ROH Champion Details When Tony Khan Offered Him AEW Contract
A veteran wrestler told an interesting story about when and how Tony Khan presented him with an AEW contract.
Lee Moriarty has been wrestling for nearly ten years and now he can say he’s a champion in Ring of Honor. At the ROH Death Before Dishonor PPV, Moriarty defeated Wheeler Yuta to win the ROH Pure Championship.
It was in October 2021 when Moriarty signed with AEW. During his run with the AEW and ROH brands, Moriarty hadn’t won a title until his Pure Championship title win at Death Before Dishonor.
After the Death Before Dishonor event, Moriarty and AEW/ROH Owner Tony Khan spoke during a media scrum that featured comments from talent and questions from the media. While Moriarty told his story, he mentioned doing a long drive before an AEW match, which was the same day when Tony Khan offered Moriarty a contract.
“Ring of Honor did reach out to me. This was during the pandemic. It almost happened, but circumstances, because of contact, it did not happen. I wrestled Orange Cassidy on an independent show a few days before AEW was in Pittsburgh. That afforded me the opportunity to come to AEW in hometown, where I fought Dante Martin.”
“I did another match in Chicago. I did a third match last minute. I got a text at 4 am, I think, immediately drove out to Cincinnati, Ohio where I fought Daniel Garcia. We had that match, I came back through the curtain, and Tony Khan offered me a contract.”
“I did see myself as a part of Ring of Honor, but I also saw myself as a part of AEW. I wanted to go where the best wrestling is because that is what I love about professional wrestling. The sport and art of it.”
Tony Khan May Make Changes To The ROH Brand
During the same ROH media scrum, owner Tony Khan suggested that perhaps a change could be coming to the ROH brand.
“It’s really interesting what the promotion has grown into, but I’m really proud of it. I think ROH holds an important place. I recognize that AEW is at the very top of pro wrestling. The ROH brand could frankly benefit from even more association. I don’t think it’s out of the question to say or sacrilegious to say.”
“I think it would only help grow the ROH brand if I were to license it or sublicense it if it were AEW ROH. I don’t think that’s a crazy thing or sacrilegious or bad. I think it would be good for everybody. People would see more of the connectivity that exists between promotions and what we’re going for.”