Ring of Honor World champion Jay Lethal is on top of his game right now. The 17-year veteran never seems to slow down and he only appears to get better with time. Lethal is definitely still going for ROH, where he recently signed a new deal.
But it looks as though not every top star will re-sign with ROH. Lethal spoke to TV Insider, where he talked about the company and how Ring of Honor will deal with top talents leaving for work elsewhere.
“Think about all the people who have come through. Many of them have become champions in other companies. Think about if you ran a promotion, how do you pick up and carry on after you lose an AJ Styles or a Samoa Joe? How do you pick up and go on after you lose a Bryan Danielson, CM Punk or Adam Cole? You just do it. You don’t try to replace those guys, but pick up and move on because those guys are irreplaceable. The winning formula is you don’t try to replace them. You just have to pick up and move on and add another piece to the end of the puzzle…It’s going to hurt and impact us a lot. Most of these guys were in the main event. It’s going to be a hit, but we are going to do what Ring of Honor always does and carry on. We always produce one of the best wrestling products out there.”
Jay also talked about Cody Rhodes, the man he will face at ROH Final Battle on December 14. Lethal’s Ring of Honor World Championship will be on the line and he seems more than happy to defend it against Cody.
“There is even more pressure, because the first time we weren’t the main event. This time it’s the main event on Pay-Per-View,” he said. “Think about the matches we have to follow. It has been one of the toughest parts about being the Ring of Honor world champion. You have to follow some of the greatest matches in the world. And I can’t think of a better person to do it with than Cody. Wrestling is in his blood, and we both have this burning desire to leave the wrestling business with our mark. Once we are gone all we are basically is memories. We both want to leave that mark. When you put us in there under this kind of pressure for the Ring of Honor championship, something special is going to happen.”
Ring of Honor: Final Battle is available on Honor Club, as well as the FITE TV app at 8pm EST on Friday night, December 14.
TV Insider