History Ring of Honor

1 history

1.1 formation
1.2 rob feinstein controversy
1.3 2007–2009
1.4 2009–2013
1.5 2014–present

history
formation

in april 2001, pro-wrestling video-distribution company rf video needed new promotion lead video sales when best-seller – extreme championship wrestling (ecw) – went out of business , wwe purchased rights brandname. rf video videotaped events held other, less-popular, regional wrestling promotions; sold these through catalog , website. after months of trying join combat zone wrestling (czw), rf video s owner, rob feinstein, decided fill ecw void starting own pro wrestling promotion, , distributing made-for-dvd/vhs productions exclusively through rf video. first event, titled era of honor begins, took place on february 23, 2002 in philadelphia, pennsylvania, former home area of ecw. featured 9 matches, including match between eddy guerrero , super crazy iwa intercontinental heavyweight championship , triple threat match between christopher daniels, bryan danielson, , low ki (who become known founding fathers of roh ). in first year of operation, ring of honor confined staging live events in limited number of venues , cities – in northeastern united states. ten shows ran in philadelphia, pennsylvania; 2 in wakefield, massachusetts; 1 in metro pittsburgh, pennsylvania; and, 1 in queens, new york. in 2003, roh expanded other areas of united states, including ohio, new jersey, connecticut, , maryland. began build international identity co-promoting event frontier wrestling alliance in london, england on may 17, 2003.

rob feinstein controversy

in 2004, feinstein caught in internet-based sting operation, in allegedly tried solicit sex on internet person thought underage boy (but adult, posing minor). after publicized news outlets, feinstein resigned roh in march 2004. in aftermath of scandal, total nonstop action wrestling (tna) ended talent-sharing agreement ring of honor, abruptly withdrawing of contracted wrestlers prior commitments perform in roh shows—including major roh draws a.j. styles , christopher daniels, each either held or hold roh championships. doug gentry bought feinstein s stake in roh, , later sold cary silkin. roh started own mail-order , online store operations, sold dvds of live events, plus shoot interviews (dubbed straight shootin series) wrestlers , managers, , competitors wrestling-related merchandise. under silkin, roh branched out across world.

2007–2009

on january 23, 2007, roh announced plans japanese tour, resulting in show on july 16 in tokyo co-promoted pro wrestling noah , show on july 17 in osaka co-promoted dragon gate. shortly before this, in march 2007, roh had become first u.s.-based promotion have titles held entirely non-american wrestlers: dragon gate team of naruki doi , shingo held roh world tag team championship while @ same time fellow-countryman, pro wrestling noah star takeshi morishima, held roh world championship.

on may 2, 2007, ring of honor announced signing of ppv , vod deal g-funk sports & entertainment bring roh homes in demand networks, tvn, , dish network. deal called 6 taped pay-per-view events air every 60 days. because of move pay-per-view, tna wrestling pulled contracted stars (austin aries, christopher daniels, , homicide) roh shows, although tna performers have since returned company. first pay-per-view, titled respect earned , taped on may 12, first aired on july 1 on dish network.

ring of honor continued expand throughout 2008, debuting in orlando, florida on march 28 dragon gate challenge ii, in manassas, virginia on may 9 southern navigation , in toronto, ontario on july 25 northern navigation. on may 10, 2008, ring of honor set attendance record in debut show, new level, hammerstein ballroom in manhattan center in new york city. had plans shows in st. louis, missouri, nashville, tennessee, , montreal before end of 2008. on october 26, 2008, company announced departure of head booker gabe sapolsky, , replacement adam pearce.

2009–2013

on january 26, 2009, ring of honor announced had signed agreement hdnet fights weekly television program. first tapings ring of honor wrestling took place on february 28 , march 1, 2009 @ arena in philadelphia, pennsylvania. after year of producing weekly television broadcasts, roh announced on january 20, 2010 commission new title, roh world television championship, decided in eight-man tournament beginning february 5, 2010 , ending february 6, 2010 on ring of honor wrestling program. due blizzard, however, second half of tournament did not take place until march 5, 2010, when eddie edwards defeated davey richards in finals.

on august 15, 2010, ring of honor fired head booker adam pearce , replaced him hunter johnston, wrestles company under ring name delirious. on september 8, 2010, ring of honor , ohio valley wrestling announced working relationship between 2 companies.

on january 11, 2011, ring of honor announced ending of ring of honor wrestling, after completion of promotion s two-year contract hdnet. final tapings of show taking place on january 21 , 22, final episode airing on april 4, 2011.

on may 21, 2011, ring of honor , sinclair broadcast group announced broadcast carrier had purchased roh, former owner cary silkin remaining company in executive role. promotion s programming began airing weekend of september 24, 2011, weekly hour-long program airing on several sinclair owned-or-operated stations; show airs on saturday or sunday afternoons or late nights, or on prime time on of sinclair s cw , mynetworktv affiliates (as networks not run programming on weekend evenings).

2014–present

ring of honor began 2014 announcing return of aj styles after seven-year absence. styles returned @ roh s first tv taping of year nashville, tennessee. on february 22, before 12th anniversary weekend tv taping, roh announced partnership number 1 japanese professional wrestling promotion, new japan pro wrestling. announcement included promotional video , words njpw chairman naoki sugabayashi. roh , njpw held first co-promoted show, global wars, on may 10 ted reeve arena in toronto, canada. 1 week later sold-out hammerstein ballroom in new york city, held second, war of worlds.

on june 22, ring of honor held first live pay-per-view event, best in world nashville state fairgrounds in nashville, tennessee. event received , first time live roh broadcast accessible on 60% of american homes.

in september, sinclair began syndicating roh other stations; first deal reached watl, gannett-owned atlanta station, began airing roh on september 13, 2014.

on october 27, roh announced toy licensing deal figures co. toy company, see distribution of action figures based on ring of honor wrestlers, replica title belts , more. in november, ring of honor announced return live pay-per-view biggest show of year, final battle, plus debut in music venue terminal 5 in new york city.

on november 27, ring of honor made first official appearance in united kingdom in on 7 years when co-promoted weekend of shows uk based promotion preston city wrestling.

on december 7, ring of honor held second live pay-per-view, final battle, terminal 5 in new york city. roh world champion jay briscoe retained in main event defeating adam cole in fight without honor. on december 12, announced through website roh had signed former wwe champion alberto del rio short-term deal. made debut @ roh s first tv taping of 2015 in nashville, tennessee. on march 1, 2015, roh held third traditional ppv, roh s 13th anniversary live las vegas, nevada. on january 22, roh officially announced main event high-stakes four-corner survival match roh championship featuring jay briscoe, tommaso ciampa, hanson, , michael elgin.

on may 27, 2015, roh announced 26-week television deal destination america, beginning on june 3.

at best in world 2015, jay lethal captured roh world championship jay briscoe & defended roh world television championship @ same time. named 1 of historic title matches in ring of honor history.

on december 13, 2015, roh announced partnership southern california promotion pro wrestling guerrilla (pwg), allow roh contracted wrestlers continue working pwg.

on august 30, 2016, roh announced creation of new title, roh world six-man tag team championship. inaugural champions crowned in december.