This isn't a series of articles about how WWE is the most dominant wrestling organization in the world. It's not about how TNA has somehow remained out of reach for ROH for almost a decade. It's not about how great the wrestling in NJPW is. It's about how Ring of Honor shined a bright light into a dark corner when the world was afraid, then had it snuffed out only to return with a dim glow.
Let's start with the rise of Ring of Honor. Ring of Honor was born just two and a half months prior to TNA in Baltimore. Both companies attempted to fill the gap that ECW left when it was purchased by WWE. Ring of Honor had the head start, it took it and ran. Ring of Honor easily got off to the better start. For a long time TNA was just the little brother to ROH asking if it can come along for the ride, and for the longest time, ROH said "no." But, why was ROH so different than everything else?
Ring of Honor placed a heavy emphasis on their code of honor and featuring matches of a high caliber with minimum to no story telling, made up of wrestlers most people didn't know. But, that's how ROH took off. ROH had three wrestlers who had already developed small fan bases in their respective areas of the country. They had Low Ki, from New York who had the East Coast eating out of his hand. They had Christopher Daniels who was already a seasoned veteran already at this point and one of the biggest names of names to come out of the Midwest. Lastly there was this upstart kid named Bryan Danielson from Washington who was quickly making a name as one of the best technical wrestlers around. All of that meant nothing if they couldn't capitalize, and they capitalized.
With ROH being known worldwide they continued to capitalize, they quickly became known for showcasing some of the best wrestlers in the world at the time including Samoa Joe and CM Punk. They went from doing shows in gymnasiums to 500 person shows to 2000 which was unheard of for an independent at that time. ROH fans quickly became known for being so dedicated to the honor of professional wrestling and simply being crazy for ROH.
ROH wasn't stingy at all. They shared the hype they developed. TNA had recently left it's NWA shelter and became it's own entity, and most people still didn't have any idea who they were. ROH finally let the little brother play. They had a working agreement where wrestlers could work in both companies simultaneously which was unheard of at the time. This was shocking because WWE was the only other wrestling promotion with a TV deal at the time and they would never allow their talent to work independent dates like TNA. At the same time that ROH stars like Christopher Daniels were being featured on TV consistently, ROH was bringing even more fans to their promotion.
As if over night, things changed for Ring of Honor. ROH went from being the second largest promotion in The United States, to fighting for survival. They went from events with thousands in attendance, back to gymnasiums and the occasional crowd with hundreds, but how did it happen?
Part 2
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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