Ring of Honor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Ring of Honor (disambiguation).
| |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Acronym | ROH |
| Established | 2002 |
| Style | Professional wrestling, strong style |
| Location | Philadelphia |
| Founder(s) | Rob Feinstein |
| Owner(s) | Cary Silkin |
| Parent | RF Video (former) |
| Sister | Full Impact Pro, SHIMMER |
Ring of Honor (ROH) is an independent professional wrestling promotion created in 2002 that is owned by Cary Silkin. It usually holds two or three shows every month, sometimes as many as six. Annual shows include the Anniversary Show, Death Before Dishonor, Survival of the Fittest, Glory By Honor and Final Battle.
Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer gave 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 Dragon Kid/Genki Horiguchi/Ryo Saito (Do Fixer) vs. CIMA/Naruki Doi/Masato Yoshino (Blood Generation) 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.
As such, Ring of Honor has developed a loyal fanbase in the Northeast and around the country. Ring of Honor also broadcasts on The Fight Network to viewers in Canada and on the The Wrestling Channel to viewers in Great Britain and Ireland.
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[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, their best seller, went out of business. At the time, RF Video also filmed events held by other less popular regional wrestling promotions and sold them through their catalog and website. RF Video owner Rob Feinstein decided he would fill the void left by ECW by starting his own promotion and distributing the DVD and VHS productions exclusively through RF Video. The first event, dubbed "The Era of Honor Begins" was held on February 23, 2002, and featured a contest between Eddie Guerrero and Super Crazy, a triple threat main event match between the early mainstays of ROH, Christopher Daniels, Bryan Danielson and Low Ki and seven other matches.
In its first year of operation, ROH confined itself to a limited amount of venues and cities in the northeast United States. Ten shows were run in Philadelphia, PA, two were held in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, one was held in the Pittsburgh, PA area, and one, the One-Year Anniversary Show, was held in Queens, NY.
In 2003, ROH expanded to other areas of the United States, including Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland and began to build its international identity by holding an event in Liverpool, England.
ROH has continually expanded its presence on the United States and international independent wrestling scenes, holding events in several more midwestern states, revitalizing its UK connections and routinely importing stars with international appeal.
The primary owner of ROH, Rob Feinstein, was caught in a sting operation when he tried to solicit sex from a minor in the Spring of 2004. It was announced that Feinstein and ROH had severed their ties, but Feinstein was still involved with the company until June 2004. Feinstein's ownership was eventually sold, and ROH soon began to produce and sell their shows through their website, along with other promotions' products. The current owner of ROH is Cary Silkin.
[edit] Code of Honor
Ring of Honor was initially targeted at smark wrestling fans who were fed up with the "sports entertainment" aspect of World Wrestling Entertainment (that is, the constant distractions from actual wrestling, and the over-the-top kayfabe endings to matches). The primary way of doing this was the institution of the "Code of Honor", a set of (kayfabe) rules that dictated how wrestlers were supposed to act. Initially, there were five "Laws of Honor" in the Code of Honor, which were mentioned at some point during every ROH home video release. It was considered a "moral requirement" to follow these rules. They were (usually in this order):
- You must shake hands before and after every match.
- No outside interference - no interfering in others' matches or having others interfere on your behalf.
- No sneak attacks.
- No harming the officials.
- No purposefully disqualifying oneself, definitive winners by pinfall or submission were expected.
The Code of Honor, especially the first three rules, was used principally to help heels get over. The first rule was especially applicable to Christopher Daniels, who was pushed as the promotion's first major heel, because for over four years he refused to shake hands with anyone. The fourth and fifth rules were to emphasize ROH's finishes, the vast majority of which resulted in clean pins, submissions, or knockouts. On the rare occasion that a match did end with outside interference, a ref bump, or other traditional heel tactics, it was met with a much more visceral reaction from the fans 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 would lead to 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.[1] It was de-emphasized to allow for more explosive and over-the-top match finishes, which were accepted at that point due to the stars the promotion had established and the fans it had won. The Code of Honor eventually re-appeared, diminished, as three rules:
- Shake hands before and after the match, if you have respect for your opponent.
- Keep the playing field level.
- Respect the officials.
As of 2004, it was no longer considered a requirement of any kind to follow the Code of Honor. It is not commonly brought up on ROH shows anymore; the only persistent reference is commentators referring to faces shaking hands as "following the Code of Honor."
[edit] Contenders for Championships
Originally, Ring of Honor had no formal way to determine challengers for the World Championship. When Xavier, a heel champion, began to avoid challengers, ROH instated a Top Five Ranking system to establish contenders to the title. Wrestlers were ranked based on their general win-loss record and the win-loss record against other ranked competitors. The World Champion was automatically placed at the top of the rankings. Wrestlers ranked two through five would face each other in the ring to determine the number one contender. The top contender held the Number One Contender Trophy.
The ranking system was abolished at the same time as the creation of the new Code of Honor. The ranking system was replaced by the Contenders Ring, a more complex polling system where 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 Championship and the Pure Championship.
The Contenders Ring was eliminated in favor of a new system which involved the wrestlers submitting title petitions to the officials. After a petition was filed, ROH officials would keep 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, ROH Management confirmed the return of the Top Five Ranking system. The Top 5 was voted on by Cornette and 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. The first Top 5 ranking under Cornette was announced after the October 29, 2005 New Haven area event.
As of June 2006, Ring of Honor again put the Top 5 Ranking system on hiatus as the system had not been used to determine challengers to the ROH World Title on a consistent basis. At present, the champion may seek out his contenders from other promotions and other contenders to the title are named by ROH officials as they see fit.
[edit] Roster
- Main article: Ring of Honor roster
[edit] Shows
- Main article: Ring of Honor shows
[edit] Current champions
| Championship | Champion(s) | Defeated | Date Won | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROH World Championship | Bryan Danielson | James Gibson | September 17, 2005 | Lake Grove, NY | Glory By Honor IV |
| ROH World Tag Team Championship | Matt Sydal & Christopher Daniels | Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero | November 25, 2006 | Edison, NJ | |
| Top of the Class Trophy | Shane Hagadorn | Derrick Dempsey | June 3, 2006 | East Windsor, CT | Destiny |
[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] Gimmick matches
- Round Robin Challenge
- 3 people/tag teams wrestle each other in three different 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). Round robin is a common league system employed in many sports, such as football and ice hockey. It was popularized in wrestling by All Japan Pro Wrestling with their Champion Carnival tournament.
- Scramble Cage Match, and the Scramble Cage Melee
- Scramble Tag Match
- A multi-team match in which there is no tags made. Two wrestlers will start in the ring, when one wrestler leaves any wrestler from any team can enter the ring. The match is sudden death so the first person to score a pinfall or a submission will win the match for his/her team
- Four Corner Survival
- A match between four different singles wrestlers, with the tag format intact. The match is sudden death, where the first wrestler to score a pinfall or submission is declared the victor.
- Six Man Mayhem
- A slight variation on the Four Corner Survival, only with six men instead of four. Other than that, the rules are the same as for Four Corner Survivals.
- Fight Without Honor
- This match does not require participants to adhere to the Code of Honor, and usually involves no disqualifications and the use of weapons.
- Pure Wrestling Match
- Every wrestler has three rope breaks that he can use to break a pin or submission. Submission maneuvers that involve use of the ropes are legal after all three rope breaks are used. Closed fists are illegal. The first time a wrestler uses a closed fist he is given a warning. If he uses a closed fist again he loses one of his rope breaks. If the wrestler already used all of his rope breaks, and uses a closed fist, he is disqualified. There is a 20 seconds countout.
- Ultimate Endurance Match
- This is an elimination that typically includes three or four tag teams. It starts off with a particular set of special stipulations (for instance, falls count anywhere). Everytime one team is eliminated, the stipulations change. The stipulations are predetermined and are not limited to any specific type.
[edit] ROH wrestling school
The ROH promotion also runs a professional wrestling school called ROH Wrestling School in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Its current head trainer is Bryan Danielson after moving to Philadelphia from Washington. Former head trainers of the academy have included the likes of CM Punk and Austin Aries, both former ROH World champions. 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.
