By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff, who came on-board in 2011 when Sinclair Broadcasting purchased ROH, offered his view of ROH's standing compared to WWE and TNA during an interview at last weekend's ROH TV tapings in Baltimore.

"To some people, ROH is the first stop. I'd like to believe our guys are content to wrestle with the ROH brand, strategy, and work, but I wouldn't want to stop them if WWE came calling. That is the pinnacle. This is no different than working AAA ball and the Big Show (Major League Baseball) calls them," Koff said.

Koff also summed up his view of Ring of Honor's product compared to mainstream wrestling promoted by WWE and TNA.

"ROH is more about the brand of wrestling than it is about individuals," he said. "We're all doing professional wrestling, and the more the merrier - I wish they would get stronger because the stronger they get, the stronger we can get. Popularity-wise, our action and our brand will speak for itself."

Regarding the current weekly TV product, Koff said he's "totally thrilled with the TV" based on the old style of TV wrestling, but he expects it to get better over the long haul. He said he does not anticipate major changes to the product, though, only improvements to the production, such as better lighting.

Koff also talked about his view of where ROH is current excelling. "I think the strength is the brand, the way we wrestle, the athleticism, the guys." As for areas of improvement, Koff said, "If we have any weaknesses, I think we're still underexposed. I think this is a brand that is very viral in nature and has a very core audience...We're tight and I need to expand that out and expose the product to more people."

Caldwell's Analysis: One major issue I see is marketing the "brand of wrestling" while at the same time hoping WWE and TNA grow so ROH receives a windfall. WWE has completely devalued pro wrestling and pro wrestling matches over the long and short-term, which continues to settle in the psyche of the average wrestling fan. If ROH is looking to grow their brand by reaching non-traditional ROH fans, most of those fans are going to come from a WWE background after being indoctrinated in their presentation, which directly opposes ROH's. It will make it more difficult to retain new fans. One way to help offset that is creating stars who attract people to the product and get them to stick around. Saying ROH is about the "brand of wrestling" and not "individual wrestlers" in a star-driven industry and star-driven world we live in is a concerning view to have.

Video: Koff's interview conducted prior to the TV taping in Baltimore is below.



Video URL: http://youtu.be/ENQMj3CKuy0

We suggest these recent related articles...

TV WRESTLING VIEWERSHIP - Week of Sept. 28: Full Break Down of last week's Pro Wrestling TV with DVR viewing

ROH NEWS: Big main event announced for "Champions vs. All-Stars"

TV RATINGS: Viewership for TNA Impact & ROH TV - Week 18 on Dest. America