It has been a busy month for Ring of Honor so far. The members of The Elite all left the promotion and finished up their dates with ROH after the Final Battle event a few weeks ago. While most fans assumed that this would be a huge blow for ROH, the promotion has managed to sign some of the hottest free agents in the industry today to exclusive deals. Just this month, several top ROH stars have signed extended deals. Also, PCO and Brody King joined ROH and made their debuts. Additionally, Bandido, one of the fastest rising stars in wrestling, will be coming to ROH in early January, and international star Mark Haskins will be coming soon as well. It looks like Ring of Honor’s recent signing spree isn’t over just yet though.
ROH has apparently landed another huge signing this week. Independent wrestler Shane Taylor announced on Twitter earlier today that he has officially signed a contract with Ring of Honor and he will start his career with the promotion very soon. Taylor has made a number of appearances for ROH over the course of his career, but he will be working for the promotion full time starting early next year. Earlier this year, Taylor did an interview with Orlando Sentinel wherein he detailed his troubled upbringing in Cleveland, Ohio. He stayed away from a criminal lifestyle and decided to become a professional wrestler instead. Taylor is promising to show the entire wrestling world what he is made of when he returns to ROH in 2019.
Incredibly excited to announce that I’ve officially agreed to terms on an EXCLUSIVE contract with @ringofhonor for 2019!! Trust and believe I’m going to continue to #ShatterTheGlassCeiling & show why I’m #TheREALBreakoutStar in ROH!! pic.twitter.com/MONuY5UQaY
— Shane Taylor (@shane216taylor) December 24, 2018
Fans have made it clear that they have not been impressed with Raw or SmackDown lately. WWE has tried to remedy this by bringing back the McMahon family, calling up some NXT Superstars, and booking new matches. However, the “shake up” still may not be complete. According to Cageside Seats, it is believed that WWE will be loading up both of the television shows as soon as January rolls around. January is the month that the Royal Rumble pay-per-view takes place, which means that it’s also the month that kickstarts the hype for WrestleMania every year. This week’s taped Raw and SmackDown show, and next week’s New Years’ Eve edition of Raw will serve as the final episodes of WWE programming for 2018.