Ring of Honor - History

History

In April 2001, the pro-wrestling video-distribution company RF Video needed a new promotion to lead its video sales when its best-seller — Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) — went out of business, and the rights to its brandname were purchased by WWE. RF Video also videotaped events held by other, less-popular, regional wrestling promotions; it sold these through its catalog and website. RF Video's owner, Rob Feinstein, decided to fill the ECW void by starting his own pro-wrestling promotion, and distributing its made-for-DVD/VHS productions exclusively through RF Video. The first event, titled The Era of Honor Begins, took place on February 23, 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the former home area of ECW. It featured nine matches, including a match between Eddy Guerrero and Super Crazy for the IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship; and, a triple threat match between Christopher Daniels, Bryan Danielson and Low Ki (who would become known as the "founding fathers of ROH"). In its first year of operation, Ring Of Honor confined itself to staging live events in a limited number of venues and cities — primarily in the northeastern U.S.A. Ten shows were run in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; two in Wakefield, Massachusetts; one in metro Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and, one in Queens, New York. In 2003, ROH expanded to other areas of the United States, including Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland. It also began to build its international identity by co-promoting an event with Frontier Wrestling Alliance in London, England.

In 2004, Feinstein was caught in an internet-based sting operation, in which he allegedly tried to solicit sex on the internet from a person that he thought to be an underage boy (but was actually an adult, posing as a minor). After this was publicized by some news outlets, Feinstein resigned from both RF Video and ROH in June 2004. In the aftermath of the scandal, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) ended its talent-sharing agreement with Ring of Honor, abruptly withdrawing all of its contracted wrestlers from their prior commitments to perform in ROH shows -- including major ROH draws A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels, who each either held or were about to hold ROH championships. Doug Gentry eventually bought Feinstein's stake in ROH, and later sold it to Cary Silkin. ROH then started its own mail-order and online store operations, which sell DVDs of its live events, plus shoot interviews with wrestlers and managers -- even some competitors' wrestling-related merchandise.

On January 23, 2007, ROH announced plans for a Japanese tour, resulting in a July 16 show in Tokyo co-promoted with Pro Wrestling Noah and a July 17 show in Osaka co-promoted with Dragon Gate. Shortly after, ROH became the first U.S.-based promotion to have its titles held entirely by non-American wrestlers: the Dragon Gate team of Naruki Doi and Shingo held the ROH World Tag Team Championship while at the same time their fellow-countryman, Pro Wrestling Noah star Takeshi Morishima, held the ROH World Championship.

On May 2, 2007, Ring of Honor announced the signing of a PPV and VOD deal with G-Funk Sports & Entertainment to bring ROH into homes with In Demand Networks, TVN, and the Dish Network. The deal called for six taped pay-per-view events to air every 60 days. Because of the move to pay-per-view, TNA Wrestling immediately pulled its contracted stars (Austin Aries and Homicide) from ROH shows, although TNA performers have since returned to the company. The first pay-per-view, titled "Respect is Earned", taped on May 12, first aired on July 1 on Dish Network.

Ring of Honor continued to expand throughout 2008, debuting in Orlando, Florida on March 28 for Dragon Gate Challenge II, in Manassas, Virginia on May 9 for Southern Navigation and in Toronto, Ontario on July 25 for Northern Navigation. On May 10, 2008, Ring of Honor set an attendance record in its debut show, A New Level, from the Hammerstein Ballroom in the Manhattan Center in New York City. It had plans for shows in St. Louis, Missouri, Nashville, Tennessee, and Montreal before the end of 2008. On October 26, 2008, the company announced the departure of head booker Gabe Sapolsky, and his replacement by Adam Pearce.

On January 26, 2009, Ring of Honor announced that it had signed an agreement with HDNet Fights for a weekly television program. The first tapings for Ring of Honor Wrestling took place on February 28 and March 1, 2009 at The Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After nearly a year of producing weekly television broadcasts, ROH announced on January 20, 2010 that it would commission a new title, the ROH World Television Championship, to be decided in an eight-man tournament beginning February 5, 2010 and ending February 6, 2010 on its Ring of Honor Wrestling program. Due to a North American blizzard, however, the second half of the tournament did not take place until March 5, 2010, when Eddie Edwards defeated Davey Richards in the finals.

On August 15, 2010, Ring of Honor fired head booker Adam Pearce and replaced him with Hunter Johnston, who wrestles for the company under the ring name Delirious. On September 8, 2010, Ring of Honor and Ohio Valley Wrestling announced a working relationship between the two companies.

On January 11, 2011, Ring of Honor announced the ending of Ring of Honor Wrestling, after the completion of the promotion's two–year contract with HDNet. The final tapings of the show would be taking place on January 21 and 22, with the final episode airing on April 4, 2011.

On May 21, 2011, Ring of Honor and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that the broadcast carrier had purchased ROH. Former ROH owner, Cary Silkin, has remained with the company in an executive role. The promotion's programming began airing on September 24, 2011 on Sinclair stations, mainly in weekend primetime on their CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, which are not programmed by those networks.