Former ROH TV Champion Gives Thoughts on Current WWE and TNA Product

I recently had the chance to interview former Ring of Honor Television Champion Matt Taven on the Pancakes and Powerslams show. Taven was an incredible guest host, who showed his passion for professional wrestling. 

Taven started to truly make a name for himself just a few years ago when he debuted in ROH after some time on the independent circuit. He almost immediately spawned the interest of the crowd by his exhibition in the ROH Top Prospect Tournament. His character quickly evolved when he turned heel and aligned himself with manager Truth Martini, joining his House of Truth stable. This decision led to winning the TV title and becoming responsible for the longest reign in the company to date.

Taven and I discussed many topics. Taven was very happy with the direction of ROH, comparing the fan and crowd support to the fanbase of Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 1990s.

Regarding the status of TNA, Taven felt as if they did too much too soon, needing to be more wise in their decision making instead of focusing so much on competing against WWE. However, he wishes the best for the company, having peers that he enjoyed working with when they were in ROH, such as Eddie Edwards.

Taven expressed that his best Royal Rumble match of all time was 1992, saying that it was "his best event for the sheer commentary alone," and it was one of the funniest pieces of work between Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. Whether if we will see a Royal Rumble match be for a title again, he said, "It would have to. People will be into it again."

On his views of the current WWE product, Taven expressed, "Right now they're struggling a little bit in most fans' minds, but at the same time, they're making more money now than they've ever made, so what do they really care, and that's the conundrum. And that's the problem you see without that WCW-style competition." 

Taven also spoke on growing up as a kid as a wrestling fan, being a fan of the NXT product, Adrian Neville, his pick for the Super Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship. You can hear the full interview here.

Along with being a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, Chris also is a Featured Editor for WeAreWrestling.net. Be sure to listen weekly to the Pancakes and Powerslams show, recapping the week in wrestling, as well as trivia and throwback wrestling discussion. Tune in this week for the major announcement of a big name appearing on the show.