Ring of Honor now has a new set of authority figures ruling over the brand.
Throughout its long and storied history, Ring of Honor has been host to a number of authority figures, including the likes of Jim Cornette, Gabe Sapolsky, and even Ric Flair during a short stint with the promotion, although since being acquired by AEW President Tony Khan in March of last year, the brand has been without an on-screen authority figure, barring rare appearances from Khan himself.
This now appears to be changing however, as during the most recent ROH taping, Tony Khan announced that both Stokely Hathaway and former ROH World Champion Jerry Lynn will be serving as the promotions new Board of Directors, having matchmaking authority trumped only by Khan himself.
Scoop #7: Tony Khan is back out to introduce us to the NEW ROH Board of Directors
— Jacob Cohen (@MrJacobCohen) June 4, 2023
1. Stokely Hathaway
2. Jerry Lynn
They will have matchmaking and ruling authority that can only be overruled by Tony Khan
He also confirms Sydal vs Joe will happen next week pic.twitter.com/cKls055XUG
The announcement follows an ominous video posted by Hathaway to his Twitter, showing the manager in Tony Khan’s office replacing photos and memorabilia in the room with things of importance to him.
Fightful Select have now provided an insight into the announcement, revealing that they were told Stokely had been pushing for a new role that they heard would be taking shape shortly after the video was posted.
The report also notes that the announcement is strictly a kayfabe change to ROH’s hierarchy, with Tony Khan retaining all of his responsibilities with the promotion.
“This is only in kayfabe and Tony Khan is continuing all of his duties, including the booking. Tony Khan has not reduced any of his responsibilities with the brand.”
-Fightful
Finally, Fightful added that it’s currenly unclear as to what this means for Stokely Hathaway’s future on Dynamite. The manager has long been affiliated with The Firm, however the original plan for the stable was for the group to disband following the Firm Deletion Match.
Regardless, it appears as though both Stokely Hathaway and Jerry Lynn’s futures lie on the ROH side of Tony Khan pro-wrestling operation, with Hathaway set to serve as the heel authority figure, whilst Lynn will act as the babyface voice of reason.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the appointment of Stokely Hathaway and Jerry Lynn as ROH’s Board of Directors as soon as we hear more.
