There’s truly not much Brian Johnson hasn’t done in Ring of Honor. Whether it be his first appearances as the #1 ranked prospect in the promotion’s Top Prospects tournament to recently establishing himself as the #1 contender to the Pure Championship, ‘The Mecca” has been at the promotion’s forefront for the past three years.
Unfortunately, the news that Ring of Honor will be undergoing operational changes in the near future has brought whole new meaning to the name Final Battle. With the upcoming pay-per-view marking the end of an era for Ring of Honor, I asked Johnson about his mindset heading into Final Battle 2021.
“Well, I think I can speak for everybody on the roster, the news sucked,” Johnson stated. “It was a kick in the balls, right? But pro wrestlers are survivors, and if you’re going to stick around in this business you got to survive. So yeah, it was unfortunate what happened and it’s never ideal to have something like that come about. I’ve got to keep moving on to the next thing and the next thing is probably Final Battle. That might be the most eyes Ring of Honor has had on it for a long time.”
The Legacy of ROH
Johnson continued to speak of the legacy of Ring of Honor, noting that many of wrestling’s top stars of the past two decades have established themselves in ROH.
“I don’t think I’m surprising anybody when I talk about the influences of Ring of Honor throughout wrestling,” he commented. “Any promotion worldwide has their fingerprints with Ring of Honor on them. The biggest moments in wrestling throughout the last 19 years have moments of Ring of Honor on it, whether it’s a YES Movement or someone in Chicago. Those guys all have the roots with Ring of Honor. That being said, to know that so many eyes and so many influences around this wrestling world are probably going to be watching because it could be an end of an era. Or, it certainly is an end of an era. Who knows what the future holds, right?”
“I think in the long run it could be the biggest opportunity in my life, and I’m looking at it that way,” he concluded. “So, I’m gearing up. I’m pretty tunnel vision heading into the 11th.”
Please credit Spencer Love/Love Wrestling with any of the above quotes.
