Ring of Honor

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For other uses, see Ring of Honor (disambiguation).
Ring of Honor
Details
Acronym ROH
Established 2002
Style Professional wrestling
Location Bristol, Pennsylvania
Founder(s) Rob Feinstein
Owner(s) Cary Silkin
Parent RF Video (former)
Sister Full Impact Pro
SHIMMER Women Athletes
Website ROHwrestling.com

Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion. It was founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and is currently owned by Cary Silkin. ROH usually holds several shows each month, sometimes as many as six. Annual shows include the Anniversary Show(s), Death Before Dishonor, Survival of the Fittest, Glory by Honor, and Final Battle (the last show of the calendar year).

ROH records all its shows and sells them on DVD through mail-order and its online store, which has developed a loyal fanbase for the promotion in America and internationally. Ring of Honor broadcasts on The Fight Network to viewers in Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, on Samurai TV to viewers in Japan and select shows on pay-per-view in the United States.

Contents

[edit] History

In April 2001, professional wrestling video distribution company RF Video was in need of a new promotion to lead its video sales after Extreme Championship Wrestling (its best seller) went out of business. At the time, RF Video also filmed events held by other, less-popular, regional wrestling promotions; it sold these through its catalog and website. RF Video owner Rob Feinstein decided to fill the ECW void by starting his own promotion, then distributing its made-for-DVD and VHS productions exclusively through RF Video. The first event, titled The Era of Honor Begins, was held on February 23, 2002. It featured nine matches, including a match between Eddy Guerrero and Super Crazy for the IWA Intercontinental Championship, and a triple threat match between Christopher Daniels, Bryan Danielson and Low Ki, who would become known as the "founding fathers of ROH". In its first year of operation, ROH confined itself to a limited number of venues and cities (in the northeastern U.S.). Ten shows were run in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; two in greater Boston, Massachusetts; one in metro Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and, one in Queens, New York. In 2003, ROH expanded to other areas of the United States, including Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland. It also began to build its international identity by co-promoting an event with Frontier Wrestling Alliance in London, England.

In 2004, Feinstein was caught in a sting operation in which he tried to solicit sex from an adult posing as a minor; as a result, Feinstein left the company in June 2004 [1]. The scandal garnered bad publicity for ROH, resulting in a decline in business for a period of time. Also as a result of this, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling pulled its contracted wrestlers (most notably AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels) from all Ring of Honor shows [2]. This was also a factor in the decline, as both performers were marquee names for ROH. Feinstein's stake was eventually sold to Doug Gentry, who later sold it to Cary Silkin [3]. Ring of Honor would start its own mail-order and online store, which sells DVDs of its live events and shoot interviews with wrestlers and managers, along with wrestling-related merchandise of other companies, including some competing promotions.

Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has given full five-star ratings to several ROH matches, including the Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk sixty-minute bout from Joe vs. Punk II on October 16, 2004; Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi from Joe vs. Kobashi on October 1, 2005; and Do FIXER (Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi and Ryo Saito) vs. Blood Generation (CIMA, Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino) from Supercard of Honor on March 31, 2006. At the time of Joe vs. Punk II, Meltzer had not rated any wrestling match in the US the full five-stars since 1997. The Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk feud brought revived interest in ROH, but it took a year before the company would become self-sufficient (in November 2005). Until this point, since the split from RF Video, ROH had not made a profit. The strong DVD sales of the October 1, 2005 Joe vs. Kobashi event helped turn the tide.

On January 23, 2007, Ring of Honor announced plans for a Japanese tour[4], resulting in a July 16 show in Tokyo co-promoted with Pro Wrestling NOAH and a July 17 show in Osaka co-promoted with Dragon Gate. Shortly after, ROH became the first U.S.-based promotion to have its titles held entirely by non-American wrestlers as the Dragon Gate team of Naruki Doi and Shingo held the ROH World Tag Team Championship while at the same time their fellow countryman, Pro Wrestling NOAH star Takeshi Morishima, held the ROH World Championship.

On May 2, 2007, Ring of Honor announced the signing of a PPV and VOD deal with G-Funk Sports & Entertainment to bring ROH into homes with iN DEMAND Networks, TVN, and the DISH Network. The deal called for 6 taped pay-per-view events to air every 60 days. [5] Because of the move to pay-per-view, TNA Wrestling immediately pulled its contracted stars (Austin Aries and Homicide) from Ring of Honor shows.[6]. The first show, titled Respect is Earned, was taped on May 12 and was first aired on July 1 on DISH Network [7]. ROH would tape their second pay-per-view, Driven, the following month.

[edit] Code of Honor

The primary way of setting ROH apart from other promotions was the "Code of Honor": a set of rules dictating how wrestlers were supposed to conduct themselves during matches. The Code of Honor was intended to infuse Ring of Honor's matches with a feel similar to Japanese professional wrestling. Initially, there were five "Laws" in the Code of Honor, which were mentioned at some point during each ROH home release. It was considered a "moral requirement" to follow these rules. They were (usually in this order):

  1. You must shake hands before and after every match.
  2. No outside interference -- no interfering in others' matches or having others interfere on your behalf.
  3. No sneak attacks
  4. No harming the officials.
  5. Do not get yourself disqualified

The Code of Honor (especially its first three rules) was used principally to help heels get over quickly. The first rule was especially applicable to Christopher Daniels, who was pushed as the promotion's first major heel. Daniels and his faction, The Prophecy, did not believe in the Code of Honor, refusing to shake anyone's hand. The fourth and fifth rules were to emphasize ROH's match finishes, the vast majority of which resulted in 'honest' pins, submissions, or knockouts. On the rare occasion that a match did end with outside interference, a "ref bump", or some other traditional heel scenario, it was met with a much more visceral (negative) fan reaction than would be seen elsewhere in the wrestling world. In the early days of the promotion, it was even suggested that getting disqualified in a match may result in that wrestler never appearing in ROH again.

In early 2004, ROH's booker, Gabe Sapolsky, began to feel that the Code of Honor had run its course [8]. Wrestlers were no longer required to follow it, allowing for more dramatic, explosive, and over-the-top match endings. This was accepted at that point due to the stars the promotion had already established, and the trust of the loyal fans it had won. The Code of Honor eventually re-appeared -- revamped -- as three rules:

  1. Shake hands before and after the match -- if you respect your opponent.
  2. Keep the playing field level.
  3. Respect the officials.

[edit] Contenders for Championships

Originally, Ring of Honor had no formal way to determine challengers for its World Championship. When Xavier, a heel champion, began to avoid challengers, Ring of Honor instated a Top Five Ranking system to establish contenders to the title. Wrestlers were ranked based on their general win-loss record, and their win-loss record against other ranked competitors. The top contender held the Number One Contender's Trophy, which was treated as a second championship at the time, and defended as such.

The ranking system was abolished with the creation of the new Code of Honor. The ranking system was replaced by the Contenders Ring, a more complex polling system whereby ROH officials would submit rankings after each show. Wrestlers who appeared on more than 75% of the ballots were considered to be in the Contenders Ring, which earned them title shots for both the World and Pure Championships.

In January 2005, Ring of Honor did away with the Contenders Ring. Instead, wrestlers who wanted a title shot had to submit a petition to ROH officials. After a petition was filed, ROH officials kept track of the petitioner's record, quality of opposition, respect shown towards the Code of Honor, and inherent skill. These factors determined who would receive a title shot. Despite the petition system, ROH officials retained the ability to determine #1 contenders.

Upon the naming of Jim Cornette as ROH Commissioner in October 2005, Ring of Honor Management confirmed the return of the Top Five Ranking system. The "Top 5" was voted on by Cornette and other ROH officials during the first week of every month, only. Voting was based on won/lost record and quality of opposition, with a heavy emphasis on the previous month.

In July of 2006, Ring of Honor again dropped the Top 5 concept, as it had not consistently been used to determine ROH World Title challengers. The champion at the time, Bryan Danielson, had instead been sending open contracts to wrestlers in other promotions around the world, with ROH officials also choosing contenders from within the company. This was also done when Homicide won the title from him -- who lost it to one of those challengers: Takeshi Morishima from Pro Wrestling NOAH. After Morishima won the belt, it seemed that he could choose his challengers, as he defended it (with ROH and NOAH approval) at NOAH's March 4, 2007 Budoukan Hall show against KENTA [9].

[edit] Titles

Championship Champion(s) Previous champion(s) Date Won Location Event
ROH World Championship Nigel McGuinness Takeshi Morishima October 6, 2007 Edison, New Jersey Undeniable
ROH World Tag Team Championship Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black Briscoe Brothers June 6, 2008 Hartford, Connecticut TBA
FIP World Heavyweight Championship Roderick Strong Erick Stevens February 16, 2008 Crystal River, FL FIP Redefined
SHIMMER Championship MsChif Sara Del Rey April 26, 2008 Berwyn, Illinois SHIMMER Volume 18
Top of the Class Trophy Rhett Titus Ernie Osiris June 7, 2008 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Respect Is Earned II


[edit] Previous championships

Championship Final Champion(s) Defeated Date Won Location Event
ROH Pure Championship Bryan Danielson Nigel McGuinness August 12, 2006 Liverpool, England Unified

[edit] Specialty matches

This match does not require participants to adhere to the Code of Honor, and usually involves no disqualifications and the use of weapons. The match is typically used to end the more violent feuds in ROH.
  • Round Robin Challenge
3 wrestlers/tag teams compete with each other in a round robin tournament. They each wrestle two different matches (making a total of three matches), with the one(s) with the most victories winning the challenge. Christopher Daniels is the only person to win a Round Robin Challenge, as all others have ended in a draw with each participant(s) winning one match and losing the other. Round-robin tournament is a common league system employed in many sports, such as soccer and ice hockey. It was popularized in wrestling by All Japan Pro Wrestling with their Champion Carnival tournament.

[edit] ROH wrestling school

The ROH promotion also runs a professional wrestling school called the ROH Wrestling Academy in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The current head trainer of the school is Delirious with previous head trainers of the academy including former ROH World Champions CM Punk, Austin Aries, and Bryan Danielson. The first three classes of students have already graduated and currently wrestle on the US independent circuit, including preliminary and exhibition matches at Ring of Honor events. Top Graduates include Davey Andrews, Pelle Primeau and Shane Hagadorn. ROH has a "Top of the Class" trophy to promote the students on the main show; while the Trophy is won and lost in matches, the winners are chosen by the School's head trainer.

[edit] See also

Professional wrestling
Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Crisis rocks ROH (2004-03-04). “Robert Feinstein announced today that he is leaving Ring Of Honor Inc. and RF Video Inc.”
  2. ^ 2004 a year of triumph for Ring of Honor (2005-02-16). “The company took another setback when TNA pulled their contracted talent off of all ROH shows.”
  3. ^ 2004 a year of triumph for Ring of Honor (2005-02-16). “”Fortunately, Cary Silkin, who is now the 100% owner of ROH, was saving us at that point,” Sapolsky said.”
  4. ^ Newswire for the week of January 21st (January 23). “Ring of Honor will be headed to Japan in July for two shows”
  5. ^ ROHwrestling.com (May 3). “INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING PHENOMENON RING OF HONOR INKS STATESIDE TELEVISION DEALS”
  6. ^ Wrestling Observer (May 3). “TNA has pulled all talent from both ROH and PWG”
  7. ^ International Wrestling Phenomenon Ring of Honor Inks Stateside Television Deals (May 2).
  8. ^ 2004 a year of triumph for Ring of Honor (16 February). “”At the time I was really hating the ‘Code of Honor’”.”
  9. ^ noah-usa.cc (2007-03-05). Pro Wrestling NOAH News Archive. “Takeshi MORISHIMA successfully defended his ROH World Title by defeating KENTA at Budokan Show in Tokyo Japan. Several months after Takeshi MORISHIMA's rain of Terror ON the PPV tapping of Undeniable, Nigel McGuinness took down Takeshi MORISHIMA winning the Ring of Honor World Title for the first time.”

[edit] External links

Ring of Honor
Active championships
ROH World Championship • ROH World Tag Team Championship • FIP World Heavyweight Championship • SHIMMER Championship
Inactive championship
ROH Pure Championship
Sister promotions
Full Impact Pro • SHIMMER Women Athletes
Miscellaneous
Roster • Pay-Per-Views • Global Professional Wrestling Alliance