ROH COO Joe Koff Says NJPW Relationship Is The Same, Comments On Scurll & Taven Contracts

ROH COO addresses hot issues. 

Ahead of Friday’s ROH Death Before Dishonor event, ROH COO Joe Koff spoke to CBS Baltimore about a variety of topics. The big topic regarding Ring of Honor at the moment is the contract statuses of ROH Champion Matt Taven and Marty Scurll, who is arguably the most popular wrestler in the company. 

“First of all, Matt’s has been a tremendous champion for Ring of Honor,” said Koff. “He has taken on every single person that’s come at him, and he’s done an amazing job. His matches are just, bar none, some of the best matches I’ve ever watched. And this goes back to his first match back in Brooklyn when he won the tournament to get a title shot at Jay Lethal. I remember it being in Brooklyn, and in the cage was their first match, and the amount of athleticism and artistry and just smart, ring smarts, that Matt Taven has. He’s just been a superb champion. I see an unbelievable future with Ring of Honor. We’re happy to have him, happy to have him as our champion. … So, yeah, I think things are looking up with Matt.”

Taven’s contract reportedly expires at the end of September. He will defend the ROH Title against RUSH at Death Before Dishonor. Taven wouldn’t reveal his hand when asked about his contract in a recent interview with the Orlando Sentinel. 

On the subject of Scurll, whose deal reportedly expires in November, Koff said, “There’s no question about his power inside of what he’s accomplished. Marty is a proven performer. He is definitely a fan favorite. We face this every year. Talent comes, talent goes. I don’t like losing any of my talent. We’ve gone through this list of people that have left Ring of Honor over the course of time, and I think I was sad about every one of them leaving. But Marty’s got a great future with Ring of Honor. He’s important to Ring of Honor, and hopefully, we can conclude that positively, which is always our goal. But, again, I want people who want to be in Ring of Honor and feel what I feel about it in the strength of the company and the strength of its direction. And if all those things are in line, then I think we can expect to see Marty going forward.”

Scurll was mum on his next move once his contract expires in an interview with The Mirror.

A big advantage ROH has over competitors is their working relationship with New Japan. The two promotions partnered for a successful event at Madison Square Garden in April, but ROH teamed with CMLL for the Global Wars tour instead of NJPW, which has led to questions about the status of ROH and NJPW. 

“The status is just basically that they’re starting to do some shows in the United States with New Japan America… [We] probably have to go out a little bit further to make sure that we can plan to do things that don’t disrupt either one of our promotions. But as far as I know, the relationship’s basically the same. They’re doing more competitively, so it does bear on that.”

In another recent interview, Koff discussed the Women of Honor division, believing it to be strong. You can view his comments by clicking here.

Fightful will have live coverage of ROH Death Before Dishonor beginning at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 27.