July 23, 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ROH/NJPW to run MSG, Hogan reinstated into WWE HOF, more

ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling announced this past week that they officially will be running Madison Square Garden on April 6, 2019, the night before WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium in nearby East Rutherford, NJ.

Booking the world’s most famous arena on the night before a local WrestleMania was obviously a complicated issue. The date had been booked weeks ago, when Sinclair Broadcasting CEO Chris Ripley announced ROH running MSG in 2019. We had reported the planned date, and as soon as the announcement was made, WWE called MSG and attempted to block the booking. MSG pulled the date from ROH, and Sinclair immediately threatened a lawsuit.

Those on the Sinclair side of things expected that the show would probably take place, even though no contract had been signed. This was a game of leverage. The feeling was that they had enough information and commitment to prove the agreement for a date, and it would look bad in court for both MSG and WWE.

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