't think things will be a massive overhaul, but they will be different. They have to be.

For better or worse, the ROH product as it currently exists was not making the in-roads the company needed for it to work and if it that doesn't change, sooner or later, there won't be an ROH at all. It's Silkin's company and his investment into it that he needs to protect from going South. Whether you personally agree with the moves or not, Silkin was within his rights to make them. Time will tell whether they were the right moves to make, the same as history has told the tale of every major booking change in the last 15-25 years.

There's been a lot of fear about the long-term future of ROH, even though they have shows announced and booked through the Spring of 2009. That's natural, but all you can do is wait and see how things evolve. I can say that from everyone I've spoken to, the vibe in the ROH office this week has pretty much been positive with all focuses being business as usual. Of the wrestlers I've spoken to, even those upset Sapolsky was replaced, they all realize the reality is that the move was made and they have jobs to do. It's no different from your favorite supervisor being replaced - you still have to make your quota.

In the beginning of ROH, Sapolsky used to refer to the company to me as a baby that was born and over time, it would have setbacks and scars, like anyone else would as they grow older. That baby is going to have to see how it grows now that it's independent of its first creative soul.

Good, bad or indifferent, the move was made to help ROH evolve into whatever it will become next. There are a lot of questions out there right - what will be Sapolsky's next move, if there is one inside the business? Can Pearce match or even surpass what Sapolsky accomplished? What talent will find themselves on the outs and which will be returning? What other changes are in store for the company?

And finally, the most important - can the promotion that defined what was the best in independent wrestling over the last decade redefine itself, survive in a rough period for professional wrestling and somehow grow the audience that had stagnated the last 12 months, all at the same time?

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

- Gabe Sapolsky has stepped down as the booker of Florida's Full Impact Pro. With him being released from ROH, it was no longer feasible for him to continue working for FIP since he would go down to Florida to work on the production of ROH DVDs.

- Naomichi Marufuji has been added to the 12/26 and 12/27 ROH shows.

- Samoa Joe will likely face Tyler Black at the 11/22 ROH show.

I've got some stuff to say, but I'm limited in my time at the moment. I'll try and get back on tonight after work

So here's some of my thoughts on the situation:

I do think that it is about time that ROH found a new booker. This is no knock on Gabe. Dude's been awesome, and for a while seemed to be invincible in his booking. But booking is equal parts creativity on the booker and effort on the wrestlers. When given CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Bryan Danielson, Paul London, etc. the booking will flourish because the talent have something special. What made Gabe's run so good is that he saw the something special when the guys were still growing as performers. The talent he has now may have that same something special, but they may not believe in themselves.

I don't think that a booker's run is limited in time, more limited in his comfortability with the talent he's given, and his ability to see storylines where others don't. Anyone who's ever written an EWR diary can go back and look at angles and opportunities missed in stuff they've concieved and performed themselves. If a booker misses those, then his run will definitely be shorter.

More to say, but no time at the moment

I also wanted to add that I'm really glad to see RoH bring a guy like Brodie Lee in. He's a great talent and I think he'll bring some nice diversity to the roster. They need more guys like him.

From Gabe's MySpace Blog:

Gabe blogs every week and he always sends me a link to the latest so that I can post it to WU Online.

It appears that Larry Sweeney is having an issue with Cary Silken that cannot be resolved:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseact...logId=482140192