In an update on the departure from Ring of Honor of Gabe Sapolsky, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported late on Sunday that Cary Silkin is ready to confirm Adam Pearce as the promotion’s new head booker.

Despite reports on some websites yesterday, Sapolsky did not quit ROH. Silkin informed him of his decision late on Saturday night following the show in Edison, NJ.

Sapolsky told iFight365.com on Sunday morning: “I loved my time with ROH,” before confirming that he left the company as he “was shown the door” rather than walking out on the company.

And Silkin this morning told us: “We wish Gabe well and appreciate his contributions over the years and we are excited about moving on.”

With Silkin reportedly ready to appoint Pearce as the new booker, that will lead to speculation that he was already aware of the changes prior to Sapolsky being informed of the decision in Edison, however the official word is that nobody knew of Silkin’s decision ahead of time.

As we noted yesterday, the future of the Florida based Full Impact Pro promotion, for who Sapolsky is also the booker, is unclear, according to Sapolsky himself.

Going forward, Silkin is keen to take the company in a new direction. What that means exactly remains to be seen, however it may well be that there is a more of a focus on characters and perhaps less attention paid to two good wrestlers having great matches, which is how the promotion has been booked under Sapolsky, with success.

The changes have been met with a lot of negativity from ROH’s hardcore fans, many of whom want Sapolsky to remain in charge.

But, ultimately, a booker never stays in charge of a wrestling promotion forever. And with business down (especially DVD sales), Silkin believed changes were needed.

Phil Lowe
phil@ifight365.com