Introducing...Ring of Honor

December 3, 3:08 AMPro Wrestling ExaminerMark Satrang

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Ring of Honor

Besides World Wrestling Entertainment and TNA Wrestling, which I have already talked about in detail, there are many smaller, regional independent promotions across the country that have small but very rabid fan bases. They usually only run a few shows a month, often in a particular region of the country. They are usually without a weekly television show or a monthly pay per view event. Instead they rely on the continued attendance of their local fan base and merchandise sales, most notably from the sale of their event DVDs, which are recorded and produced through third party vendors and either distributed on-line or in major retail chains such as FYE and Suncoast.

Of these small promotions, Ring of Honor is the biggest, best and most popular of the “indys” in professional wrestling. The company was founded in early 2002 by a man named Rob Feinstein, who had the ability to market copies of ROH event through his own company, RF Video. The company was also founded to fill a void left by both World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, both of which went out of business in early 2001.

The company, which is now owned by Cary Silkin, has continued to grow over its six-year existence. The company usually puts on four to eight events a month, with shows put on back-to-back Friday and Saturday nights. All shows are taped for DVD release, and each event has its own unique show title. They have also has expanded enough to promote shows in Canada and co-promote events in Japan and Great Britain.

In the past year and a half, Ring of Honor has also expanded into the pay per view market. Unfortunately due to the company’s small stature and limited budget, events are taped only to be edited and re-broadcast a couple months down the road. The practice, while financially feasible for the growing company, negates the unpredictability, spontaneity and excitement of a live professional wrestling pay per view event.

The company’s in-ring style is quite different than the theatrics displayed by WWE, in particular. Part of that is obviously due to the company’s limited resources, but they have embraced the no-frills look and feel as their niche. Ring of Honor prides itself on being the “wrestling” company, the place where talented in-ring wrestling professionals are able to showcase their abilities in lengthy matches. The company’s events focus mostly on the actual in-ring competition, with less emphasis on goofy backstage antics, flashy entrances, over-the-top characters and pyrotechnic displays. Matches are conducted with mostly clean endings, with limited interference or weapons being used. It’s essentially the closest thing to the old pure sport of pro wrestling that still exists.

The roster is filled with smaller, quicker, lightweight wrestlers who are actually considered the best at performing the art and science of professional wrestling. In other words, don’t expect the hulking, angry, muscle-bound wrestling stereotypes of old populating the Ring of Honor roster.

Because of their small size, hype for upcoming events is spread almost completely though the Internet and word-of-mouth from its rabid and fiercely loyal fan base.  Matches for upcoming shows are announced through news releases put out on the company’s official website and then distributed across the wrestling news sites. The only form of television the company has is the Video Wires that are also released sporadically through their website. These Video Wires are useful ways of developing storylines and creating characters for the wrestlers.

Currently Ring of Honor is gearing up for their annual “Final Battle” event, which always happens in late December as a way to end the calendar year with one big final show.