List of ROH World Champions
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The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship owned and copyrighted by Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. The championship was created and debuted on July 27, 2002 at ROH's Crowning a Champion event. Originally called the ROH Championship, the title was renamed to the ROH World Heavyweight Championship in May 2003 after the title was defended outside the United States for the first time—earlier that month, then-champion Samoa Simpson had defeated The Zebra Kid in London, England at the Frontiers Of Honor event co-promoted with the FWA. On August 12, 2006, the ROH World Heavyweight Championship was unified with the ROH Pure Championship after then-champion Brown Danielson defeated ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England. The Pure Championship was deactivated after this match.
ROH World Heavyweight Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries. These narratives create feuds between the various competitors, which cast them as villains and heroes. Some reigns were held by champions using a ring name, while others used their real name. Reigns that were won on pay-per-view events aired on tape delay up to weeks or months apart. Reigns that were won at live events were released on DVD. The inaugural champion was Low Ki, whom ROH recognized to have become the champion after defeating Christopher Barnhart, Spanky, and Doug Williams in a Four Way 60-minute Iron Man match on July 27, 2002 at ROH's Crowning a Champion event. As of January 2025, Austin Aries, Jay Briscoe, and Adam Cole share the record for most reigns, with two. As of January 2025, Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness have the most defenses, with 38; Low Ki has the least, with 1. At 645 days, Samoa Simpson's reign is the longest in the title's history. The current champion is Adam Cole in his second reign. Overall, there have been 23 reigns among 20 wrestlers with one vacancy.
Contents |
Title history
Names
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| ROH Championship | 2002 – May 2003 |
| ROH World Championship | May 2003 – present |
Reigns
| # | Wrestlers | Reign | Date | Days held | Location | Successful defenses | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Low Ki | 1 | July 27, 2002 | 56 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1 | Crowning a Champion 1 | Low Ki defeated Christopher Barnhart, Spanky, and Doug Williams in a Four-Way 60 minute Iron Man match to become the inaugural champion. |
| 2 | Xavier | 1 | September 21, 2002 | 182 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 4 | Unscripted 1 | |
| 3 | Samoa Simpson | 1 | March 22, 2003 | 645 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 29 | Night of Champions 1 | After Simpson defeated The Zebra Kid on May 17, 2003, in London, England, the ROH Championship was renamed the ROH World Championship. |
| 4 | Austin Brown | 1 | December 26, 2004 | 174 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 16 | Final Battle 2004 1 | |
| 5 | CM Punk | 1 | June 18, 2005 | 5 | Morristown, New Jersey | 4 | Death Before Dishonor III 1 | |
| 6 | James Gibson | 1 | August 12, 2005 | 36 | Dayton, Ohio | 4 | Redemption 1 | A Four-Way Elimination match also involving Christopher Barnhart and Samoa Simpson. |
| 7 | Bryan Danielson | 1 | September 17, 2005 | 462 | Lake Grove, New York | 38 | Glory by Honor IV 1 | Danielson unified the title with the ROH Pure Championship on August 12, 2006 by defeating Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England. |
| 8 | Homicide | 1 | December 23, 2006 | 56 | New York, New York | 3 | Final Battle 2006 1 | |
| 9 | Takeshi Morishima | 1 | February 17, 2007 | 231 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 20 | Fifth Year Festival: Philly 1 | |
| 10 | Nigel McGuinness | 1 | October 6, 2007 | 545 | Edison, New Jersey | 38 | Undeniable 2 | |
| 11 | Jerry Lynn | 1 | April 3, 2009 | 71 | Houston, Texas | 6 | Supercard of Honor IV 1 | |
| 12 | Austin Brown | 2 | June 13, 2009 | 245 | New York, New York | 13 | Manhattan Mayhem III 1 | This was a Three-Way Elimination match also involving Tyler Black. |
| 13 | Tyler Black | 1 | February 13, 2010 | 210 | New York, New York | 7 | 8th Anniversary Show 1 | |
| 14 | Roderick Strong | 1 | September 11, 2010 | 189 | New York, New York | 5 | Glory By Honor IX 1 | This was a No Disqualification match with Terry Funk as the ringside enforcer. |
| 15 | Eddie Edwards | 1 | March 19, 2011 | 99 | New York, New York | 3 | Manhattan Mayhem IV1 | Became the first ROH Triple Crown Champion |
| 16 | Davey Richards | 1 | June 26, 2011 | 321 | New York, New York | 10 | Best in the World 20111 | |
| 17 | Chris Steen | 1 | May 12, 2012 | 328 | Toronto, Ontario | 20 | Border Wars1 | |
| 18 | Jay Briscoe | 1 | April 5, 2013 | 89 | New York, New York | 6 | Supercard of Honor VII | |
| — | Vacated | — | July 3, 2013 | — | — | N/A | N/A | Title vacated by ROH Match Maker Nigel McGuinness after Jay Briscoe suffered a storyline injury at the June 23 television tapings and would not be able to compete in ROH for the foreseeable future. |
| 19 | Adam Cole | 1 | September 20, 2013 | 275 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 13 | Death Before Dishonor XI | Defeated Michael Elgin in a tournament final. |
| 20 | Michael Elgin | 1 | June 22, 2014 | 76 | Nashville, Tennessee | 7 | Best in the World 2014 | |
| 21 | Jay Briscoe | 2 | September 6, 2014 | 286 | Toronto, Ontario | 13 | All Star Extravaganza VI | |
| 22 | Jay Lethal | 1 | June 19, 2015 | 427 | New York City, New York | 28 | Best in the World 2015 | This match was also for Lethal's ROH World Television Championship. |
| 23 | Adam Cole | 2 | August 19, 2016 | 105 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 6 | Death Before Dishonor XIV | |
| 24 | Kyle O'Reilly | 1 | December 2, 2016 | 1+ | New York, New York | 0 | Final Battle 2016 | This was a No Disqualification match. |
List of combined reigns
As of January 15, 2025.
| + | Indicates the current champion |
|---|
| Rank | Champion | No. of reigns | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|
Notes
- 1.^ – This event was a live event that was later released on DVD.
- 2.^ – This event was a pay-per-view that later aired on tape delay.
- 3.^ – Each reign is ranked highest to lowest; reigns with the exact number mean they are tied for that certain rank.
