While Ring of Honor (ROH) wrestling may not be as familiar to everyone as the bigger WWE, it’s Ring of Honor that has found its way into the Oscar race.
“The Wrestler,” the acclaimed movie which stars Oscar nominees Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, used ROH events to film scenes and what is seen in film is not staged in film studio, it was an actual ROH ring and fans. Ring of Honor Owner Cary Silkin told TicketNews that he was approached almost a year and a half ago by Evan Ginzberg on behalf of director Darren Aronofsky about the possibility of filming during an event.
“It was an exciting opportunity,” Silkin said. In addition to owning ROH, Silkin is also a ticket broker and owns Ravetix.com.
In December 2007, Aronofsky and Nicolas Cage, who was then cast as Randy “The Ram” Robinson prior to Rourke, attended a ROH event. Then just months later in March 2008, Aronofsky returned this time with Rourke and the rest of his crew to film at a ROH event in Dover, New Jersey. Now, not even a year later “The Wrestler” has been nominated for two Oscars and has won two Golden Globe Awards.
“It has been tremendous for us,” Silkin said adding that he has been flooded with interviews for radio, newspapers and more.
“The Wrestler” has certainly helped exposure for the ROH, and as the film continues on through award season, Silkin will be watching with rooted interest. Rourke and Tomei will be looking to capture Oscars on February 22 at the 81st annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Silkin is a long-time ticket broker with twenty years of experience. While wrestling and the ticket resale industry may be different worlds, there are similarities.
“They are both very competitive,” he said. “They are both cut-throat, you have to be paying attention.”
Like many people in wrestling, Silkin has been a fan of since he was a kid. His first job in the wrestling business came in the late nineties, when he became involved with a wrestling magazine that was being published in Puerto Rico, entirely in Spanish. It was the first of its kind in Puerto Rico he said, adding that there is love of the sport on the tiny island.
He joined up with ROH after knowing some of the people who were starting the wrestling organization. Since taking over as owner, ROH has continued to grow. They have held events all over the United States and have headed overseas as well, with events in Japan and the United Kingdom. Their fan base continues to grow with plenty of live shows, pay-per-views and will soon be announcing a television deal as well.
