What’s the story?
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that Ring Of Honor officials expect former ROH World Champion Kyle O’Reily and one-half of War Machine, Ray Rowe, to leave for WWE imminently. At this point, Rowe and his tag-team partner Hanson still want to move as a packaged deal with ROH, New Japan and WWE all interested. The O’Reilly news isn’t really a big surprise. The big surprise is that Adam Cole’s contract is up in may and he’s almost certainly WWE-bound with Vince McMahon himself reportedly a huge admirer.
In case you didn’t know
O’Reilly and Cole wrestled each other recently at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 for the ROH World Championship with Adam Cole defeating the champion, O’Reillly, to regain the title and become the first 3-time ROH World Champion. It was revealed just hours after the PPV that O’Reilly’s contract had recently run out and he had refused to sign a new contract, which may have led to the title change.
The heart of the matter
O’Reilly refusing to sign a contract has fuelled speculation that he will follow former ROH star Roderick Strong and sign with WWE NXT. As for Adam Cole, his contract is up soon but from a legal standpoint, he cannot start negotiating with WWE until 1st May, 2017. Fellow ROH wrestlers Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels and Hangman Page recently inked new deals with Ring Of Honor. Kyle O'Reilly's REDragon tag-partner Bobby Fish also signed a new deal with ROH, reportedly refusing an offer from the WWE.
What’s next?
Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole are two of the most gifted performers in Ring Of Honor and if they sign with WWE and NXT, as they are expected to, expect them to be rise to the next level in WWE. Cole, particularly, has all the hallmarks of a main roster star – from in-ring ability to promos.
Sportskeeda’s take
If WWE do end up signing O’Reilly and Cole, they would be huge coups for WWE. They could bring star power to NXT’s main event scene and allow the likes of Joe and Nakamura to move to the main roster. As for Rowe, if him and Hanson do manage to move to WWE together, it would be a great career move for them. They are two of the best bruisers in the business.
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