Caprice Coleman On Ring Of Honor Hiatus: "Don't Write Us Off!"
Caprice Coleman recently spoke with Wrestling Epicenter about the future of Ring Of Honor. The company announced a hiatus recently, and Coleman admitted that they do not know what is next.
"We don't know what's next. But, we know something else is coming — another version of Ring of Honor, and so we just have to see what happens. Ring of Honor took care of us during the pandemic, so my loyalty is with them. I don't have any hard feelings," he said. "If you look back, they've always kept us in mind first, looking at us as people and not numbers. So I really hope what happens, something great comes out of it and Ring of Honor coming back stronger than ever before."
The situation has created some uncertainty for those involved, which Coleman touched on. He admitted that a lot of that came from the timing of the announcement, but he insisted people shouldn't write the company off.
"Most of it has to do with the timing, you know? You're getting laid off around the Holidays, your last check is coming right before Christmas. But the emotions have also been emotions of encouragement, we are encouraging each other. 'It's all right, this is only for a season!' Some people are pulling out like it is already over. 'They're writing us off,'" Coleman claimed. "I'm saying, don't write us off! Some people just look for bad news. They're just harping on what they think is going to happen and they say it is so. I'm here to say it is not so. I think something great is going to happen."
Since the announcement of the hiatus, several Ring Of Honor stars have begun popping up elsewhere. Coleman believes that will continue, and fans may see wrestlers appearing in other places, but he doesn't think that means the company cannot return.
"They aren't doing anything wrong. Ring of Honor is taking a season off, but people's families aren't taking a season off. (laughs) These athletes still have bills to pay, so you might see athletes turn up other places," Coleman admitted. "But that does not mean Ring of Honor will not return or even that the athlete will not return to Ring of Honor. You never know what you're going to see, but, I'm not discouraged by an athlete trying to find a way to feed his family."
Finally, Coleman spoke about the upcoming Final Battle show, which he insisted will lead to Ring Of Honor going out in style. He also touched upon how a lot of AEW's roster is built on former talent from the company.
"I think most of us are looking at going through this phase and ending it with a bang, that way the last memory people have is of everyone going for the gusto. The people here believe in Ring of Honor! I believe we have the best roster that we have ever had," he stated. "And if you look at professional wrestling right now, everybody that is somebody came through Ring of Honor. The Young Bucks, Cody, Christopher Daniels, the main roster of AEW is like 33% of ours! That is because Ring of Honor has a way of turning out the talent. These people didn't go from Ring of Honor to a training center. They went from Ring of Honor straight to TV. We are the foundation of wrestling."