Ring of Honor can be described as the biggest little wrestling promotion in North America. In terms of the production quality and venues for their shows, it is nowhere near WWE or TNA. However, ROH makes up for this with stellar in-ring action and with a roster that can be considered to be just as talented, if not more talented, than either of the aforementioned promotions’ rosters.
I mentioned in the last post that TNA “claims” to be the alternative to WWE. Well, ROH is really the alternative to WWE. They promote wrestling as more of a sport than “sports-entertainment”. In order to emphasis that point, dramatic storylines don’t completely drive their shows and the wrestlers work a very physical style to add more legitimacy to their matches and the moves performed.
Unlike WWE and TNA, Ring of Honor has no television deal and relies on the distribution of their events on DVD to get their product to the masses.
However, the newest DVDs available are usually 1-2 months behind the current product and ROH’s DVD library number in the hundreds. So unless you really can afford it, trying to catch up by purchasing past events or even attempting to keep up with the current product is pretty demanding.
Luckily for them, ROH has a very loyal fan following who don’t mind having to keep up with the promotion through the company’s website, message board and other sources in order to find the latest news on what’s going on
Since ROH is geared towards a hardcore, niche wrestling audience, the chances of them pursuing a mainstream television deal seem pretty slim. For them, that’s quite alright.
Here are some of ROH's current big stars:
Nigel McGuinness
Nigel McGuinness is the current ROH World Champion. About two years ago, McGuinness was a heel who would beat his opponents by luring them outside the ring, beating the count to get back in and win by countout. Eventually, he began beating opponents inside the ring, won the fans over in the process, became a face and is now headlining ROH shows as champion. As far as his wrestling style goes, McGuinness tends to be a mix of a grappler and a brawler who likes to throw lots of lariats.
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is a former ROH World Champion and has also been with the promotion since it was established in 2002. Danielson is generally a technical wrestler, relying on a lot of holds and submissions. However, he also isn’t afraid to get down right violent, using repeated elbows to the face and stomps to the head in order to win his matches.
The Briscoes
Jay and Mark Briscoe are former multi-time ROH Tag Team Champions. They are also regarded by fans as the MVPs of ROH during 2007, having held the belts throughout the year before losing them in December and for having great tag matches along the way. The Briscoes are pretty exciting to watch and they use a lot of double team moves that really show off their teamwork in the ring.
Austin Aries first appeared in the promotion in early 2004, where he quickly formed a group called “Generation Next”. The group at the time consisted of him and three other rookie wrestlers whose sole goal was to get to the top of the ROH roster. After 3 years, the group would eventually become big-time players in the promotion. During this period, Aries would go on to win the ROH Tag Team and World Titles on separate occasions. He currently is on the hunt for a second reign as ROH World Champion. Also, on a side note, he uses the 450 splash as one of his signature moves.
Jimmy Jacobs
Jimmy Jacobs is a former ROH Tag Team Champion. Jacobs and his partner would eventually split and go on to have a brutal series of matches against each other. As a result, Jacobs’ disposition completely changed. He recently formed a group called the “Age of the Fall” who have declared war on ROH and society.
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