Ring Of Honor Officially Splits From RF Video!

Late this afternoon, Ring of Honor and RF Video officials completed negotiations and signed a settlement agreement in regard to severing the professional relationship between the two companies. The 45% shares of the promotion owned by Rob Feinstein/Doug Gentry are now controlled by Cary Silkin, who is 100% owner of Ring of Honor from this point forward.

Although the confidentiality clause in the settlement will prevent each side from discussing the situation (or each other), Ring of Honor is expected to issue an official statement to announce the opening of their new office, which they are moving into today and is expected to open for business within the week. ROH's website should return shortly as well. Any merchandise stock that remained in RF Video's possession after their split in early June was returned to ROH over the weekend.

Ring of Honor was formed in early 2002 by RF Video, then owned by Rob Feinstein. RF Video President Doug Gentry took over Feinstein's positions in March 2004 after Feinstein was implicated during a Philadelphia NBC affiliate's sting on online pedophiles and stepped down from his positions. Cary Silkin became majority investor for ROH in January 2004 and had been investing in the company since March 2003. ROH employees Gabe Sapolsky, Sid Euick, and Ross Abrams were laid off by RF Video in early June and were immediately hired by Silkin for ROH. They will make up the nucleus of the promotion's braintrust from this point forward. The promotion's next scheduled event is 7/17 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. ROH gave up the rights to film and/or sell a number of independent promotions that currently hold relationships with RF Video as part of the settlement agreement.

RF Video was founded by Feinstein in 1995 (although he was bootlegging and selling videos for years before that point) and remains open for business. Although Feinstein is not back in any official capacity, he returned to work at the RF Video offices after the split took place earlier this month. He has told many within the wrestling industry that he is in the process of pursuing legal recourse against the NBC affiliate that set up the sting in conjunction with website Perverted-Justice.com. RF Video's current staff (Doug Gentry and Joe Ferrara) will continue to film and sell videos of different promotions past and present including ECW (which they own a large library of shows they filmed during that promotion's run), the ECWA, CZW, IWA Mid-South, and different independent and Japanese wrestling promotions. RF Video is expected to begin promoting live events in a year, once a no compete clause that was negotiated in the settlement that was signed today, runs out.

One promotion that will no longer be filmed by either entity, however, is Frank Goodman's USA Pro Wrestling, who announced today on his website that RF Video would no longer be welcome to film at his shows due to Rob Feinstein's involvement with the company. ROH would not be able to tape the events either due to their signed no-compete agreement with RF Video. At this point, only Harrington Video (which USA Pro pays to produce their own releases) will be taping the New York-based live events.

For those wondering if all parties will indeed keep quiet and not discuss the terms of the agreement, I have heard there is a liability of $5000 that would be forfeited by the first side that openly discusses the settlement or the other side from this point forward. So, if someone wants to talk about the situation, they will have to pony up the funds.

Source: PWInsider.com