10 Best Non-WWE Wrestlers Of 2016 (So Far)

Jay Lethal made history in 2015 when, as the longest-reigning Television Champion in Ring of Honor history, he defeated Jay Briscoe for the company's World Championship. He spent the next few months defending both belts as a double champion, and while he would eventually lose the TV Title, his retention of the ROH World Championship meant that he was still the man.

Six months into 2016, Lethal has completely solidified that perception. He's defended the ROH Title so many times on so many continents that there's no world champion in the sport who can lay claim to his achievements. At Wrestle Kingdom, he defeated Michael Elgin in front of what was - by far - the largest crowd to ever witness an ROH Championship match, and Lethal just kept going from there.

As 2016 has progressed, he's racked up successful defenses against Briscoe, Kyle O'Reilly, Lance Storm, Matt Sydal, Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma, Mark Haskins, and more.

There's no world champion in wrestling as active or accomplished as Jay Lethal. While WWE runs itself into the ground trying to get fans to take Roman Reigns seriously as "The Guy," Lethal redefines what it means to be a world champion in 2016 - in some ways, he's a throwback to the "old school" heel world champ, but his exciting style and gruelling work prove that he's on the cutting edge of pro wrestling.

That makes him the perfect ace for Ring of Honor, a company that's always been about taking wrestling into the future.

Men like Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, and Samoa Joe better kiss their legacies goodbye - the greatest champion in wrestling will keep taking wrestling into the future for a long, long time, and before he's done, the ROH World Championship will be synonymous with Jay Lethal.