Welcome to a brand new custom -tailored deep
dive. We are really thrilled you're joining us
today. We really are. We've got a fantastic one
lined up. Yeah, because we are looking at a topic
that is chaotic, triumphant, and honestly profoundly
influential to an entire industry. We're talking
about the American Professional Wrestling Promotion,
Ring of Honor, or ROH. It's just a fascinating
journey. I mean, we are exploring a brutal, fascinating
business story just as much as a wrestling story
today. Exactly. For you, the listener, our mission
today goes way beyond looking at who body slammed
who. We are going to explore how a company that
was literally created just to sell VHS tapes
managed to survive shocking scandals, massive
corporate buyouts, and a global pandemic. All
to completely reshape the modern professional
wrestling industry. The sheer resilience of this
brand holds serious lessons for anyone interested
in business, entertainment, or just incredibly
unlikely success stories. Right. Like, how do
you build brand loyalty when the sky is constantly
falling? Yeah. That is what we are looking at.
And to guide us on this journey, we are relying
on a single comprehensive source. Yes. The Wikipedia
article on Ring of Honor, tracking its history
from its inception in 2002 all the way up to
today, March 6th, 2026. Okay, let's unpack this
by going back to the very beginning. The absolute
ground floor. Yeah, the origin story of Ring
of Honor is so purely entrepreneurial. Let's
set the stage here. It is 2001. There's a video
distributor called RF Video, and their main cash
cow was selling tapes of ECW. Right. But then
ECW goes out of business and gets bought by WWE.
Which leaves RF Video in a terrifying position
for any business. They suddenly had a massive
void in their catalog. I mean, their primary
product vanished overnight and their revenue
stream was about to dry up entirely. So their
entire business model is collapsing. What is
their move to fix this? Well, they manufacture
their own supply. To fill that void, the owner
of RF Video, Rob Feinstein, decided to just start
his own wrestling promotion. Just build it from
scratch. Exactly. They literally needed tapes
to sell, so they created the live events to put
on the tapes. That sheer necessity led to the
very first show called The Era of Honor Begins.
And that took place in February 2002 in Philadelphia,
right? It did. And that event featured the guys
who had become known as the founding fathers
of the company, Christopher Daniels, Brian Danielson,
and Loci. incredible talent. What's fascinating
here is how Ring of Honor immediately differentiated
itself from the rest of the American wrestling
landscape. They didn't just put on standard matches.
They instituted something called the Code of
Honor. I want to pause on that for a second because
the code of honor is so vital to this. The original
code consisted of five strict rules. You had
to shake hands before and after every match.
There was no outside interference allowed. There
was sneak attacks. No harming the officials.
And finally, any action resulting in a disqualification
violated the code. Right. Wait, I have to play
devil's advocate here for a minute. In 2002,
mainstream wrestling is doing massive, chaotic
soap opera storylines. Wasn't instituting a polite
set of rules incredibly risky? Didn't that risk
alienating a mainstream audience that wanted
the circus? Oh, it was a massive risk, but it
was a calculated one. The goal was to emulate
Japanese professional wrestling. Ring of Honor
wasn't trying to beat the massive mainstream
promotions at their own game. They were playing
a different game entirely. Exactly. They wanted
their product to feel like a legitimate, honorable
combat sport. They were counterprogramming. It
presented a clear, distinct alternative for fans
who specifically wanted to see pure athleticism
and technical wrestling without the soap opera
chaos. That makes a lot of sense. Find a niche
and dominate it. But, as with any scrappy startup,
the honeymoon phase didn't last forever. We have
to talk about the first major crisis that nearly
killed the company in its infancy. It was a very
dark period. In 2004, founder Rob Feinstein was
caught in an internet sting operation. Yeah,
the details from the source report that he allegedly
tried to solicit sex on the internet from someone
he believed was an underage boy, though it was
actually an adult posing as a minor. It was an
immediate, severe scandal. Feinstein resigned
from the company in March of 2004. But the ripple
effects went much further than just the executive
level. The impact on the business operations
was instantaneous. At the time, Ring of Honor
relied heavily on talent sharing agreements with
other promotions. When the scandal broke, rival
promotion TNA immediately pulled all of its contracted
talent from Ring of Honor shows. And that included
some major stars at the time, like AJ Styles,
who was a huge draw for them. They lost their
top billing overnight. And this highlights a
brilliant business vulnerability that you see
a lot in the modern gig economy. It shows just
how fragile independent wrestling companies are
when their business model relies on a shared
pool of independent contractors. Because you
don't actually own the exclusive rights to the
talent. Right. A scandal at the corporate level
can instantly strip a promotion of its main attractions,
and you have absolutely no recourse. How do you
even survive that? You lose your founder, your
top stars are pulled, and... Your reputation
is in tatters. You survive through ownership
shifts and a reliance on that core identity we
talked about earlier. Doug Gentry stepped in
and bought Feinstein Steak to save the company,
and it was later sold to Cary Silken. During
that period from 2004 up through the late 2000s,
they stabilized by leaning heavily into that
pure wrestling identity. They built a legendary
independent reputation simply by putting on matches
of such high quality that word of mouth kept
the brand alive. Which perfectly sets the stage
for a massive turning point. So they survived
the scandal. They stabilized their reputation.
But to really grow, a company needs capital.
And that leads to a culture clash no one saw
coming. The Sinclair era. Yes. In 2011, Ring
of Honor is sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
To put this in perspective for you listening,
imagine your favorite underground, gritty, punk
rock indie band suddenly getting bought by a
massive corporate media conglomerate. It is bizarre
pairing. You can only imagine what those boardroom
meetings must have looked like. It's a hilarious
visual, but that corporate backing fundamentally
changed their trajectory. Under Sinclair's ownership,
they suddenly had access to syndicated TV stations
all across the country. They went from trading
VHS tapes to traditional television broadcast
distribution. And they used that massive platform
to build real momentum over the next several
years. They absolutely did. By 2018, they modernized
by establishing their own streaming service called
Honor Club. But arguably their most strategic
move was forging a vital international partnerships,
most notably with New Japan Pro Wrestling or
NJPW. That NJPW partnership is crucial. What
did that actually look like in practice for the
fans and the business? It meant a direct talent
exchange. You suddenly had premium international
stadium level wrestling stars coming over and
wrestling in local American venues for Ring of
Honor. It elevated the prestige of the ROH brand
exponentially. They were no longer just a scrappy
indie. Exactly. They became the American gateway
to the best wrestling in Japan. Here's where
it gets really interesting because all of that
momentum, the TV deals, the streaming, the international
partnerships, it all... built up to an absolute
explosion in 2018 and 2019. In September 2018,
we get the all -in event. Promoted by and featuring
Ring of Honor stars Cody Rhodes and the Young
Bucks. They drew over 11 ,000 fans in suburban
Chicago. That number cannot be overstated in
this industry. It was the first professional
wrestling event in the United States not promoted
by WWE or WCW to break the 10 ,000 attendance
mark since the 1990s. Decades of a virtual monopoly
broken. And they followed that up in April 2019
with the G1 Supercard. This was a show co -promoted
with NJPW, held at Madison Square Garden in New
York City. The source notes it sold out instantly.
It became the most attended event in Ring of
Honor's entire history. For you listening, think
about the business implication here for a second.
For decades, the conventional wisdom dictated
that a massive monopoly was the only truly viable
major league wrestling product in North America.
These events prove that an alternative product
built on work rate and a specific indie ethos
could draw massive crowds and generate serious
revenue. It paved the way for a massive industry
shift. It really did. But in a classic painful
twist of fate, reaching that historic peak is
exactly what triggered their next massive downfall.
They prove alternative wrestling is viable, which
immediately inspires their top stars to leave
and make their own alternative. The decline started
incredibly fast in 2019. Those top stars we just
mentioned, Cody Rhodes and the Bucks, the Architects
of All In, they left Ring of Honor to form a
brand new, incredibly well -funded promotion,
AEW. And the departure of that top -tier talent
had a devastating immediate negative effect on
the bottom line. Ring of Honor's live attendance
plummeted. The data in our source shows they
averaged just 1082 fans per live show in 2019.
A huge drop. Massive. They went from selling
out Madison Square Garden to barely filling high
school gyms again. And the fans who did stick
around were heavily criticizing the creative
direction of the shows. Specifically, the world
championship reign of Matt Taven was pointed
out as a major point of friction with the audience.
The product on screen just wasn't connecting
anymore. But the issues on screen were quickly
overshadowed by what was happening behind the
curtain. Looking at the timeline here, two major
controversies hit the company almost back to
back, severely damaging the reputation regarding
safety and workplace conduct. The first occurred
in late 2019. Producer and road agent Joey Mercury
resigned from the company. And just to clarify
for our listeners who might not know the corporate
structure of a wrestling promotion, a road agent
or producer is essentially... Middle management.
They're the ones putting the matches together
and acting as the safety compliance officers
for the talent in the ring. Exactly the kind
of person you want sounding the alarm. When Mercury
left, he criticized the lack of creative direction.
But more alarmingly, he revealed that Ring of
Honor had no concussion protocol in place. That
is terrifying in a combat sport. It is. For Mercury
stated that the company allowed the Women of
Honor champion Kelly Cline to wrestle after she
had suffered a concussion. Klein subsequently
had to seek medical treatment for post -concussion
syndrome. Wow. Following this, she wasn't booked
for the rest of the year, and her contract was
not renewed when it expired that December. So
they're dealing with a massive medical and safety
PR nightmare. And then, in 2020, the broader
speaking out movement swept through the wrestling
industry, bringing numerous allegations of misconduct
to light across various companies. During this
time, Ring of Honor's head booker, Marty Skrull,
became the center of a major controversy. And
to put that title into perspective, the head
booker is the chief creative director. They decide
who wins, who loses, and who gets television
time. It is an immense position of power. Skrull
was accused of taking advantage of an inebriated
16 -year -old girl. Looking at the reporting
in our source, Skrull released statements where
he did not deny the encounter occurred, but he
claimed that it was consensual. In response to
the allegations, Ring of Honor launched an internal
investigation. They removed Skrull from his position
as head booker, taking away that creative power.
And by early 2021, the company announced that
the two parties had mutually agreed to part ways.
Let's take a step back and look at the board.
You have a company bleeding its top tier talent.
Live attendance has collapsed. The fan base hates
the creative direction, and the brand is weathering
intense public relations crises regarding talent
safety and executive misconduct. The perfect
storm. And then the ultimate financial breaking
point arrives. The final glow was an impossible
combination of macro and microeconomic factors.
The COVID -19 pandemic effectively shut down
the live event business worldwide, starving them
of ticket revenue. Simultaneously, the parent
company, Sinclair Broadcast Group, was struggling
with a staggering $12 .5 billion in debt. Billion
with a B. There is just no way a niche wrestling
promotion survives on the ledger when the parent
company is 12 .5 billion in the hole. The financial
weight was simply unsustainable. So in late 2021,
Ring of Honor announced a shocking hiatus. It
was a total reset. And by reset, I mean they
burned the forest down. They released all personnel
from their contracts, everyone from the wrestlers
to the broadcasters. They stated they wanted
to reimagine the company. But for the fans and
the industry at large, the future of Ring of
Honor was completely in doubt. It really looked
like the final chapter of a 20 -year story. It
certainly felt like a funeral. But in business,
distressed assets with strong historical brand
equity rarely just vanish into thin air. someone
always sees the underlying value. Which brings
us to the ultimate plot twist of this entire
deep dive. In March 2022, a white knight swoops
in to buy the company. Tony Khan, the billionaire
co -founder and president of AEW, announces that
he has bought Ring of Honor from Sinclair. Brand
assets, intellectual property, the massive 20
-year video library, all of it. If we connect
this to the bigger picture, it's a fascinating,
almost poetic, full -circle moment. Ring of Honor
essentially gave birth to the talent and the
independent spirit that built AEW. AEW's creation
nearly killed Ring of Honor. And now... AEW's
ownership has stepped in to save Ring of Honor
from total extinction. It is wild when you think
about it. Khan effectively set it up to operate
as a sister promotion to AEW. They share talent,
but ROH maintains its own distinct identity.
And it still holds such a deep emotional connection
for the fans and the wrestlers who grew up watching
it. You can see that clearly in how they handled
tragedy. In January of 2023, Ring of Honor mainstay
Jay Briscoe tragically died in a car accident.
A heartbreaking loss for the industry. It was.
The company put together a beautiful, poignant
tribute show for him that taped specifically
for Honor Club, their streaming platform. It
proved the heart of the promotion, that deep
locker room loyalty was still beating even under
new billionaire ownership. And importantly, they
are still trying to maintain some of that unique
competitive identity that made them stand out
all the way back in 2002. They aren't just copying
AEW's homework. A great example of that is how
they continue to utilize proving ground matches.
There's a fantastic booking mechanism. Explain
how that works for the listener. It is a really
cool concept. Basically, if an up and coming
wrestler can last a full 10 minutes in the ring
with the current champion. Without getting pinned
or submitted, or if they actually manage to defeat
them within that time limit, that newcomer earns
a guaranteed future title shot. It creates instant
stakes for a regular match. It allows a newer
talent to look incredibly strong and credible
just by surviving the time limit without necessarily
having to beat the champion outright and ruin
the champion's momentum. It rewards the pure
in -ring endurance that the brand was built on.
Our source gives a perfect recent example of
this in action. Lee Moriarty managed to last
the full 10 minutes against the pure champion
at the time, Wheeler Yuta. By just surviving
that grueling time limit, Moriarty earned a title
shot. And he capitalized on it, eventually defeating
Yuta at the Death Before Dishonored event in
July 2024 to win the title. That is exactly the
kind of merit -based storytelling that the Code
of Honor era was founded on. So let's give you
a rapid -fire snapshot of where Ring of Honor
stands today as we record this on March 6, 2026.
After moving around a bit over the last few years,
their weekly television tapings have just officially
moved to the WJCT studios down in Jacksonville,
Florida. Nice new home base. Yeah, and looking
at the very... A title versus mask match carries
massive historical weight, especially in Lucha
Libre culture, where losing your mask is the
ultimate disgrace. Incorporating that level of
cultural stakes shows the diverse international
styles Ring of Honor continues to highlight.
And in the women's division, the ROH Women's
World Champion... And her reign is nothing short
of astounding. She won the belt back in December
of 2022. That means as of today, she has held
that championship for 11 ,182 days. Let's pause
on that for a second. Holding a championship
for over three years in modern professional wrestling
is almost unheard of. That kind of long term
booking builds incredible prestige for a championship.
It alters the entire psychology of the women's
division because whoever eventually defeats her
won't just be winning a belt. They will be slaying
a three year dragon. It makes them an instant
superstar. OK, so what does this all mean? Let's
take a breath and recap this. Absolutely wild
journey. You have an underdog wrestling promotion
that was literally born out of a desperate need
for a video distributor to just have some VHS
tapes to sell in a catalog. They invent a strict
code of honor to stand out in an era of soap
operas. They build a generation of future megastars
who redefine the industry. They get bought by
a massive corporate media conglomerate, stumble
through billions in corporate debt, weather severe
public relations and safety controversies, survive
a global pandemic, and ultimately find their
salvation by being purchased by the very people
they helped create the ultimate lesson here is
about recognizing patterns of survival ring of
honor proves that whether you are in business
media or sports entertainment having a distinct
uncompromising identity like their focus on pure
wrestling and that initial code of honor is what
creates a fiercely loyal fan base it's the anchor
Exactly. It was that foundational loyalty, that
memory of what the brand represented at its core,
that allowed the company to survive multiple
near -death experiences that would have completely
erased a more generic company. It is an amazing
story of survival against all odds. But it leaves
you with one final thing to chew on. For decades,
Ring of Honor was beloved by its fans specifically
because it was the scrappy, independent alternative
to massive corporate wrestling machines. It was
punk rock. Yeah. Well, today it is owned by a
billionaire who runs his own massive global wrestling
empire. So has Ring of Honor finally achieved
the ultimate indie success story by forever securing
its financial future? Or has it simply become
a piece of the very corporate machine it was
originally created to rebel against? That is
the ultimate paradox of success, isn't it? You
survive long enough as the rebel, you eventually
move into the corporate office. You really do.
Thank you so much for joining us on this deep
dive. Keep exploring, keep questioning the media
you consume, and we will catch you next time.