Former ROH COO Joe Koff has passed away.
Major League Wrestling shared the news on Twitter. They extended their condolences to Koff’s family. In their post, they highlighted Koff’s integrity, honor, and passion.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported the news as well and noted that Koff had been battling cancer privately for some time. Per Johnson, Koff made the decision in August to discontinue treatment to improve the quality of the time he had left with his family.
Joe Koff served as the Chief Operating Officer of ROH from September 2011 to May 2022. This was a key period in ROH’s history, as it came when the company was owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. Koff’s time in the wrestling world dated back to the 1980s. He joined Sinclair in 2003 and served as their Senior Vice President of Training and Development. Koff’s work with Sinclair led him to Ring of Honor.
Under Koff, ROH reached new heights in multiple ways, perhaps culminating with their G1 Supercard event they co-promoted with NJPW at Madison Square Garden in 2019. The company also held monthly pay-per-views, launched HonorClub, and had a weekly television show.
Koff and ROH received a lot of praise for the way they handled the COVID-19 pandemic, both with safety protocols and the way they kept the company running so that talent, crew, and employees would still have a place to work.
On behalf of WrestleZone, we send our condolences to Joe Koff’s family, friends, and fans.
