Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor (ROH) is an independent professional wrestling promotion created in 2002. It is one of the leading US independent companies and 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.

Respected wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer rated 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/Nauki Doi/Masato Yoshino (Blood Generation) from "Supercard of Honor" on March 31 2006; a full five-stars in the Wrestling Observer. 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.

Contenders for Championships

Originally there was no set way to determine challengers for the World 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 World 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 World Championship and the Pure Championship.

The latest system involved the wrestlers submitting title petitions to the officials. Once a wrestler filed a petition, ROH officials will kept track of his record, quality of opposition, respect shown towards the Code Of Honor and inherent skill. Those factors determined who received title shots. It still was possible for ROH officials to sign matches to determine #1 contenders if no decision could be reached.

With the establishment of Jim Cornette as ROH Commissioner, ROH Management has confirmed the return of the Top Five Ranking system. The Top 5 will be voted on by Cornette and ROH officials during the first week of every month. The ratings will last for the entire month. Voting will be based on won/lost record and quality of opposition with a heavy emphasis on the last month. The first Top 5 ranking was made official after the 29 October 2005 New Haven area event.

As of June 2006, Ring of Honor has decided to put the Top 5 Rankings on hiatus in light of the fact that they haven't been utilized to determine challengers to the ROH World Title consistently for a long period of time. The current unofficial format involves the champion sending open contracts to other promotions, as well as ROH simply naming contenders who they deem eligible.

Roster

See: Ring of Honor roster

Current champions

Championship:	Champion(s):	Defeated:	Date Won:	Location:	Event
World Heavyweight Championship	Bryan Danielson	James Gibson	September 17, 2005	Lake Grove, NY	Glory By Honor IV
Pure Championship	Nigel McGuinness	Samoa Joe	August 27, 2005	Buffalo, NY	Dragon Gate Invasion
World Tag Team Championship	Austin Aries & Roderick Strong	Sal Rinauro & Tony Mamaluke	December 17, 2005	Edison, NJ	Final Battle 2005

Events

See: Ring of Honor events

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). 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.

ROH wrestling school

The ROH promotion also runs a professional wrestling school called ROH Wrestling School in Bristol, PA. Its current head trainer is Bryan Danielson after moving to Philadelphia from Washington State. 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.

External links

Professional wrestling promotions | 2002 establishments

Ring of Honor | 링 오브 오너 | Ring of Honor | ROH