Ring of Honor
The Ring of Honor (ROH) is an independent circuit professional wrestling promotion created in 2002. It is one of the leading US Independent companies and usually holds two or three shows every month. Annual shows include the Anniversary Show, Death Before Dishonor, Glory By Honor, Round Robin Challenge and Final Battle.
Unlike World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which mostly focuses on physical appearance, microphone skills, gimmicks, and characters, Ring of Honor showcases technical matches with smaller but very skilled performers.
Matches tend to be longer than those of larger promotions, and focus on the athletic abilities of the wrestlers. Some of the most acclaimed matches of 2004 occurred in the promotion.
Respected wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer rated the Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk sixty-minute bout from "Joe vs. Punk II" 16 October, 2004, a full five-star in the Wrestling Observer. Meltzer had not rated any wrestling match in the United States the full five-stars since 1997.
As such, Ring of Honor has developed a loyal fan base 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.
Code Of Honor
ROH has a goal to present wrestling as a sport, not sports entertainment. In order to achieve this goal, ROH is based on the Code Of Honor, which was originally made up of five Laws Of Honor. These five Laws Of Honor were the sacred rules that defined Ring Of Honor's product and intend to promote sportsmanship, respect and honor inside the wrestling ring. The Laws Of Honor allowed ROH competitors to produce the most athletic matches possible and to insure only the best in ring action with clear winners and losers.
The previous Laws Of Honor were:
- Competitors must shake hands before and after their match.
- No interfering in matches or having others interfere on your behalf.
- No harming a referee or causing others to harm an official. (See: Ref bump)
- No sneak attacks.
- If you are disqualified in your match, you have broken The Code Of Honor
In 2004 these laws were redefined, and are no longer considered to be mandatory. The wrestlers are expected to shake hands with their opponent(s) only if they respect them.
The Laws Of Honor are:
- Kiss the cook.
- Shake hands with your opponent(s) before and after the match.
- Respect the referees and officials.
- Keep the playing field fair and balanced (this means no sneak attacks, no interfering, no allowing interference, no doing anything unfair that can turn the tide or effect the outcome of a match since the winners of all ROH matches should only be determined by true skill).
Some matches are not about respect, honor and sportsmanship. Some matches are about settling a heated issue. Some bouts are about hatred and just trying to hurt you adversary. As the issues in Ring Of Honor get more intense, ROH will present more gimmick matches centered on blood feuds. The Code Of Honor will thus not apply to these matches.
Contenders for Championships
Originally there was no set way to determine challengers for the Heavyweight Championship. When the heel Xavier became champion he began to avoid challengers. ROH instated a Top Five Ranking system where the wrestlers were listed based on their general win-loss record and the win-loss record against other ranked competitors. The heavyweight champion was always number one. The number one contender was determined with matches that included wrestlers on ranks from number two to number five, and the winner was awarded the Number One Contender Trophy to iconify his or her status.
The ranking system was scrapped when the new Laws Of Honor were defined. The new system was called the Contenders Ring. After events the officials submitted ballots, and wrestlers who appeared on more than 75% of the ballots were considered to be inside the Contenders Ring, and were awarded title shots for both the Heavyweight Championship and the Pure Championship.
The latest system involves the wrestlers submitting title petitions to the officials. Once a wrestler files a petition, ROH officials will keep track of his record, quality of opposition, respect shown towards the Code Of Honor and inherent skill. These factors will determine who gets the title shots. Though it is possible that ROH officials will sign matches to determine #1 contenders if no decision can be reached.
Currently there is no defined system for declaring championship contenders. Title shots are generally granted based on wins in specific matches which determine the number one contender to a specific title.
Roster
See: Ring of Honor roster
Titles
see also List of ROH Heavyweight Champions.
| Current Champion | Date Won | Defeated | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Danielson | September 17, 2005 | James Gibson | Lake Grove, New York |
see also List of ROH Pure Champions.
| Current Champion | Date Won | Defeated | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel McGuinness | August 27 2005 | Samoa Joe | Buffalo, New York |
| Current Champion | Date Won | Defeated | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sal Rinauro and Tony Mamaluke | October 1 2005 | Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer | New York, New York |
Events
2005
- Survival of the Fittest II @ Dorchester, MA 9/24/05
- Glory By Honor IV @ Long Island, New York 9/17/05
- Dragon Gate Invasion @ Buffalo, NY 8/27/05
- Night of the Grudges II @ Morristown, NJ 8/20/05
- Punk: The Final Chapter @ Chicago Ridge, IL 8/13/05
- Redemption @ Dayton, OH 8/12/05
- The Homecoming @ Philadelphia, PA 7/23/05
- Fate Of An Angel @ Woodbridge, CT 7/16/05
- Escape From New York @ New York, NY 7/9/05
- Sign of Dishonor @ Long Island, NY 7/8/05
- Death Before Dishonor III @ Morristown, NJ 6/18/05
- The Future Is Now @ New York, NY 6/12/05
- New Frontiers @ Buffalo, NY 6/4/05
- Nowhere To Run @ Chicago Ridge, IL 5/14/05
- Final Showdown @ Dayton, OH 5/13/05
- Manhattan Mayhem @ New York, NY 5/7/05
- Stalemate @ Dorchester, MA 4/16/05
- Best Of American Super Juniors Tournament @ Asbury Park, NJ 4/2/05
- Back to Basics @ Woodbridge, CT 3/12/05
- Trios Tournament 2005 @ Philadelphia, PA 3/5/05
- Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 3 @ Chicago Ridge, IL 2/26/05
- Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 2 @ Dayton, OH 2/25/05
- Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 1 @ Elizabeth, NJ 2/19/05
- Do or Die IV @ Elizabeth, NJ 2/19/05
- It All Begins @ Cambridge, MA 1/15/05
2004
- Final Battle 2004 @ Philadelphia, PA 12/26/04
- All Star Extravaganza II @ Elizabeth, NJ 12/4/04
- Weekend of Thunder Night 2 @ Elizabeth, NJ 11/6/04
- Weekend of Thunder Night 1 @ Revere, MA 11/5/04
- Joe vs. Punk II @ Chicago Ridge, IL 10/16/04
- ROH Gold @ Dayton, OH 10/15/04
- The Midnight Express Reunion @ Philadelphia, PA 10/2/04
- Glory By Honor III @ Elizabeth, NJ 9/11/04
- Scramble Cage Melee @ Braintree, MA 8/28/04
- Testing The Limit @ Philadelphia, PA 8/7/04
- Death Before Dishonor II Part 2 @ Chicago Ridge, IL 7/24/04
- Death Before Dishonor II - Part 1 @ Wauwatsoa, WI 7/23/04
- ROH Reborn - Completion @ Elizabeth, NJ 7/17/04
- Do or Die III @ Elizabeth, NJ 7/17/04
- Survival of the Fittest @ Philidelphia, PA 6/24/04
- World Title Classic @ Dayton, OH 6/12/04
- Generation Next @ Philidelphia, PA 5/22/04
- Round Robin Challenge III @ Lexington, MA 5/15/04
- ROH: Reborn Stage 2 @ Chicago Ridge, IL 4/24/04
- ROH: Reborn Stage 1 @ St Paul, MN 4/23/04
- At Our Best @ Elizabeth, NJ 3/13/04
- Do or Die II @ Elizabeth, NJ 3/13/04
- Second Anniversary Show @ Braintree, MA 2/14/04
- The Last Stand @ Glen Burnie, MD 1/29/04
- The Battle Lines Are Drawn @ Wilmington, OH 1/10/04
2003
- Final Battle Convention Card @ Philadelphia, PA 12/27/03
- War of the Wire @ Framingham, MA 11/29/03
- The Conclusion @ Fairfield, CT 11/28/03
- Main Event Spectacles @ Elizabeth, NJ 11/1/03
- Empire State Showdown @ Spencerport, NY 10/25/03
- Tradition Continues @ Glen Burnie, MD 10/16/03
- Glory By Honor 2 @ Philadelphia, PA 9/20/03
- Beating The Odds @ Wakefield, MA 9/6/03
- Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies @ Fairfield, CT 8/16/03
- Wrath of the Racket @ Dayton, OH 8/9/03
- Death Before Dishonor @ Elizabeth, NJ 7/19/03
- Wrestlerave '03 @ Philadelphia, PA 6/28/03
- Night of the Grudges @ Cambridge, MA 6/14/03
- Do or Die @ Philadelphia, PA 5/31/03
- ROH/FWA Frontiers of Honor @ London, England 5/17/03
- Round Robin Challenge II @ West Mifflin, PA 4/26/03
- The Epic Encounter @ Philadelphia, PA 4/12/03
- Night of the Champions @ Philadelphia, PA 3/22/03
- Expect the Unexpected @ Cambridge, MA 3/13/03
- One Year Anniversary Show @ Queens, NY 2/8/03
- Revenge on the Prophecy @ West Mifflin, PA 1/11/03
2002
- Final Battle 2002 @ Philadelphia, PA 12/28/02
- Night of the Butcher @ Philadelphia, PA 12/7/02
- Scramble Madness @ Wakefield, MA 11/16/02
- All-Star Extravaganza @ Philadelphia, PA 11/9/02
- Glory By Honor @ Philadelphia, PA 10/5/02
- Unscripted @ Philadelphia, PA 9/21/02
- Honor Invades Boston @ Wakefield, MA 8/24/02
- Crowning a Champion @ Philadelphia, PA 7/27/02
- Road to the Title @ Philadelphia, PA 6/22/02
- Night of Appreciation @ Philadelphia, PA 4/27/02
- The Round Robin Challenge @ Philadelphia, PA 3/30/02
- The Era of Honor Begins @ Philadelphia, PA 2/23/02
Specialty 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)
- 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.
- Fight Without Honor
- This match does not require participants to adhere to the Code of Honor, and usually involves 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.
ROH wrestling school
The ROH promotion also runs a professional wrestling school called ROH Wrestling School in Bristol, PA. Its current head trainer is Austin Aries. One class of students have already graduated and currently wrestle on the US Independent Circuit. The second class are in training presently.