Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: ring of honor, wrasslin, wrestling, wwe

As Meltzer Doubles Down, Ring Of Honor Calls WWE Buyout Story "Speculative Rumors," "Unsubstantiated"

Earlier today, Bleeding Cool told you about rumors making their way around the dirt sheets that WWE is negotiating with Sinclair Broadcasting to purchase Ring of Honor Wrestling. The rumors began with a report on Pro Wrestling Sheet and were also discussed in the latest edition of Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  To date, neither company has confirmed that talks are happening, and there has been no confirmation of the rumors outside the wrestling dirt sheet circle. But on today's episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer spent about thirty minutes discussing the sale, though much of it was speculation about what WWE might do if a deal happened, which he was careful to note might not occur. However, he did insist that talks have been taking place.

"WWE approached them in August with the idea of perhaps buying the company," Meltzer reported. "They were looking for the tape library and looking to remove competition."

Meltzer said that nondisclosure agreements prevented people from talking about the deal, but says that it's been talked about "internally" in WWE over "the last couple of weeks." He noted that Ring of Honor turned down "a strong deal" from Flo Sports and that he expects any deal between WWE and Ring of Honor won't be "cheap," playing up Sinclair Broadcasting's position as one of if not the largest owner of syndicated TV stations in the United States. On the other hand, the WWE has "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase signed to a legends deal, and as he's always said, everybody has a price. Meltzer went on to say that the story from Pro Wrestling Sheet reporter Ryan Satin was "significant enough that it's a real story," in that the companies have been talking, but that there's no guarantee those talks will result in a sale. Meltzer also claimed that "a lot of people in Ring of Honor weren't aware" and that "a lot of the talent is unhappy" about the rumor.

"They could be bought tomorrow, but they may never be bought," Meltzer said of the definitively undefinitive nature of the story.

Ring of Honor, however, seriously downplayed the rumors to Bleeding Cool, providing us with the official statement: "Sinclair's corporate policy is never to comment on speculative rumors and unsubstantiated stories."

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