At one point in time it seemed that TNA was the number two wrestling promotion in the United States as the company was drawing decent ratings on Spike TV. But now that the promotion is airing Impact on Pop TV, only a fraction of the viewers who used to watch still tune in on a weekly basis, and the promotion hasn’t had much luck when it comes to running live events.
Some fans feel that ROH is now the number two promotion in the United States, and during a recent interview with the Baltimore Sun, Kenny King shared his thoughts on the matter.
“That’s the biggest difference between my first time in Ring of Honor and now. I think before it was always the little promotion that could. Before it was something that you check out if you want real wrestling, if you want a break from WWE. It was always in this place that it had to prove itself using WWE as a model. Now ROH is in a place where it’s carved its own niche. It moved from being a niche promotion to really carving its own niche for itself.”
“Wrestling in general is at a place where people are seeking out wrestling that isn’t WWE. If you’re doing that you’re looking for something. People keep finding Ring of Honor, and loving Ring of Honor, because people love wrestling. Yes people love the theatrics and the storylines and the promos and all that other stuff too, but people love wrestling when it gets down to it. Ring of Honor has established itself as a place where if you love wrestling, you have to check that place out.”
King was also asked about the difference between working for ROH and other promotions, and he praised the fans for giving it their all at each an every show.
“I think the big difference is the crowds. Ring of Honor just as an atmosphere, the electricity of it, that’s hard to replicate anywhere. I’ve been blessed to have wrestled all over the world. I’ve wrestled in Wembley Arena (in London), I just was blessed enough to wrestle in Arena Mexico. But if you get 3500 in the Hammerstein for a Ring of Honor show, it just feels like a whole other planet. People are invested emotionally, physically, they are willing to give everything. They’re willing to give as much energy towards the ring as we are giving in the ring. You can ask guys who have wrestled at Wrestlemania and other places like that. They’ll tell you the same thing. It’s hard to match or emulate the atmosphere at a Ring of Honor show.”
