Ring of Honor Re-Signs Jay Lethal, Kyle O’Reilly And Bobby Fish (reDRagon)
Ring of Honor Wrestling announced today the re-signing of three of the promotion’s top stars: ROH World Champion Jay Lethal as well as Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. Ring of Honor issued the following press release:
ROH World Champion Jay Lethal and reDRagon re-sign with Ring of Honor!
(BALTIMORE, MD) – Three cornerstones of Ring of Honor have re-signed! After careful deliberation and review of offers from across the globe, ROH World Champion JAY LETHAL and three-time former ROH World Tag Team Champions BOBBY FISH and KYLE O’REILLY, known collectively as reDRagon, will continue to compete in front of the Best Fans on the Planet!
Jay Lethal used Ring of Honor’s biggest year yet, 2015, to assert himself as the top professional wrestler on the planet. Determined to make the ROH World Championship a truly world title after winning it in June in New York, Lethal has defended his championship in ROH, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and in Europe, including a recent 10-day stretch where he wrestled on three continents! Lethal, who made his ROH debut in 2004, has become one of the most decorated stars in ROH history, entering his 21st consecutive month holding championship gold!
“As the Ring of Honor World Champion, there is no place I would rather be,” said Lethal. “The Best Professional Wrestling on the Planet isn’t a clever marketing moniker – I have re-signed with ROH to prove that I am the best professional wrestler in the world as I defend the Ring of Honor World Championship across the globe.”
Since forming a tag team in 2012, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, known collectively as reDRagon, have set a worldwide standard for tag team wrestling. The three-time ROH World Tag Team Champions nicknamed the “Two Man Smash Machine” and “Best Team on God’s Green”, have had unparalleled success in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling as both tag team competitors and singles stars. With their contract renewal, fans of Fish and O’Reilly will be ecstatic to know that reDRagon will continue to compete in New Japan, where they are winners of the Super Jr. Tag Team Tournament and two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions!
“When you talk about tag team wrestling, War Machine, the Young Bucks, Briscoes, All Night Express, all of the top teams in the world are in or are coming to Ring of Honor,” said Fish. O’Reilly added, “We have our sights set on it all in 2016 – singles and tag team gold. 2016 will be the Year of the Dragon in ROH.”
With three key stars re-signed to the ROH ranks, their sights undoubtedly turn from contract negotiations to Ring of Honor’s 14th Anniversary Pay Per View on Friday February 25, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST! Lethal and O’Reilly have already been signed as part of a huge three-way ROH World Title Defense where Lethal will defend against O’Reilly and Adam Cole!
More information about Jay Lethal, reDRagon, and Ring of Honor’s 14th Anniversary Pay Per View, including upcoming appearances and featured products, can be found on http://www.rohwrestling.com.
Lethal signed several weeks ago while O’Reilly and Fish signed their deals about a week ago, according to The Wrestling Observer. There was speculation for a while that Lethal might have been looking to jump ship to World Wrestling Entertainment. He talked about wanting to work their one day in order to check it off his bucket list. However, with Lethal retaining his championship during his recent title defenses, the odds of him leaving for the WWE became much slimmer. Lethal’s only 30 years old and I’m sure he’ll eventually wrestle with the WWE someday; it’s just not happening any time in the immediate future.
The Wrestling Observer also noted that O’Reilly and Fish’s deal to stay with ROH also meant that they’ll continue working with New Japan Pro Wrestling (similar to the Young Bucks’ latest deal). ROH has exclusivity over the wrestlers in North America (with the exception of PWG shows), but they are free to wrestle overseas bookings as they please.
Mark’s reaction: This is great news for ROH and I’m happy all three men re-signed. They’re all incredibly talented and I’m looking forward to seeing how they’re 2016 goes. On the topic of Lethal not going to WWE, I’m happy because WWE’s filled the brim with talent right now. I’m a little concerned as to how they’re going to properly utilize all the talent they currently have, so adding one more star like Lethal right now almost seems crazy. Lethal had arguably the best year of his career in 2015 and he’s really found his groove in ROH. Leaving at this moment would have been a mistake, so good for him on keeping his spot as the face of Ring of Honor Wrestling.