The Story of Honor
By Bill Bodkin
Published: Friday, February 6, 2004


As the lights went down and the smoke machines started up, Rob Feinstein was racing about the Pennsylvania National Armory in North Philadelphia. As the laser lights started and the DJ started spinning the entrance music, Feinstein stopped in his tracks before entering the locker room to survey the scene.

It's a cold December night, two days after Christmas and his wrestling promotion is holding it's annual Final Battle event. The promotion took a big risk this night. They booked two shows: one in the afternoon with mostly new talent and one at night, featuring Ring of Honor show then a split show featuring ROH wrestlers taking on wrestlers from All-Japan Professional Wrestling. The show would take place in the largest capacity venue Ring of Honor ever promoted. When asked how he felt about the show, an awestruck Feinstein commented that he couldn't believe how big the crowd was and then walked behind the curtain. Feinstein, a veteran of the wrestling business, seemed truly in awe of what was happening. As well he should be. Today his promotion, Ring of Honor, was creating a landmark day in the long and storied history of professional wrestling in Philadelphia. Ironically, it was three years ago to the day, on another landmark day in Philadelphia wrestling history that the seeds of honor were sewn.



Extreme Evolution:

It was a cold December night in South Philadelphia, two days before Christmas and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was holding what would be its final show in Philadelphia, the city where the promotion was born. Feinstein was working inside "the world's most famous bingo hall," the ECW Arena, located underneath the I-95 overpass in the heart of South Philly. He was selling videotapes for his company, RF Video, which at the time was ECW's tape house as well as one of the top tape trading companies in the world. That night he would encourage fans to buy the previous night's show on tape. Meanwhile, outside the arena, Gabe Sapolsky was selling programs (which he made himself) to the denizens of ECW-ites braving the bitter cold; later in the night Gabe would assume his normal show position around ringside taping the show. That fateful night would be the final night for ECW in South Philly, a place it had called home before its days of Extreme in 1992. The "little indie that could" which had grown into the third biggest wrestling promotion in the United States, would fold two months later in a small town in Arkansas, ironically at a time when their attendance was at its highest.

For Feinstein, Sapolsky and other former ECW employees like Doug Gentry, they were out of a job. Feinstein had RF Video to fall back on, but without ECW, it just wasn't the same. Within months of ECW's extinction, numerous independent and wannabe big time promotions swarmed into Philadelphia, making the ECW Arena their home. These promotions tried to capture the audience that the underground outlaws of extreme had left behind. ECW didn't just have fans; they were the most hardcore, diehard and frankly the most ruthless crowd to work in front of. They are highly knowledgeable fans who know what good wrestling is and if you messed up, they let you know about it. RF Video saw them come and go, and they themselves would travel around the country trying to find the next ECW.



The Era of Honor Begins:

Then the idea hit the staff: why not start their own promotion? They had learned a lot working with ECW and also a great deal by being involved in other wrestling promotions through the world. So in January of 2002, the company announced they would start their own company and it would be called Ring of Honor. In their first press they promised, "The promotion will be built around athletic wrestling matches with the best talent available. Ring Of Honor will present the most realistic wrestling possible with coherent storylines and true to life characters. Ring Of Honor shows will feature the diverse range of talent on the scene in Japanese, Lucha and American style matches."

The promotion also prided itself on having "The Code of Honor." This code was established to separate themselves from every other company out there. Ring of Honor would be about the sport of professional wrestling not sports entertainment which the WWE is pushing.

These five Laws Of Honor are intended to promote sportsmanship, respect and honor inside the wrestling ring. The Laws Of Honor will allow ROH competitors to produce the most athletic matches possible. These are the sacred rules that will define Ring Of Honor's product. The Laws Of Honor are:

-Competitors must shake hands before annd after their match.

-No interfering in matches or having otthers interfere on your behalf.

-No harming a referee or causing otherss to harm an official.

-No sneak attacks.

-If you are disqualified in your match,, you have broken The Code Of Honor.

On February 23, Ring of Honor debuted in front of an impressive and energetic crowd of about 4-500 people at The Murphy Recreation Center, a few blocks away from the ECW Arena. The promotion decided not to run the Arena (and still has not till this day) because it had been run to death and it is currently the permanent home to Combat Zone Wrestling and Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW). The show would set the standard for what Ring of Honor would become renowned for: an all-star gathering of the top talent in the independent wrestling scene, mixing Japanese Strong Style, Mexican Lucha Libre and classic American wrestling. The first show dubbed "The Era of Honor Begins" would feature a match that would set the bar for ROH, it was a three-way dance between Brooklyn's own Low-Ki who combined martial arts and strong style, "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, who is as old school as old school can get, and the independent legend "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. It was a three-way that no one would ever forget. It was hard hitting, high-flying and it saw Christopher Daniels refuse to shake Low-Ki or Danielson's hands, thus being the first man to break the code of honor. After this match the crowd chanted "R-O-H" and "Match of the Year," soon the letters ROH would become synonymous with matches of the year.



Honor Invades:

The reputation of Ring of Honor spread like wildfire after Era of Honor Begins. With a "Match of the Year" candidate along with a roster that boasted the top Northeast workers as well as former WWE superstar Eddie Guerrero, Internet commotion began. ROH would plug away putting on strong shows that had great upper cards but somewhat lacking under cards. The promotion's fourth show "Road to the Title" saw a tournament of the Ring of Honor Title. The final four participants would be: Low-Ki, Daniels, former WWE developmental wrestler Spanky and a British grappler named Doug Williams who would upset American Dragon in the semi-finals. Low-Ki would be crowned the first ROH Champion in August 2002. With its first champion in tow, the promotion took a tremendously bold step: go on the road. Some promotions had moderate success running different towns and cities within a state, but rarely had any indy since Jersey All-Pro Wrestling in 2002, run in a different state. JAPW was one of the first promotions to run the ECW Arena after ECW folded and was not successful. ROH took a big risk and ran a show in Wakefield, Massachusetts, a few miles outside Boston. To the surprise of many, the show broke all of ROH's previous attendance records. From there ROH would continue to book shows in Philly while making a sojourn up to Massachusetts every few months. Within months the promotion would run shows outside Pittsburgh in West Mifflin, PA, as well as Queens, New York. By the summer of 2003, the promotion had opened up markets in New Jersey, Ohio and Connecticut and by the end of the year was running in upstate New York and Maryland. No one could believe that this promotion had become so big so fast and all this without a television show. (Note: ROH did have a show, but it was cancelled at the request of ROH after a few months so they could concentrate on DVD and video releases.)



The Honor Roll:

ROH's success was and will always be built in the ring. From February 23 to Final Battle 2003, Ring of Honor built itself slowly but surely. In the beginning the company would rely on the in-ring work of Low-Ki, Daniels and The American Dragon to build the foundation of the promotion. The three would square off in "The Round Robin Challenge" which saw each man fight each on in a singles encounter on the show. ROH continued to put on shows with great upper cards, however the lower cards in the early ROH shows were nowhere nearly as strong as they currently are. Out of necessity and survival ROH is constantly building their under cards. When workers like Low-Ki, Dragon and Daniels took dates in Japan, often weeks or months at a time, their presence had to be filled. Also upper card wrestlers like Spanky and James Maritato were being hired by the WWE. So ROH needed to build new stars and fast. While earlier shows featured mostly workers from the North East, Ring of Honor started importing workers from all over the country. Their first step was using students from the Texas Wrestling Academy. This connection provided ROH with one its first homegrown stars, Paul London, who eventually was signed by the WWE. Second, they took former stars and repackaged them. Most notably Tony DeVito and HC Loc, both former lower mid-carders in ECW, in ROH they were re-dubbed The Carnage Crew, a bunch of guys of who hate their blue collar jobs, their fat wives and who's best way to vent their hate is through kicking ass, which has gone over with the fans. Third, import wrestlers from all over the US. By having a revolving talent door ROH has brought in talent from all over the world to put on display, for the most part it has been successful as Midwestern stars like CM Punk, Californians like Samoa Joe, Canadians like Jack Evans, and even small-time East Coast guys like John Walters have become big time players in ROH. ROH also booked established talent like Raven and Steve Corino and put them in engaging storylines with ROH talent like CM Punk and Homicide, respectively. This not only helped get the ROH talent over, but it also brought out the best in the veterans. And finally they've taken young talent and given them some meaningful to do. The east coast is full of talented young high flyers. Most of them look extremely young and are too light to be considered opponents for bigger, more experienced ROH wrestlers. However ROH took them, mostly from JAPW, and formed Special K, a huge clique of junior heavyweight wrestlers who's gimmick is that they're a bunch of rich spoiled kids who love to go to raves. Their goofy anti-ROH antics and rave-like entrance has really gone over and never does the gimmick outshine the talent.



Final Battle 2003: The Prologue

The culmination of all these events came to a head on December 27, 2003. Creatively, ROH was at the top of its game. Wrestlers like CM Punk who had gone from a mid-card nothing in January was now the company's top heel based on his real-life straightedge persona. The Ring Crew Express, who were two guys who set up the ring and liked '80s music were coming out to thunderous ovations. In the world of ROH, the storyline of who attacked CM Punk's girlfriend Lucy would finally be answered. It was a hot question because the revelation of this attacker meant either a new wrestler was coming in or a new star would be born. In-ring wise, ROH had exceeded its earliest accolades. No longer were the under card matches the likes of Prince Nana vs. "The Towel Boy" Eric Tuttle. They were just as highly contested and highly anticipated as the main event. Financially, attendances levels were on the rise, DVD and tapes were doing great. However Final Battle was the biggest test. Could Ring of Honor take it to the next level? They had shows with high attendance levels, but would that work for two shows? Would people come out two days after Christmas? Would this show live up to the enormous hype it had generated?



Final Battle 2003: Do or Die



Around 3 PM, the Convention Card of Final Battle started. The massive hall of the Pennsylvania National Armory quickly filled with rabid wrestling fans. While mingling with All-Japan and ROH superstars, getting autographs and taking pictures, the crowd was treated to the company's first ever "Convention Card." This show was an expansion on an ROH original idea - the showcase card. This card is a spotlight on young and developing talent as well new wrestlers from different territories. The cost for the show was only five dollars, and many thought the card would just be background noise or a distraction for those waiting online. However, everyone who stepped into the ring that afternoon ripped the crowd away from the Polaroids and Sharpies and had them glued to the bleachers. The wrestlers left their hearts in the ring as not only were they competing for a shot at a regular job for ROH, but also a coveted spot on a tour with All-Japan. The in-ring highlights saw the rave clique Special K and The Carnage Crew have their brawl stopped by the PA State Athletic Commission, the high flying Sonjay Dutt amaze the crowd with his Matrix-esque aerial artistry and The SAT and Briscoe Brothers beat the ever loving hell out of each in a heated tag and high paced tag team match.



Fight Battle: The Show

After a two hour break, the main part of Final Battle 2003. The lights were dimmed, the smoke machines spread their ethereal mist throughout the arena, laser lights bounced off the walls and 1500 fans broke ROH's all-time attendance record. In front of one of the most energetic, respectful and intense crowds that have attended a Ring of Honor show, Final Battle 2003 commenced. As each match progressed one could see that wrestlers were trying not only to top the previous match, but top their personal best. On this night, one of the cornerstones of the promotion, The American Dragon returned to Philly after an extended absence, to a thunderous impression. The crowd literally went berserk for every European uppercut and every counter the founding father of ROH threw. Xavier and John Walters, nearly stole the show with their "Fight Without Honor." The two proved they could hold an audience in their hands. "I wanted to prove to everyone that I could fight this kind of match that they've seen before and that I could do it better," commented Xavier. And better he did, as the crowd exploded when a bloody Xavier hit a death-defying 450 splash onto Walters, blood flying from his forehead, sending both men crashing through a table on the outside. Later in the night, a new star was born when BJ Whitmer, known as a solid yet vanilla worker, was revealed as the man who took out CM Punk's girlfriend. When the All-Japan contingent hit the ring, the fever pitch the audience kept was at an all-time high. AJ Styles and Kaz Hayashi nearly caved each other's sternums in exchanging stiff kicks like two Old West gunfighters in a shoot-out. The main event saw The Great Muta and Arashi take on The Prophecy: Christopher Daniels and Dan Maff. The entire locker room emptied to watch this match and it was surreal to see guys who had just put on four to five star matches sitting right next to a guy wearing his shirt. Great Muta, a legend in Japan and a popular name in America in the late '80s, blew the roof off the armory. Despite having literally no cartilage in his knees, he stalked around the ring, with the audience in his hands. Daniels and Maff were at the top of their game, selling like madman to their opponents, and when Muta hit his finisher The Shining Wizard, the reaction was equal to that of a Superbowl win.



Final Battle: The Aftermath

The exhausted crowd filed out of the armory with smiles across their faces. Wrestlers poured out and their faces expressed how happy they were with the show. Every wrestler had one word to describe the experience of Final Battle: awesome. It was a collective effort that not only helped propel ROH to a new level. Booker Gabe Sapolsky could not have been happier with his crew. "I was with ECW since 1994 and this ROH locker room is by far the best locker room I've ever been in. Everyone is so unselfish and everyone just pushes each other to perform better, which is why the matches are always good. It was great for everyone to share a locker room for that night with guys like The Great Muta and it is definitely a night no one will expect so being involved with All Japan was tremendous on several different levels. It was definitely the kind of show that can springboard ROH to a new level."

However it was CM Punk who summed the night up best. "This is my family," he said while signing autographs. It's true, the atmosphere in the armory that night was that of camaraderie, a familial sense of brotherhood and honor between the wrestlers and the fans and that is what takes a great wrestling promotion and makes it legendary. On that night, Ring of Honor truly earned its name.