Bobby Cruise On Why Tonight's AEW Dynamite Has Special Meaning

Bobby Cruise was a main fixture in Ring of Honor when it was still running as a separate entity from Tony Khan, and he hopes to continue that trend with the promotion under Khan's direction. Tonight's new episode of "AEW Dynamite" is emanating from the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts — an arena that holds a special place in Cruise's heart for both positive and negative reasons.

"Last year, that fateful day that we had a conference call to inform us of what was going on with Ring of Honor and that contracts were being terminated and all that stuff, I was actually driving up to Boston, to the Agganis Arena, to visit with some old friends from AEW that said, 'Hey, we're in town. Come visit, hang out, say hi.' I literally, on the entire drive up, was on this conference call getting this news," Cruise said on Busted Open Radio. As referenced by Cruise, ROH went on hiatus following December 2021's Final Battle pay-per-view, releasing all talent from their contracts while claiming it was to take time off to return with a "new fan-focused product and provide a unique experience." Ultimately, this would lead to ROH being acquired by Khan, who has since featured the talent and the promotion's Championship belts on his "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Rampage" shows, as well as occasional ROH events like the scheduled ROH Final Battle pay-per-view this December 10 in Arlington, Texas.

A lot has shifted since we first learned of ROH's hiatus, but looking at the bigger picture, Cruise notes that he feels "very, very fortunate right now" to still be in the fold with ROH. "Fast forward to April of this year, in that same building was my first appearance actually with AEW, on "Dynamite" for The Young Bucks and FTR for the AAA and ROH Tag Team Title match."