My individual and creatively-influenced #RoadToADecadeOfHonor, begins with the following top-10 style list:
“The 10 reasons I honor,” ROH Wrestling, heading into the promotions decade of existence. (Part 2 of 2)
(Part 1 of 2: https://pwponderings.com/2012/02/06/10-reasons-to-honor-a-decade-of-roh-part-1/)
The headlines listed below will reflect personal opinion, but for a fact, each subject should/could reflect upon a minority, or a majority of the Ring of Honor faithful.
The title of this post is a simple, but yet a creative way of indicating several key reasons as to why I am, and plan to remain HONORABLE to the product ROH is responsible for producing. The underlined topics/headlines below point to a general idea behind each reasoning; however, the information attached to the topics, indicate my true motives behind each reasoning.
Lastly, each topic’s reasoning is an explanation for why I HONOR this company through fandom. The list of 10 topics below is easily expandable, however, further expansion would defeat the purpose of the materials connection to Ring of Honor’s 10th Anniversary Show in March 2012.
“From the Ballroom to the Fieldhouse” –
As a fan growing up on WCW and WWE, it never appeared to me I would find it just as exciting to be in a crowd of about 1,500 die-hard wrestling fans (at most), versus a live-setting among about 15-20 thousand of them; but it did. At the event that took my ROH virginity, the crowd was made-up of about 1,000 people; but in all honesty it felt like the largest professional wrestling spectacle I had ever been to. It became clear this was because of the in-ring action that was taking place. On a very consistent basis throughout the entire show, I, along with the other one thousand fans we’re being popped out of our seats. This took place on a more consistent basis than any WWE or TNA event prior. I had no choice but to follow up with what I had witnessed. I have been to countless ROH events and one of the main reasons as to why I would like to remain honorable, is because I prefer the tight-knit setting, forced upon by the company, but ultimately ruptured by the fans that enter each venue playing host to an ROH event. The intense atmosphere Ring of Honor manages to produce without a multi-million dollar budget serves to me as a single-handed attraction. Furthermore, this is a primary reason for my conscious effort to honor this company by displaying all of the necessary components of faithful-fandom. You can view this reason as a piece of personal opinion, and that is okay, it was designed that way.
“Product Premise!” –
I like to consider myself a fan of professional wrestling and therefore how could I possibly ignore a professional wrestling promotion that chooses to market themselves as a place where “This is Wrestling.” The following is obviously opinionated, but after experiencing my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc., ROH event, it became clear to me this is more than a catchy slogan. Soon after the live experience it became clear to me that this is wrestling, in my own right mind, and therefore I continued supporting ROH. Order after order, the DVD’s came in, and more and more it became clear to me this was the type of professional wrestling product I required. It became clear to me that this is wrestling and not the pyrotechnics of a WWE event; and further more it became clear to me, this was all I needed to satisfy the wrestling side of me. Therefore, I continue to satisfy my craving.
“Locker room diversity.” –
From the “Littlest Lumberjack,” Grizzly Redwood, to the “Unbreakable,” Michael Elgin, if you are already aware of what the ROH Roster looks like on paper; you should be able to recognize how diverse the locker room is. If you are aware of the names that follow, then you most likely can envision how ROH is to be considered a promotion made-up of the most well-known culturally-diverse locker room in professional wrestling. Davey Richards, Kevin Steen, El Generico, The Young Bucks, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag-Team, Jay Lethal, Mike Bennett, Michael Elgin and Grizzly Redwood are prime examples, specifically laid out to draw a picture of how diverse Ring of Honor Talent truly is. As a fan who is intrigued by diverse match-ups, since I began expressing my ROH fandom, the company provided me countless occasions where matches featured two or more wrestler’s, who in complete honesty, may never be thrown together on a WWE-like stage. The Ring of Honor Roster is a compilation of talent that can simply do everything professional wrestling has to offer. This apparent fact has my utmost attention.
“Honored back.” –
Ring of Honor is a company that tries to pay attention to its fan-base. Other promotions use the same tactic(s) of course, as obviously it can be interpreted as nothing other than smart-marketing. However, perhaps over my time-spent as a Ring of Honor loyalist, I predominantly became aware of their dedication to fan-appreciation; and maybe more so, than with other professional wrestling promotions. This has no connection to their thin pockets, but more so relates to the honest fact that as a true-fan of Ring of Honor Wrestling, I have always felt appreciated. Perhaps this has to do with the much smaller market that ROH holds onto, inside of the professional wrestling industry. I do realize that all of the factors connected to a smaller or independent professional promotion most likely contribute to my feelings. Do unto those as others would have done unto you. Ring of Honor revved the engines of my professional wrestling fandom, and via smart-marketing or not, let me know they admire my appreciation for their product. Now this cycle feels never-ending. Therefore, on the road to a decade of honor, no matter what path may follow, my desire to honor this product through fandom remains alive.
“This is Wrestling…This is Wrestling…History.” –
CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, A.J Styles, Christopher Daniels and Homicide were all at one point in time, celebrated Ring of Honor Wrestlers. All of the above at one point in time have also served the main-stream professional wrestling scene as valued and celebrated talent. The odds are, even if Ring of Honor is still some small little independent promotion here in 2012 to you, all of the above names appear as well-known professional wrestling talent. Even though all of the talent listed above took their careers to a different level via promotions other than ROH; all of the above talents took their careers to that level, because of what they were able to accomplish on an ROH stage. As a fan of not only this product, but of the professional wrestling industry, is it not fair to continually admire, respect and honor, the careers of all of the talents listed above? I wish to remain conscious of how Bryan Danielson became Daniel Bryan. How CM Punk became what some people like to consider the PG era’s Stone Cold Steve Austin. I wish to remain conscious of how A.J Styles became Impact Wrestling’s one and only MVP, and how Christopher Daniels, Homicide and Samoa Joe became famed X-Division Superstars. As a loyalist I choose to a anticipate a locker room that money can no longer unglue, but as a realist I choose to anticipate that future Ring of Honor Stars, in somehow or someway, will persist to evolve into to professional wrestling superstars. After All, Tyler Black, Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli are the latest ROH-based talents to relocate to Florida. Ring of Honor history says, talent as highly regarded as Black, Hero and Castagnoli, could become much more than just a big money maker in the professional wrestling history books. This entire paragraph stands alone as a primary reason for my desire to watch Ring of Honor Wrestling and why these feelings will continue following 10 years of their survival.
The above headlines warrant and/or have warranted my desire to view Ring of Honor Wrestling, as an honorable fan of the product they provide.
The above list is comprised to supply the reader with a sense of why, or what has motivated me to become so desperately infatuated by Ring of Honor Wrestling, since I first began viewing the ROH product. Each topic’s reasoning is an explanation for why I HONOR this company through fandom. The list of ten topics above is easily expandable; however, further expansion would defeat the purpose of the materials connection to Ring of Honor’s 10th Anniversary Show on March 4, 2012. Regardless, each of the topics above, directly relate to reasons that suggest why I would rather have this company reach its death, before I commit any act of dishonor.