Independent wrestling promotion, Ring of Honor, have founded their own Hall of Fame made for former and current indie wrestlers that have laid the groundwork for the up-and-comers of today. Already confirmed for the inaugural class is the team of Mark and Jay Briscoe, a prolific tag team within ROH and NJPW. Joining them will be ‘The American Dragon’ Bryan Danielson, a name that is synonymous with ROH and independent wrestling in general.
Danielson, who currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling, will likely headline the event, having spent many years honing his craft as part of the roster and putting ROH on the map. His feuds with the likes of CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries and Nigel McGuinness are among some of the most talked about indie feuds of all time.
Ring of Honor shared the following regarding Bryan’s induction:
Ring of Honor is proud to welcome Bryan Danielson, the embodiment of fighting spirit and technical wrestling excellence, into the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame.
“The American Dragon” played a major role in establishing ROH as the Best Wrestling on the Planet, beginning with his performance in the main event on ROH’s debut show, The Era of Honor Begins, in 2002.
Whenever “The Final Countdown” blared throughout the building as Danielson made his entrance to the ring, fans knew they were about to witness a true master of his craft at work.
A superior technician, striker and submission specialist, Danielson cemented his status as the best wrestler in the sport when he won the ROH World Title in 2005. His 462-day reign as ROH World Champion is the third-longest, and he made a record 38 successful title defenses.
Danielson made history in 2006 when he defeated arch rival and ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England to merge the titles. He also won the inaugural Survival of the Fittest in 2004 and main-evented ROH’s first pay-per-view in 2007.
Danielson had many impressive victories in ROH, but one of his most memorable performances came in defeat. Just over four minutes into his match against then-ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima in 2007, Danielson suffered a detached retina as a result of the Japanese powerhouse’s clubbing blows.
Morishima targeted Danielson’s injured left eye throughout the match, but Danielson showed incredible toughness and heart and came within a fraction of a second of winning before Morishima ultimately prevailed after more than 20 dramatic minutes.
After leaving ROH in 2009, Danielson would gain world-wide fame in WWE, where he main-evented WrestleMania in 2014 before more than 75,000 fans at the Superdome in New Orleans. Danielson is currently one of the top stars in AEW.
Danielson joins the Briscoes in the inaugural ROH Hall of Fame class. More inductees will be announced in the coming weeks.
A career retrospective on Danielson will be featured on this weekend’s episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling television, and a YouTube special on Danielson drops Monday, Feb. 14 at 9 a.m. ET on ROH’s YouTube channel.
A special Hall of Fame episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling featuring all of the inductees airs on TV the weekend of March 5.
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