ROH COO Joe Koff says he doesn’t expect the cast of Being the Elite to return to ROH, Young signs new deal with company (w/Radican’s Analysis)

-Joe Koff recently conducted an interview with WrestlingInc.com. In the interview, Koff revealed he doesn’t expect to see the Being the Elite crew back in ROH after their contracts expire:

I don’t think so, and I don’t think that’s new news either,” Koff said when asked if he expects to see the free agents back in ROH. “They definitely have something in mind… and I’m very thankful for Cody and The Young Bucks and Page and their contributions to ROH.

Radican’s Analysis: It surprises me that ROH is pushing that their top acts are leaving the company after Final Battle publicly. Cody Rhodes has been at the forefront of making it known that he’s done with ROH after Final Battle, but it’s no secret that the odds are the rest of the Being Elite cast that are free agents are leaving with him. Cody recently did an interview during a press conference while he was touring Australia that was covered in the Wrestling Observer this week where he was asked about All Elite Wrestling and he said to expect an announcement in January and the announcement would be bigger than people are expecting. 

PWTorch sources have said that ROH has made numerous attempts to resign members of the group and no decision has been made at this point, but Koff giving an interview publicly stating he doesn’t expect the group to be back appears to seal the deal that they’re leaving. 

It would be great if ROH did something to get over their new crop of talent expected to be pushed to the top of their cards and get spotlighted now that the BTE crew appears to be on their way out the door. Having them sign even under a short-term deal where they did an angle to get guys over like Jeff Cobb, Brody King, and PCO would go a long way towards ensuring the company is set up to generate some buzz in 2019. 

– Silas Young did an interview with PWInsider confirming he plans to sign a new three year contract with the company. Young had been expected to be part of WWE’s latest recruting class in January according to sources, but he reversed course once he received a much strong offer from ROH. PWTorch learned last week that Young had been presented with a new three year contract by ROH and he was expected to take it, which was confirmed by Young in his interview with Johnson.

PWTorch had been told that part of Young’s decision in signing with ROH was that he’s a family man with roots in Milwaukee and singing with WWE would have meant that he would have had to move to Florida. Young confirmed these factors played a role in his decision in the interview with PWInsider.

Radican’s Analysis: It’s not surprising that ROH got wind of Young considering a deal with WWE and increased their offer. The company has seen a lot of talent depart to NXT in recent years and Young is a valuable piece of the roster, as I wrote about previously when it was expected that he was going to sign a contract with NXT and report in January.

Young is more valuable to ROH than he would have been to NXT in the long run. He can wrestle anywhere on the card and work with rising talent and established veterans. I think Young could be built into something more for ROH if they overhauled his gimmick and gave him a serious push on the top of the card. He’s great in the ring and I think his “Last Real Man” persona has held him back at times, as it’s too much of a one-note old school gimmick.