Ringside

EVERYTHING CHANGED IN 2019. AEW Dynamite is on TNT, NXT is on USA, and WWE Friday Night Smackdown is on Fox, and consequently, Raw must fight slumping ratings to avoid becoming just another wrestling show. At the end of the year, AEW and NXT were in symbolic deadlock, with Dynamite and NXT tying at 778,000 viewers apiece on the December 11 installment of the Wednesday Night War.

Now 2020 is here, and the shifting fortunes of promotions just below the level of WWE and AEW are like tectonic plates causing friction and dynamic change.

The situation in Ring of Honor is the most volatile. ROH, which enjoyed unprecedented favor among critical fans for a decade-and-a-half, received tough reviews for its last pay-per-view of 2019, Final Battle, occurring December 13 in Baltimore. Despite newsworthy headlines such as PCO’s ROH championship victory over Rush, Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham beating The Briscoe Brothers for the tag team belts, and Dragon Lee winning the TV title from Shane Taylor, there were familiar criticisms: too many veterans showcased prominently, Dalton Castle was too far down on the card, and the PCO-Rush and Bully Ray-Mark Haskins matches were brawls not befitting ROH.

There may be truth to that, but I, , and in 2020, and I hope they get the chance to shine in this ultra-cynical environment.