Tony Khan Passed on CW TV Deal for ROH to Show Loyalty to WBD

Tony Khan had the chance to put Ring of Honor on national television—but he walked away from it. And now WWE’s NXT is sitting in the spot that could’ve belonged to ROH.

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that The CW was ready to make a deal with Tony Khan to air Ring of Honor as a weekly TV product. But instead of taking it, Khan shut it down—and it had nothing to do with money.

“There was a point when ROH could have gone on CW. It wasn’t speculation—it was real,” Meltzer said. “But Tony didn’t want to do it because he didn’t want WBD to think that he wasn’t loyal to them. And so he walked away from it, and then CW later made that deal with WWE for NXT. That’s literally what happened.”

That’s right—Khan turned down real TV for ROH just to keep Warner Bros. Discovery happy while he was trying to lock in a long-term AEW deal. Loyalty or mistake? Depends on how you look at it. Meltzer didn’t sugarcoat the outcome either:

“And now, looking back on it, ROH doesn’t have that kind of presence anywhere, and CW has NXT. So that’s how it played out.”

According to Meltzer, this wasn’t some fantasy pitch or media rumor. The CW talks with ROH were legit. They wanted the product. But Tony didn’t want to look like he was shopping around his wrestling brands while negotiating with Warner.

The CW was ready. Tony said no. WWE swooped in. Game over. So now ROH is still stuck on Honor Club, while WWE just put NXT in front of millions on free network TV. And Tony Khan’s gamble? Still waiting for a payoff.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.