Top 10 ROH Stars of All Time
By Tim Sherry
credit: wwe.com
1. Bryan Danielson
“The Founding Father” of Ring of Honor, Bryan Danielson is one of the biggest reasons that ROH has come as far as it has. He wrestled on the very first card’s main event and spent the next 7 years tearing the house down in almost every arena he stepped into. Danielson was the perfect fit for ROH. With his technical wizardry, his never-ending gas tank, and penchant for clean, natural, respectful wrestling, it’s no surprise that he tops the list of their greatest all time superstars.
It took Danielson 3 years to finally become ROH World Champion but when he finally did, he made it count. He held the title for 462 days and made 38 title defenses. Break that down and you get a title defense every 12 days. And most of these defenses weren’t 5-10 minute squash matches. He had two title defenses against Roderick strong that lasted 47 and 56 minutes respectively, 60-minute time limit draws with Samoa Joe, Colt Cabana, and Nigel McGuinness, and he even took the liberty of retiring the ROH Pure Championship by defeating the aforementioned McGuinness in his own backyard of Liverpool, England. Danielson’s performances set the bar for what an ROH title match should always be and almost every year he was with the company he would have at least 2 or match of the year candidates.
Danielson’s skills and popularity obviously didn’t go unnoticed as he would eventually enter the WWE as Daniel Bryan and would go on to be one of the most popular superstars in WWE history. Daniel’s career came to a halt in 2014 after a host of injuries and although it was a crushing blow to all of his WWE fans, the world of Ring of Honor must have taken it the hardest. If he was the father, the ROH fans were his children and to see him end his career so abruptly was shattering. But he continues to be a fixture on WWE television to this day and although the odds of him ever wrestling again are very slim, as long as there’s a sliver of hope all of his fans, including this one, will hold out hope.