Former ROH COO Joe Koff has sadly passed away at the age of 73.
Koff had been privately battling cancer for some time. The former wrestling executive made the decision to discontinue his treatment in August in order to enhance the quality of time he had left with his family.
The news of his passing was announced by Major League Wrestling on Twitter. A number of companies and wrestling personalities have come forward to pay their tributes since then:
Joe Koff had been a lifelong fan of wrestling and he used to attend WWWF events with his father in the original Madison Square Garden arena back in the 60s.
The path for him to getting involved in the business as an authority figure began in 2003 when Koff became the Senior VP of Training and Development for Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair purchased Ring of Honor in 2011 and Joe was then appointed as the COO of the promotion to run day-to-day operations.
The late executive headed many major developments for the company including the launch of their own streaming service Honor Club which was first unveiled in February 2018.
It was under Koff’s leadership that the company signed names such as Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks which helped the brand reach new heights.
The company unfortunately went through financial troubles during the COVID-19 pandemic and Koff was relieved of his duties when Sinclair sold the promotion to Tony Khan in 2022.
