Amy Rose is looking forward to the premiere of the documentary that will highlight Ring of Honor‘s resurgent women’s division.
At the moment, ROH is surrounded by uncertainty; the promotion is on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022, and while it recently confirmed its return in April, the road forward seems unclear. But in 2021, one of the company’s clearest successes centered around the women’s division. Long considered a point of fair criticism, the division reached new heights last year, as ROH built it from the ground up.
Most notably, the ROH Women’s Championship Tournament allowed the promotion to bring in new competitors and elevate others throughout the summer. In the end, Rok-C defeated Miranda Alize in the finals at ROH Death Before Dishonor. She then defended the title several times on ROH programming, and in other promotions, to add even more prestige to the new title. All along the way, women’s wrestling received more prominence on ROH TV, and a new show, ROH Women’s Division Wednesday, was centered around it.
In a new interview with WrestleZone, Rose, who had been with the company for several years prior to its hiatus, expressed her excitement about the documentary. Looking back on the success of the revamped division, she made it clear that she was proud of the way everyone involved worked hard to make it the best it could be. She acknowledged the shortcomings of ROH’s women’s wrestling in the past, but she emphasized the progress the company and its roster showcased in 2021.
“I’m super excited for the opportunity for you guys to see behind the scenes because, you know, all of the women in this tournament, they all worked incredibly hard to be a part of this,” said Rose. “And we wanted it to be the best possible and honestly for me, I was so proud of everyone’s hard work and of everything that went into the division in general. You know, I’m sure a lot of people that know about the history of Ring of Honor know that our women’s division didn’t get a lot of highlight, and I’ve been around since, you know, late 2017 is when I started coming around.
“[The] women’s division was there, but it wasn’t a prominent feature. You know, dark matches, things like that. Our roster was very light, and a lot of the women that would come through were only there momentarily, so it was nice to actually have some focus on our division and to have the time to really shine and show everybody what we can do.”
https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/1481662463485648905?s=20
Rose also credited Bobby Cruise, whose vital work with the women’s division flew under the radar prior to the promotion’s hiatus. She noted that he has been hoping to help improve the division for several years before the initiative kicked off last year. She also noted the link to the Pure Championship Tournament, which helped reestablish pure wrestling as a focal point for the company.
“Someone who personally I don’t think gets a lot of credit is actually Bobby Cruise,” said Rose. “He’s been wanting to work with the women’s division for years. And he’s actually the person that I spent the most time with when I first started [with] Ring of Honor because as timekeeper, I was sitting by his side. And even throughout the years, he always wanted an opportunity to show that this women’s division can do more and bring in talent and new faces and really highlight what these girls can do.
“So I think the Pure Tournament definitely helped open that and make it a possibility, and I think starting fresh and bringing in all these new faces, it really did help the tournament completely.”
The ROH Women’s Division Documentary will premiere on ROH Wrestling.
Bobby Cruise recently reflected on his role in rebuilding ROH’s women’s division in an interview with WrestleZone.
RELATED: Deonna Purrazzo Captures ROH Women’s Title From Rok-C
