| ROH World Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The title belt used since 2023. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Ring of Honor (ROH) All Elite Wrestling (AEW) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | June 22, 2002[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion | Bandido | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | April 6, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | |||||||||||||||||||
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TheROH World Championship is aprofessional wrestlingworld championship created and promoted byRing of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion isBandido, who is in his second reign. In addition to being in ROH, the championship is also defended onAll Elite Wrestling's (AEW) programs, as AEW and ROH are both owned byTony Khan.
Low Ki defeatedSpanky,Christopher Daniels, andDoug Williams in a60-minute Iron Man match to become the inaugural ROH Champion at Crowning a Champion on July 27, 2002 after holding its first tournament to crown the inaugural champion on June 22, 2002.[2][1][3][4]
Samoa Joe had the longest title reign to date when he held the belt for 21 months and four days. During his reign, ROH held a cross-promotional show withFrontier Wrestling Alliance in theUnited Kingdom on May 17, 2003, called Frontiers of Honor. At that show, Joe turned the title into the ROH World Championship when he defended it againstThe Zebra Kid. Since then the title has been defended inGermany,Canada,Switzerland,Austria,Mexico,Japan,Ireland,Italy, andSpain.[3]
On August 12, 2006, theROH Pure Championship was unified with the ROH World Championship after the ROH Pure ChampionNigel McGuinness lost to the ROH World ChampionBryan Danielson inLiverpool,England in a title unification match.[5] The match was contested underpure wrestling rules, with the stipulation that both championships could be lost by disqualification or count out.[6]
On July 3, 2013, the ROH World Championship has declaredvacant for the first time since its inception, whenROH Match Maker Nigel McGuinness stripped then-championJay Briscoe of the title after he was sidelined with astoryline injury and would be unable to compete for the foreseeable future.[7][8]
On January 4, 2016 the ROH World Championship was defended inJapan for the first time ever atWrestle Kingdom 10, as championJay Lethal defended and retained the title againstMichael Elgin.[9]
In late 2021, ROH announced it would go on hiatus followingFinal Battle. Then-ROH World ChampionBandido was supposed to wrestleJonathan Gresham in a championship match at Final Battle until December 9 when it was announced that Bandido had tested positive forCOVID-19, thus ending his participation in the scheduled match.[10][11]Jay Lethal took Bandido’s place against Gresham at Final Battle where Gresham defeated Lethal and won the vacated ROH World Championship, now represented by the original title belt.[12][13] However, during ROH’s hiatus after Final Battle, Gresham and Bandido would appear in different promotions defending their respective championships; Gresham with the original belt and Bandido with the most recently designed belt. The championship was defended on cards promoted by other companies such as longtime ROH national rivalImpact Wrestling,Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), the UK-basedProgress Wrestling, andAll Elite Wrestling (AEW). Both men even defended their respective titles with Gresham's new promotion, TERMINUS.[14][15][16]
On January 20, 2022, it was announced that Bandido and Gresham would face each other in achampionship unification match atSupercard of Honor XV, the first ROH event after the hiatus.[17] At the event, Gresham defeated Bandido to unify the ROH World Championship.[18][19][20][21] Afterwards, Gresham continued to carry the original belt while the belt carried by Bandido was shelved.
On November 11, 2023, AEW announced a tournament called theContinental Classic, with the winner becoming the firstAEW Continental Champion.[22][23][24] Eddie Kingston, who held the ROH World Championship and NJPW'sStrong Openweight Championship, announced that he would be putting his championships on the line in the tournament and that the tournament's winner would be an American Triple Crown Champion (collectively referred to as the Continental Crown).[24][25] At AEW'sWorlds End event, Kingston defeatedJon Moxley in the Continental Classic final, retaining the ROH World and Strong Openweight championships and becoming the first Continental Crown Champion. Kingston would lose the AEW Continental Championship toKazuchika Okada on the March 20, 2024, episode ofDynamite, thus losing his recognition as Triple Crown Champion.[26]
On June 16, 2025 it was announced that on June 17, 2025 the ROH World Championship will be defended inMexico as championBandido defends the title againstMáscara Dorada atCMLL vs. AEW & ROH.[27] During the event Bandido was successful at retaining.[28]
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On June 22, 2002, ROH held the first part of a tournament to crown the inaugural ROH Champion.[2][1] Sixteen wrestlers were divided into four blocks, with the winner of each block competing in aFour-WayIron Man match on July 27, 2002 to determine the first champion.
| Block A | Final | ||||||
| Paul London | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Spanky | 9:58 | ||||||
| Spanky | 5:13 | ||||||
| Jody Fleisch | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Jody Fleisch | 7:01 | ||||||
| Jonny Storm | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Block B | Final | ||||||
| Christopher Daniels | 2:28 | ||||||
| Scoot Andrews | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Christopher Daniels | 15:30 | ||||||
| AJ Styles | Pin[2] | ||||||
| AJ Styles | 21:49 | ||||||
| Jerry Lynn | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Block C | Final | ||||||
| American Dragon | 2:31 | ||||||
| Bio-Hazard | Sub[2] | ||||||
| American Dragon | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Doug Williams | 13:17 | ||||||
| Doug Williams | 6:17 | ||||||
| Jay Briscoe | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Block D | Final | ||||||
| Low Ki | 3:53 | ||||||
| Prince Nana | TKO[2] | ||||||
| Low Ki | 11:16 | ||||||
| Amazing Red | Pin[2] | ||||||
| Amazing Red | 4:20 | ||||||
| Xavier | Pin[2] | ||||||
Low Ki won the Four-Way 60-minute Iron Man match to become the inaugural champion.[2]
| Wrestler | Points |
|---|---|
| Low Ki | 3 |
| Christopher Daniels | 2 |
| Doug Williams | -1 |
| Spanky | -1 |
The Original 2002 design was based heavily on the now defunct UWF world heavyweight championship.
In 2010, the title belt, along with the ROH World Tag Team Championship belts, was redesigned.[29] The new belt has an eagle with its wings spread over a picture of the world with an ROH logo on the top. This design also includes variousflags on different countries.
In December 2012, a new design was introduced at theFinal Battle iPPV.
In 2014, During the rivalry betweenAdam Cole and Jay Briscoe, Briscoe unveiled a custom ROH World Title belt.
In December 2017, ROH unveiled another new design for the title belt, which debuted atFinal Battle.[30]
On March 31, 2023, a new design of the championship belt was revealed on the Countdown toSupercard of Honor show, making it the sixth design in the title's history.[31]
The current (2023) design of the ROH World Championship has black strap featuring 5 plates. The main plate is silver with 2 black banners. The top reading "WORLD" and the bottom banner reading "WRESTLING CHAMPION". The center of the plate features a globe with the current Ring of Honor logo on it. The side plates are circular with the Ring of Honor logo on the top and an engraved figure of a wrestler performing the "Jay Driller" finisher, paying tribute to former ROH World Champion and Hall of Famer,Jay Briscoe, who died in a car accident in January 2023.[32]
WhenMark Briscoe became champion, he introduced his own variant of the title, with the plates on a white & blackcamouflage strap.[33]
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Overall, there have been 42 ROH World Championship reigns and 33 total champions. The title has been vacated twice. The inaugural champion wasLow Ki, who defeatedChristopher Daniels,Spanky, andDoug Williams in aFour Way60-minute Iron Man match at the Crowning A Champion event on July 27, 2002, to become the inaugural champion.[2]
Adam Cole holds the record for most reigns, with three.Jay Lethal has the most defenses, with 41;Kyle O'Reilly has the fewest, with 0. At 645 days,Samoa Joe has the longest reign in the title's history; Kyle O'Reilly's reign is the shortest at 33 days.
Bandido is the current champion in his second reign. He defeatedChris Jericho in aTitle vs. Mask match on April 6, 2025 inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania atDynasty.
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