Danny Cage Discusses Current State Of ROH, Failed Monster Factory - ROH Partnership, AEW

Danny Cage owns and operates The Monster Factory wrestling school and at one point it had a partnership with Ring of Honor. But things fell apart and both sides went their separate ways due to a number of factors.

Cage opened up about what led to the ROH-Monster Factory partnership and what led to its dissolution when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.

"It came together because our guys were always over there," said Cage. "Around 2012 I started going over to the camps and became friends with Kevin Kelly...Whenever they had camps I would always go over and help out and for the first couple of camps my name didn't even get introduced. I just stood there from 9 in the morning to 10 at night. But I understood because who the hell was I?"

Cage then talked about always trying to prove himself and help people when he could and that he became a guest coach first.

"Then Kevin Kelly contacted me right before he left for New Japan and was pretty much letting me know that everything was gonna be mine with the ROH Dojo," revealed Cage. "The first words out of their mouths was, 'So do you like The Monster Factory or are we buying you a whole new building for the dojo?'"

Cage said he liked his facility and he was wary of changing the Monster Factory to ROH Dojo because he was worried what would happen if things didn't work out. Then ROH would have ownership of The Monster Factory and he would be left with nothing.

"Kevin Kelly wound up moving to New Japan and parting ways with ROH so talks went away. Then they opened up the ROH Dojo in Baltimore and we were gonna be an affiliated school. I started going down there to help out, proposed ideas for Future of Honor and they hired me," stated Cage who then soon realized how unorganized things were.

"It was just a big communication problem there with creative differences and no one on the same page. I wasn't ready to have it impact me and they weren't ready to have it impact them, so we parted ways. No harm, no foul, goodbye."

Cage said he did lose some money because he could have focused his efforts elsewhere at that time. He also said his reputation was on the line and he needed to do things the way he knows how to do them.

"It would be like having somebody wanting you to run a restaurant, but having the bartenders running it instead who've never ran a restaurant. So, I got lost in that. Everyday there was stuff that was missing and not being done and no one being accountable for it. It was just like if this is going to be a headache, let's part ways," said Cage.

When asked about the current state of ROH, Cage said he doesn't really know what direction they're going in and it's not like how it was before. He cited the Bully Ray fan altercation as an example of things just being weird there and that he hasn't spoken with ROH in a few months.

"I haven't had any contact with them since May. I was done coaching there in March but since they advertised the show I told them I'd like them to still have the show here in April," said Cage. "I let somebody else produce it even though when I was there, what was put in my hands was, 'You're gonna write, produce and put together all of the Future of Honor stuff.' I did like four or five shows and then the night before the last show, there was a taping and 11 out of the 13 matches were changed and not just outcomes, but different people in them.

"I was like, 'Yeah, I think we're done here.' Since then I haven't talked to them at all. If it was it was just to talk interest. There were talks of possibly bringing me back, but that door's closed for good?.Something would need to change and I don't see it changing."

Even though ROH appears to be out of the picture, AEW is now on the scene and Cage revealed if he's had any talks with them.

"No, but my buddy works there so we talk. I haven't hit them up but I know they have a lot of things going on and I don't think coaching is paramount on their list of things to fill," Cage said before noting that they are focused on TV and production at the moment.

The two most notable wrestling schools in the United States may be Cage's The Monster Factory and WWE's Performance Center. Cage was asked if there is more pressure on the PC talent because of the current pro wrestling climate.

"Yeah, but I think it's good. Good athletes persevere and do way better under pressure. If you can't perform under pressure, this isn't for you. Pro wrestling is Pressure 101," said Cage.

"Right now, this is perfect for WWE, AEW and everyone else. It's either put up or get out. There's so much talent out there hungry to prove a point and to outdo each other. I think for anybody that hopes WWE or AEW fail, they don't understand the business of pro wrestling and how this will lift everybody up.

Danny Cage serves as the owner and head trainer for the "World Famous" Monster Factory pro wrestling academy. For more information about the Monster Factory please visit www.monsterfactory.org.

Cage's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Cage discusses his recent stint guest coaching at the WWE Performance Center, heated arguments he's had with Matt Riddle during training, Matt Riddle's least favorite part of training, why Monster Factory and ROH's relationship didn't work out, the current state of ROH, the launch of AEW, training superfan Izzy and more.

You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.