10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ring Of Honor
CM Punk signed his WWE contract on the ROH World Title...
CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Austin Aries and Samoa Joe. All of those men have - at one time or another - worked extensively in the WWE system, but that's not all they have in common.
Every single one of them can trace their careers back to Ring Of Honor, a company first came to be in 2002.
Out of humble beginnings, ROH aimed to offer something a little different. At the time, the pro wrestling landscape had changed immeasurably. Both WCW and ECW perished to the might of WWE, leaving a sizeable hole in the industry.
Ring Of Honor wanted to fill that void, but only by presenting wrestling with an air of legitimacy to it once again.
There's a curious tie to WWE surrounding Ring Of Honor, something which becomes evident simply by examining the history of the group. Let's look at some of the most notable things that some of you might not know about the company...
10. The Company Once Had 5 Strict Rules To Follow
When Ring Of Honor formed, it did so under the guise of sporting credibility.
From the very first show in February, 2002, there was something different about the company. Other independent promotions had come and gone, feeling very similar to one another, but ROH offered up a product that was both focused on the wrestling and strikingly fresh.
One of the most remarkable aspects of ROH was the (long since discarded) 'Code Of Honor' system. On other shows, outside interference was commonplace, but ROH outlawed it. Similarly, ref bumps were done away with, disqualifications were frowned upon, and wrestlers were asked to shake hands before matches. It all felt very old-school.
That traditional flavour would serve Ring Of Honor well, but the Code was tweaked as time progressed. By 2004, the rules had loosened, although respecting officials and maintaining sportsmanship were both still encouraged within the company.
Today, the Code Of Honor is rarely discussed seriously, but it did help set ROH apart from other independent groups in those early days.