What if WWE buys out Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor?

For nearly two decades, WWE was beyond reproach as the single, dominant force among US-based wrestling promotions. We’ve seen a proliferation of good smaller promotions like Lucha Underground, CZW, Chikara Pro, House of Hardcore, and PWG. Out of these less prominent wrestling companies, though, only Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor have stood the test of time when it comes to having a reasonable fan base, national television deals, and PPV.

With the arrival of All Elite Wrestling, fans have started speculating about them emerging as a meaningful challenger to WWE. More realistically, though, it will take some time before the company really threatens WWE. It’s more realistic that they could edge Impact and ROH out of their spots, and conceivably out of business.

So what if WWE were to buy Impact and ROH, either because they were going under like WCW and ECW in 2001, or as a more aggressive acquisition against AEW? It’s an intriguing possibility, and this article looks at five potential results.

---

#5 Ring of Honor remains its own brand

ROH has the credibility to remain its own entity.

Ring of Honor is a brand that still commands respect among hardcore wrestling fans. Indeed, the company has, unintentionally, functioned as sort of a feeder for WWE, as top stars from it like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins have gone on to become top guys in WWE.

As such, if WWE were to acquire ROH, it stands to reason they might keep it intact, using the brand as a space in between NXT and Evolve as a preparatory ground and a product that caters to hardcore fans. Of course, owning the promotion would come with a degree of oversight, with WWE personnel influencing creative and roster decisions, so, for better or for worse, it’s not as though this ROH would ultimately be the same as the long-running company up to this point. We could expect to see ROH TV, and even PPV style specials airing on the WWE Network.

#4 Impact Wrestling is primarily used for its tape library

Impact probably wouldn't continue to run original programming under WWE, but the tape library including years of work by guys like Bobby Roode would be valuable.

While Ring of Honor remains a brand with clout, Impact Wrestling cannot exactly claim the same. Indeed, the company has strived to distance itself from the TNA branding it long operated under, which came to have a stigma for imitating WWE, overreaching in terms of trying to compete, and nonsensical storytelling and gimmick matches reminiscent of WCW at its worst.

If WWE were to acquire Impact, it may well absorb some top talents and key bits of intellectual property. More so, though, we can anticipate a primary interest in the company’s tape library, which includes hidden gems from many current WWE stars like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Roode, as well as legends like Sting and Kurt Angle. Moreover, to honor the sensibilities of some wrestling historians who want access to everything, the Impact library represents another large resource of PPVs and TV shows to roll out on the Network over time.

#3 205 Live expands

Buddy Murphy would see an influx of new Cruiserweight challengers with the acquisition of ROH and Impact.

Early on, 205 Live looked as though it would suffer from WWE not taking its smaller talents seriously, and feel like a demotion below Raw, SmackDown, and arguably even NXT. After the Enzo Amore fiasco, and after Triple H took the reins of the brand, it has solidified into a respectable show geared toward old school fans who enjoy in-ring action and stripped down storytelling without over the top drama.

If WWE were to acquire ROH and Impact, and particularly if it were to take on the rosters of each promotion, it could be a major score for 205 Live with a high volume of relatively small wrestlers joining the company. The Cruiserweight roster may well explode and conceivably even justify a second hour of 205 Live to get regular TV time lined up for a larger selection of the purple brand’s diverse array of top stars.

#2 Jay Lethal finally comes to WWE

Jay Lethal is one of the best in the world never to have worked with WWE. That might change.

Over the years there have been a number of top, respected talents from smaller promotions for whom it remained a question if they’d retire without ever having made the leap to WWE. That was a particular consideration during the era when WWE seemed most consumed with “home-growing” their talent and rejecting guys with the stigma of honing their craft outside the WWE system.

The past decade saw guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan pave the way for talents like Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens. As NXT leaned into its hardcore fan sensibilities, we’ve only seen the company skew more and more toward welcoming in talents from ROH, New Japan, and other smaller or international promotion

Jay Lethal is on the very short list of elite veterans of smaller companies who has still never hopped over to WWE. If WWE were to acquire both his current employer, ROH, and his old stomping grounds of Impact it may well finally mark the time for Lethal to sign with the biggest wrestling company in the world, and show off his considerable talent for the mainstream audience.

#1 Impact and ROH’s female talents are mostly out of luck

Top female talent from Impact and ROH may not get signed to WWE.

WWE has expanded its female locker room aggressively in recent years, with more women enjoying featured spots on both Raw and SmackDown Live, a consistently buzzing women’s division in NXT, and the Mae Young Classic showcasing other talents on short term bases.

There are some very good female talents working for Impact and Ring of Honor today. Women like Tessa Blanchard, Rosemary, and Tenille Dashwood. However, it’s hard to say that WWE has really been trying to acquire these talents. In fact, in a number of cases, WWE either had them, or had the clear opportunity to sign them, but passed.

Barring the invention of a new women’s brand, there would likely as not be some big cuts to the women’s roster if WWE did acquire both of these companies and their wrestlers’ contracts. Of course, these talents going without a home base may represent a huge opportunity for All Elite Wrestling in creating its own roster.