Ring of Honor has managed to attach themselves to a lot of great talent over the years. Some have gone on to have excellent careers in TNA and WWE while others have had tons of Indy success. Regardless of the story, ROH is where it all starts. One constant for ROH, however, has been The Briscoes. Both brothers have shown to be great in both singles and tag team action, so WWE took interest in them on multiple occasions.
Years ago, the two went to Tampa for a tryout at FCW, WWE’s training territory at the time. WWE didn’t sign them then, but many felt WWE would try to sign them down the line. So WWE then sent out another invite to the brothers to come to Orlando, where they would come into the WWE Performance Center. The two went down to Florida and seemed to do well, so much so that WWE offered them a developmental deal that would one day turn into a main roster contract.
However, according to Philly.com , the two have decided to stay with ROH for another two years. The brothers have been with ROH since 2002, which means the pair have spent around 13 years with the company. They are the longest tenured stars of the program, bar none. Now they won’t be able to go anywhere until around 2017.
It is said that the two reportedly wanted to stay home because ROH offered them more than WWE. Keep in mind that WWE offered them a developmental contract to join WWE NXT . This would allow WWE to use them at NXT until they had a need on the main roster. However, the two have their own business, which means that they’d have to leave a lot behind to go to WWE.
As a result, they decided to stay. WWE wouldn’t budge on their offer and stayed firm at the price set. So the Briscoes simply declined. In today’s pro-wrestling world, WWE isn’t the only place to make money. Often times, you can make great revenue from top Indy promotions across the world. Prince Devitt, now Finn Balor in WWE, was a huge star in Japan. He made a great living there, and NJPW offered him nice money to stay. However, WWE gave him a good offer to persuade him to jump, then offered the concept that he could see the main roster sooner, which means more money as well.
Balor didn’t have to go, but he felt that he’d regret not trying his hand at WWE before he retired. He is young enough that he can probably have a good five- to seven-year run with WWE, so he easily could do a lot for the company. He then could always return to the UK or Japan and wrestle afterward. The Briscoes see that it’d be nice to go to WWE, but they aren’t struggling with ROH. So there is no need for a WWE jump to them. Clearly, some fans will be upset about the decision, but it all comes down to what is best for the brothers. It seems that they felt ROH was best in the end.
[IMG Credit: ROH Wrestling]
