6 Ways Gabe Sapolsky's ROH Followed Paul Heyman's ECW Legacy

5. Didn't Care About 'The Look'

Before Heyman took the reigns of ECW the likes of Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Raven would not have excelled in the climate of the Big Two, WWE and WCW. They may have found themselves spots on the roster, as Raven can attest to, but they would have found themselves as jobbers in a cartoon gimmick. In ECW they were afforded the opportunity to get themselves a fan base in their own unique ways. There was no requirement to be over 6 foot, be a body builder or look like a "superstar". This mindset continued into Ring of Honor where smaller wrestlers like Low Ki, Homicide and Bryan Danielson all became World Champions without needing the label of 'underdog' attached to them. Fellow small wrestler Austin Aries led one of ROH's most dominant factions and ended the 21 month World Championship reign of the much larger Samoa Joe despite only being with the company less than a year. Joe himself does not possess the stereotypical look for a superstar but was afforded the opportunity to prove himself to be one of the best wrestlers on the planet. As Raven and Sabu showed in ECW there are some superstars who were just made to be completely unique. A prime example comes in the form of one of ROH's biggest success stories: CM Punk. A tattooed straight-edge wrestler, who even after showcasing himself in ROH and being signed by WWE still wasn't understood by the McMahon fold for years. Without building his following during his days in Ring of Honor Punk may have never gone on to even be signed by the WWE, let alone reach the levels of success he had there. Even the likes of Christopher Daniels, who is an extremely decorated performer, has only found his exceptional ability used as a main event act in ROH.