Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion. It was created in 2002 by Rob Feinstein, and is currently owned by Cary Silkin. ROH usually holds several shows each month, sometimes as many as six. Annual shows include the Anniversary Show(s), Death before Dishonor, Survival of the Fittest, Glory by Honor, and Final Battle (the last show of the calendar year).

ROH records all their shows and sells them on DVD through their mail and online store. As such, Ring of Honor has developed a loyal fanbase in America as well as around the globe. Ring of Honor also broadcasts on The Fight Network to viewers in Canada and on TWC Fight! to viewers in Great Britain and Ireland. As such, ROH is considered by many to be one of the most well known independent promotions in the world.

In April 2001, professional wrestling video distribution company RF Video was in need of a new promotion to lead its video sales after Extreme Championship Wrestling, their best seller, went out of business. At the time, RF Video also filmed events held by other less popular regional wrestling promotions and sold them through their catalog and website. RF Video owner Rob Feinstein decided he would fill the void left by ECW by starting his own promotion and distributing the DVD and VHS productions exclusively through RF Video. The first event, title The Era of Honor Begins, was held on February 23, 2002, featured nine matches, including a match between Eddy Guerrero and Super Crazy for the IWA Intercontinental Championship, and a triple threat match between Christopher Daniels, Bryan Danielson and Low Ki, who would become known as the "founding fathers of ROH".

In its first year of operation, from February 2002 to February 2003, ROH confined itself to a limited amount of venues and cities in the northeast United States. Ten shows were run in Philadelphia, PA, two in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, one in the Pittsburgh, PA area, and one in Queens, NY.

In 2003, ROH expanded to other areas of the United States, including Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland and began to build its international identity by co-holding an event with Frontier Wrestling Alliance in London, England.

ROH has continually expanded its presence on the United States and international independent wrestling scenes, holding events in more mid-western states, revitalizing its UK connections and routinely importing stars with international appeal.

In 2004, the primary owner of ROH and RF Video, Rob Feinstein, was caught in a sting operation when he tried to solicit sex from a minor, which resulted in Feintstein leaving the company in June 2004. This garnered bad publicity for the company, which resulted in a decline in business for a period of time. As a result, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling pulled their contracted wrestlers, most notably AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, from all Ring of Honor shows. This was also a factor in the decline as both wrestlers were marquee names for the company.

Feinstein's ownership was eventually sold to Doug Gentry, who would then sell it to Cary Silkin. Ring of Honor would start its own mail and online order store which sells DVDs of its live events, as well as shoot interviews with wrestlers and managers. They also sell other wrestling related merchandise not limited to products created by their company. As such, it continues the function RF Video had for the company.

Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has given full five-star ratings to several ROH matches, including the Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk sixty-minute bout from Joe vs. Punk II on October 16, 2004; Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi from Joe vs. Kobashi on October 1, 2005; and Do FIXER (Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi and Ryo Saito) vs. Blood Generation (CIMA, Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino) from Supercard of Honor on March 31, 2006. At the time of Joe vs. Punk II, Meltzer had not rated any wrestling match in the US the full five-stars since 1997.

The Joe vs. Punk feud brought back interest in the company, but it took a year before the company would become self sufficient in November 2005. Up until this point, since the split from RF Video, the company had not made profit. The strong sales of the DVD of the October 1, 2005 event Joe vs. Kobashi is attributed to this.

On January 23, 2007, Ring of Honor announced in their weekly Newswire that they would be running two shows in Japan in July . The first show they will be working with Pro Wrestling NOAH, and the second with Dragon Gate, both of which they have had a strong working relationship with. ROH has become the 1st US-based promotion to have its titles held entirely by non-American wrestlers with the Japanese Dragon Gate team of Naruki Doi and Shingo holding the ROH World Tag-Team Championship, whilst their fellow countryman and Pro Wrestling NOAH star Takeshi Morishima holds the ROH World Championship.

On May 2 2007, Ring of Honor announced that they have signed a PPV and VOD deal with G-Funk Sports & Entertainment to bring ROH into homes with iN DEMAND Networks, TVN, and the DISH Network. The deal calls for ROH to do a PPV at least once every 60 days in both the United States and internationally. Because of the move to Pay-Per-View, TNA Wrestling pulled its contracted stars (Austin Aries and Homicide) from Ring of Honor shows effective immediately. The first show, titled Respect is Earned, was taped on May 12 and will air on PPV on July 1, 2007. A second pay-per-view has been scheduled for taping on June 23, 2007 from Chicago Ridge, IL. The show is still untitled and will likely air in September.

Code of Honor

Ring of Honor was initially targeted at smart mark wrestling fans who had grown tired of the "sports entertainment" aspect of World Wrestling Entertainment. The primary way of doing this was the institution of the "Code of Honor", a set of rules that dictated how wrestlers were supposed to act. The Code of Honor was used so that Ring of Honor's matches would have a feel similar to Japanese professional wrestling. Initially, there were five "Laws" in the Code of Honor, which were mentioned at some point during every ROH home video release. It was considered a "moral requirement" to follow these rules. They were (usually in this order):

You must shake hands before and after every match.

No outside interference - no interfering in others' matches or having others interfere on your behalf.

No sneak attacks

No harming the officials.

Do not get yourself disqualified

The Code of Honor, especially the first three rules, was used principally to help heels get over. The first rule was especially applicable to Christopher Daniels, who was pushed as the promotion's first major heel. Daniels and his faction, The Prophecy, did not believe in the Code of Honor and refused to shake hands with anyone. The fourth and fifth rules were to emphasize ROH's finishes, the vast majority of which resulted in clean pins, submissions, or knockouts. On the rare occasion that a match did end with outside interference, a ref bump, or other traditional heel tactics, it was met with a much more visceral reaction from the fans than would be seen elsewhere in the wrestling world. In the early days of the promotion, it was even suggested that getting disqualified in a match may result in that wrestler never appearing in ROH again.

In early 2004, ROH's booker, Gabe Sapolsky, began to feel that the Code of Honor had run its course. Wrestlers were no longer required to follow the Code of Honor, allowing for more explosive and over-the-top match finishes, which were accepted at that point due to the stars the promotion had established and the fans it had won. The Code of Honor eventually re-appeared, diminished, as three rules:

Shake hands before and after the match, if you have respect for your opponent.

Keep the playing field level.

Respect the officials.