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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
(Search “wade keller” to subscribe in podcast app or CLICK HERE to subscribe in Apple Podcasts.)
Ring of Honor News & Notes
– ROH announced tickets going on-sale this week for their 14th Anniversary Weekend running February 26 and 27 in Las Vegas. Included is the 14th Anniv. PPV on Friday, Feb. 26. Top stars advertised for the weekend are ROH World champion Jay Lethal, A.J. Styles, and the Young Bucks.
ROH also announced that their anniversary weekend will happen “the same month that ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling collaborate to present Ring of Honor’s first events in Japan since 2007.”
Dates for the Japan shows were not announced. ROH previewed 2016 as a year to include “even more collaboration with NJPW, new television opportunities, and introducing you to the future stars of professional wrestling.”
– ROH COO Joe Koff is marketing ROH TV’s move to COMET TV as making all ROH TV content “available to the consumer for free.” Koff said on the Busted Open satellite radio show that because parent company Sinclair Broadcasting’s platforms are free over-the-air, it makes ROH accessible to anyone who wants to watch the show.
Koff acknowledged the challenge of people actually being able to find the show through Comet or a local Sinclair affiliate. He did hint at a “broadcasting group” linking up with Comet on January 1 to expand the new channel’s reach.
“You’re just going to have to locate them at a different place, which is not uncommon. It’s not uncommon in our industry. Those markets are available and, by the way, not allowed to talk about the group, but after January 1, there’s going to be a huge group, a broadcasting group, that’s also going to join the Comet network. We’re really excited about that,” Koff said. [ FYI: Busted Open airs Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. EST on SiriusXM Rush 93 and on the App. ]
– It’s unclear if ROH programming will be available through this method, but Tribune Broadcasting announced that “Antenna TV” has added 26 affiliates to their distribution. Included is Sinclair Broadcasting.
– Sinclair is trending upward in the stock market. Sinclair hit a 52-week high on Tuesday, trading as high as $34.75 per share, about double WWE’s stock price for a reference point. Research firm RBC Capital is projecting $37-40 down the road.