8 Wrestling Shows With EMBARRASSING Attendances

In April 2018, Ring Of Honor were the absolute kings of North American independent wrestling. Though the company wasn't necessarily hitting the same creative ceilings as in the Bryan Danielson-Samoa Joe era, its popularity was through the proverbial. 6000 fervent aficionados packed into New Orleans' Lakefront Arena across WrestleMania 34 weekend, the metal in their wallets largely attracted by the magnetic pull of the interloping Bullet Club. One of the night's main attractions featured Cody defeating Kenny Omega in a 37 minute stormer.

Just over a year on, Ring Of Honor enjoyed their ostensible apex, but despite selling out Madison Square Garden, it was a bittersweet valedictory. The esteemed New York venue had shifted seats largely on the back of the New Japan partnership; the Sinclair company, for all intents, was irrelevant (and the crowd's indifference let them know). Why? Three letters: AEW.

The success of All In the previous September - for which ROH was largely implicit - inspired the imagination of a certain Jacksonville billionaire. Tony Khan opened his purse, and soon the Maryland outfit was shorn of all its key talent, newly enriched as the startup's EVPs. When Marty Scurll, the last remaining remnant of the departed Club, announced he was sticking with the group at January's Honor Reigns Supreme, he did so to a nearly empty arena.