Ring of Honor: Five former champs new fans will recognize
Tony Khan shook up the world of professional wrestling last Wednesday when he announced that he purchased Ring of Honor wrestling. Ring of Honor was started in 2002, and it opened its doors to all wrestlers, new and old. When Ring of Honor Wrestling first started, they made sure the world knew that it was all about in-ring action and focused on professional wrestling. In this article, I will be discussing the five former Ring of Honor champions that AEW fans will recognize.
5. Adam Cole
Adam Cole is one of the best wrestlers that this generation has because he can deliver in the ring every time he’s in it. Adam Cole has been called the most outstanding wrestler from the golden NXT era because of how he was booked and the matches he had while on the golden brand. Before becoming an NXT legend, he was in Ring of Honor, putting on good matches. Adam Cole worked his way from the bottom of the card to the top in ROH.
Cole won the ROH TV title and held the championship for 246 days. Adam would then work his way up and win the ROH world championship in 2013 in a tournament. That reign was a 275-day reign, but he would hold the championship three times for a total of 445 days.
4. Christopher Daniels
When Christopher Daniels became ROH world champion, it was one of the greatest moments in the company’s history because Daniels had a 25-year career in the business. Christopher Daniels was 45 years on when he won the Ring of Honor world championship from Adam Cole. Christopher Daniels wrestled at the first ROH, even the main event against Bryan Danielson & Low Ki.
When it comes to who is the most outstanding wrestler, never to be signed by the WWE, Christopher Daniels has to be the wrestler that comes to everyone’s mind because he is an indie wrestling legend.
3. CM Punk
CM Punk had what many consider to be in the top 3 ROH world title runs in the company’s history. When the news came that CM Punk had signed with WWE, his scheduled final match against Austin Aries for the world championship was sure to be predictable with Aries winning, but that wasn’t the case. Punk shocked the world of professional wrestling by winning the championship and turning heel. CM Punk would come out in a suit and disrespect the ROH fans and then do the unthinkable when he would sign his WWE contract on top of the ROH world championship, which would draw much heat for Punk.
When it comes to wrestlers who can be successful as heels and babyfaces, CM Punk is that guy that can pull it off quickly. Since returning to the ring in 2021, CM punk has been the best part of AEW television.
2. Jay Lethal
When it comes to the MVP of Ring of Honor wrestling, Jay Lethal is that wrestler that should come to people’s minds because he held on to the championship for 427 days. Jay Lethal was able to do something that Danielson, McGuinness, and Joe could do. He won the championship twice, with his first reign in 2015 after defeating Jay Briscoe. In his second reign, he defeated Dalton Castle in 2017, and that reign lasted 280 days. The two reigns combined were a total of 707 days, the longest for any ROH champion.
1. Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is one of the greatest wrestlers of this generation because he is willing to go out there and put his body on the line each time. Bryan Danielson was in the main event of the first Ring of Honor show and ended up as the face of ROH for many of the company’s early years. Bryan Danielson won the ROH world championship from James Gibson and held the belt for 462 days, the fourth-longest reign ever. Bryan Danielson would have a legendary feud with Nigel McGuiness, where Bryan would unify the pure and ROH world championships.