Ring Of Honor Rebuilding Again
Death Before Dishonor showcased the youth movement.
Death Before Dishonor XVIII was my first Ring of Honor event since December 2019.
Back then, Villain Enterprises ruled the roost. PCO had just won the ROH World Championship two days before and teamed with Marty Scurll to defeat Dan Maff and Jeff Cobb in the main event. Today, only PCO remains on the roster.
At the time, the company was firmly in its rebuilding stage after The Elite and other stalwarts like SCU and Best Friends jumped to upstart All Elite Wrestling. The mass exodus was a fatal blow to ROH, which saw attendance drop 9% from the prior year, and that’s taking into account the G1 Supercard, a co-promoted sellout of Madison Square Garden with NJPW.
Total attendance in 2019 was an estimated 45,479 compared to an estimated record 49,840 the year prior, and an estimated then-record 46,457 in 2017, according to Lavie Margolin’s report of The Wrestling Observer’s numbers.
“Ring of Honor should have had an easy win (record total attendance and record average attendance) with a co-promoted MSG sellout, but did so poorly at the gate after MSG (and wasn’t doing great prior to that), it missed the mark on both potential milestones,” Margolin wrote. “2020 is looking ugly for that promotion if it does not pick things up.”
Of course, 2020 sent everybody back to the drawing board, which was a blessing in disguise for Ring of Honor. The company went on a five-month hiatus, relying upon its vast archive to fill television time. New matches were taped without a live audience starting in August and aired in syndication starting Sept. 12, 2020.
Going back to the Maryland-based promotion’s roots, new episodes of Ring of Honor Wrestling emphasized the “sports” portion of “sports-entertainment,” coinciding with the resurrection of the Pure Championship. In those style of matches, there are no closed-fist punches, outside interference results in termination, there is a time limit and rope breaks can only be used three times per contest. Everybody participating in filming had to enter the “ROH bubble” as a safety measure.
“We couldn’t leave our hotel rooms,” Rok-C told The Wrestling Estate. “We couldn’t go outside. Food had to be delivered straight to our room. Only two people could be in the gym at one time. I felt really safe and that meant a lot to me because, at the time, I was living with my parents, my sisters and my older sister’s 2-year-old daughter.”
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The new format received rave reviews from fans and the wrestling media, drawing buzz for the promotion for the first time in forever. The roster was also replenished, as Scurll was kicked out due to the #SpeakingOut movement and indie standouts Danhausen and Tony Deppen came on board. ROH returned to pay-per-view that December with its annual Final Battle, but wouldn’t welcome fans back until Best in the World 2021 this past July. The Baltimore event drew about 1,250 paid attendees, PWInsider reported, higher than the average attendance of 1,082 in 2019.
So, now we’re caught up to Death Before Dishonor XVIII, which took place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Originally scheduled for Lakeland, FL, ROH announced a month ago that the event would be moved due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the area. I guess that’s encouraging news for us in the City of Brotherly Love, even though we had to put the dreaded mask back on to attend. Considering all the empty seats ( Cagematch lists an attendance of 340), we probably would have been safe without it.
It was such a stark contrast to the halcyon days of The Elite headlining standing room only shows with “Too Sweet” chants bouncing off the walls and webs of streamers blanketing the ring. Sure, the streamers are still there (even sold at the merchandise booth), but the rock concert aura of yesteryear has diminished. There’s very much a sense that the promotion’s best days are behind us. And it may have been ROH’s last event with an audience for the year, PWInsider reported.
Don’t tell that to the Ring of Honor roster, though. Everybody that stepped through that curtain brought their A game, hellbent on giving the fans in the arena and all those watching at home their money’s worth. Unlike in other national promotions, there’s a youth movement going on, albeit by necessity. Still reeling from the impact of the exodus, ROH has no other choice than to start creating new stars again. Based on the results of Death Before Dishonor, here’s who has been earmarked to take the company back to great heights.
Hometown boy Brian Johnson kicked off the action, entering the Honor Rumble at No. 1 and all decked out in Eagles’ green. With the birds winning the season opener just a few hours before bell time, the crowd welcomed Johnson with open arms. However, the City of Brotherly Love turned on him as soon as he eliminated the beloved Danhausen. Having followed Johnson in ECWA, I was surprised that he received any cheers at all considering his heel work. A technician with an easy-to-dislike personality, he’s the type of young stud ROH should be investing in.
I’m not familiar with Alex Zayne, but the crowd went wild for his entry and exploded in jubilation at his victory. Known as Ari Sterling in NXT, he was part of the recent budget cuts, which hasn’t slowed the high flyer down. In addition to returning to ROH, “The Sauce” has competed in GCW and will be appearing in Impact Wrestling and NJPW in the weeks to come. Zayne securing a future shot at the ROH World Championship (currently held by Bandido) will certainly appeal to not only diehards, but also lapsed fans intrigued by what just may be a 5-star match.
Violence Unlimited defeated the alliance of new AEW signee Lee Moriarty, LSG and John Walters. Deppen stood out from the pack, reminiscent of Brian Pillman with his manic energy and diverse in-ring prowess. Recently getting some spotlight by wrestling comedian Ron Funches, hopefully ROH capitalizes by rebuilding the company around the former Television Champion.
The Pure Championship match was interesting, as Josh Woods stunned the crowd by dethroning Jonathan Gresham. Woods has been in the company for five years and now is the time to pull the trigger on moving the badass amateur wrestler up the card. Meanwhile, Gresham is a rare case of a champion not only bringing prestige to the title, but also benefitting from holding it. Over the past year, “The Octopus” has cemented his credibility as a legit athlete and traditional grappler. Perhaps he’s ready to enter the world title picture.
Then there’s Shane Taylor Promotions, comprised of the namesake, O’Shay Edwards, Moses, Kaun and Ron Hunt. First of all, they look like stars. With the current landscape of wrestling flooded with cruiserweights, these monsters are a throwback to the ‘80s. Secondly, they have the chemistry that other stables lack. You believe they’re best friends, brothers even, ready to go to war at a moment’s notice. As the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions, they’re in the perfect spot to shine right now. But it’s only a matter of time before Taylor breaks into the main event scene, hopefully with his crew by his side.
The match of the night was Rok-C vs. Miranda Alize in the finals of the ROH Women’s World Championship. Two newcomers to the company, these Booker T students tore the house down. Ultimately, Rok-C put Alize away with a Code Red to make history and soak in the adoration of the ROH faithful. After a controversial ending to ROH’s initial attempt at a women’s division, it seems that the company is finally ready to embrace these athletes.
Thanks to the hard work of the roster, especially the hungry young guns, I’m ready to embrace ROH again, too.
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