7 Wrestling Promotions Which Tried To Beat WWE
2. ROH
ECW's demise didn't just leave WWE without its last vaguely viable North American challenger - it also left tape trader Rob Feinstein in a financial pickle.
Without his highest selling commodity, Feinstein's RF Video was staring down the barrel. After flirting with Combat Zone Wrestling for a bit, Feinstein eventually came up with a logical albeit supremely ambitious solution: he'd simply replace ECW with his own promotion.
In February 2002, Feinstein launched Ring of Honor, out of ECW's old Philadelphia stomping ground. Aside from its earnestly po-faced 'Code of Honor' concept, the debut show caught the imagination with a spectacular Triple Threat main-event, featuring three relative rookies: Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, and Bryan Danielson. It wouldn't be the last we'd hear from them.
Just as Ring Of Honor was beginning to build momentum, Feinstein was implicated in an internet sting which alleged he tried to solicit sexual activity from a minor. Talent-partner TNA immediately pulled out of their deal, taking ROH headliners AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels with them.
Feinstein's departure turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise. Under the stewardship of Cary Silkin, the company outgrew its original remit, expanding to PPV whilst putting on some of the best wrestling in North America in the process. Along the way, it kickstarted the careers of CM Punk, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens.
After seven years of personally bankrolling ROH, Silkin sold the company to broadcaster Sinclair, a move which guaranteed weekly syndicated television and financial security in the near-term. The confidence imbued by the Sinclair takeover has allowed ROH to expand even further, offering fixed contracts to talent and forging a fruitful partnership with NJPW.
This July, ROH made plain that it has big plans for the future, when they announced an historic show at New York's MSG over WrestleMania weekend. The event - the first in the venue by a company other than WWE since 1960 - sold out in less than a month. Those tapes will do hot cakes.
Status: Very ambitious. Partnership with NJPW and major financial injection could trouble WWE.