Former Ring of Honor talent Matt Taven reflects on his final days with Ring of Honor before his release.
The news of ROH going on hiatus surprised wrestling fans last year. ROH shared their announcement on Oct. 27, 2021, that they wanted to reconceptualize the brand. All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan would purchase ROH on March 2.
While the news took fans by surprise, it also shocked their talent.
In an interview with Steve Fall, Taven shared that he found out about the ROH hiatus not too long after it became public to fans. Although, he also shared that he did see that business wasn’t looking ideal.
“…None of us really knew exactly what was going on, and even after that announcement, no one really knew what was going on. There was definitely guys like myself and Jay Lethal who were, you know. We’re filming in front of no one. I can see how much every time we do these TV tapings, the amount of testing, the single rooms, the amount of people coming in, all the flights. I’m looking around, and I’m adding everything. I’m just thinking to myself. This isn’t good, said Taven.
He continued, “…We were reassured a lot of a lot of different things, and maybe I have no idea because I’m only on one side of it, so I don’t know what was on the other side, but we really found out shortly before the internet found out. I mean, we had a zoom meeting just like this, and we were told the news, and before you really had a chance to process it, your phone’s already going off because it seemed like everyone else knew as well.”
Matt Taven on ROH Allowing him to Wrestle for Impact Wrestling
Once ROH announced they were going on hiatus, it was revealed that they would let go of all their contracted wrestlers. Some wrestlers whose deals expired were let go immediately, while others had their contract end by April 1.
Taven shared he had two years left on his original deal. Despite still being under contract with ROH, the company allowed Taven to compete in Impact Wrestling.
During the interview, he expressed gratitude to the company for allowing him to work for Impact Wrestling and still respecting his contract.
“… They were going to let all of the contracts that were expired just expire and not renew them, and the ones that continue to go on had a new end date per se in Mar. or the end of Mar., so I was one of those guys, but thankfully Ring of Honor allowed me to do Impact Wrestling during that time period after Final Battle and before my contract would actually expire,” said Taven.
ROH letting Taven work with Impact Wrestling helped secure his current working relationship with the company.
Would He Consider Working with Tony Khan’s ROH?
Under the ownership of Khan, ROH is looking to rebuild the brand. The company recently had its pay-per-view event, ROH Death Before Dishonor, on July 23.
Although he’s working with Impact Wrestling, Taven shared he doesn’t rule out the possibility of working for ROH again. However, he is focused on working with Impact Wrestling and knows he’ll be with them for a little longer.
Despite not being with the company, Taven wishes Khan the best in rebuilding ROH.
