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Female talent in Ring of Honor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Women of Honor is a term used by Ring of Honor (ROH) to refer to its women's division and to the promotion's female talent. The term is applied universally to wrestlers, backstage interviewers, and managers/valets.[1][2][3][4]
The first ever Women of Honor in-ring competitor and match winner of and inaugural ROH Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai. | |
| Acronym | WOH |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002; re-launched in 2015 as a unique brand |
| Style | Women's professional wrestling |
| Parent | Ring of Honor (ROH) |
| Merged with | ROH Women's Division (2021–present) |
| Website | www |
ROH had its first women's match on June 22, 2002, at its Road to the Title show; it saw Sumie Sakai defeat Simply Luscious.[5] Women's wrestling was sporadically featured in ROH since the match. During the 2000s, ROH featured female wrestlers like Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze, Serena Deeb, MsChif, Amazing Kong, Ashley Lane, Nevaeh, Allison Danger, Lacey, Taeler Hendrix, Mercedes Martinez and others on shows, later releasing a DVD featuring the best of its women's division.[2] Some of women's matches were also featured on ROH's television program on HDNet but ROH did not consistently feature women's matches until 2015.[6]
ROH also had a partnership with women's professional wrestling promotion Shimmer Women Athletes, with the Shimmer Championship and Shimmer Tag Team Championship being defended on several ROH shows – becoming the first women's titles to be featured in ROH.[7][8]
From years 2011 to 2015, ROH's female talent primarily consisted of female valets and interviewers although some female workers and wrestlers would compete in matches in the promotion.[9][10] During this time period women of ROH managed and accompanied male stars such as Michael Elgin, Mike Bennett, Matt Taven, Truth Martini, R.D. Evans, Moose, Cedric Alexander, Jay Lethal & Prince Nana and managed and were apart of stables such as The Kingdom, The House of Truth, Team RnB and The Briscoe Brothers.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
For example on February 26, 2011, at ROH 9th Anniversary Show, Sara Del Ray defeated MsChif with Shane Hagadorn in Sara's corner as a male valet / ally.[9]
During this time period there was no such thing as a Women's Championship that was properly owned by Ring of Honor such as the ROH Women's World Championship and the firstly ROH Women of Honor World Championship, during this time period ERA the women of ROH had to work with just brond & beauty with barley even a Shimmer Championship to compete for.[9][10][11][12][13][19][20][21][22][23][24]
Also during that time period other ROH Girls such as Maria Kanellis,[19] Sara Del Ray, Allysin Kay, Jenny Rose, Athena Reese, Scarlett Bordeaux, Mandy Leon, Mia Yim, Cherry Bomb, MsChif, Barbi Hayden, Taeler Hendrix, Seleziya Sparx, Veda Scott, Leah Von Dutch, Tara,[20] ODB, Kasey Ray, Jessie Brooks and probably more spent there time wrestling in rare once in a life time (especially seen on television) ROH Women of Honor matches and in mix tag team matches against each other, interviewing talent, interviewing backstage talent, ring announcing, side ring bell ringing and managing and valeting male talent of the company.[21][22][23][24][10][11][12][25]
For example during year 2011 Mia Yim was introduced to Ring of Honor Wrestling by Prince Nana as Princess Mia Yim afterwards from that point on she went on to valet his male stable alliance alongside him in Ring of Honor.[21] Around that time she also had a match against Sara Del Ray in Ring of Honor Wrestling but was not successful.[22]
For another factual example during those years, during year 2013 Athena Reese was a part of a ROH stable by the name of Team RnB alongside another ROH wrestler by the name of A. C. H.[13] weeks later A.C.H. ran into another ROH wrestler by the name of TaDarius Thomas[26] and then the two made an alliance tag team stable name by the name of Adrenaline RUSH that primarily consisted of A.C.H. and TaDarius Thomas only[27] from that point on.
After that the three had a six-mix tag team match against MsChif, B. J. Whitmer, and Michael Elgin but were not successful.[11][12]
For an even further factual example, on August 15, 2014, at ROH Field of Honor of 2014 Jay Lethal defeated Matt Taven for the ROH World Television Championship with Seleziya aka Seleziya Sparx and Truth Martini in Jay Lethal's corner. Seleziya was Jay Lethal's female valet alongside his then male valet Truth Martini. Shortly after that Taeler Hendrix returned to ROH and became Jay Lethal's female valet replacing Seleziya Sparx but the two ladies never at the same time valeted Jay Lethal. (They were known as The House of Truth. Scarlett Bordeaux was a part of the stable before both ladies.)[28][29][17]
The popularity of women in Ring of Honor has resulted in Ring of Honor taping a pilot for a standalone Women of Honor program. Ring of Honor has also made numerous Women of Honor branded merchandise available for purchase.[30] The pilot aired as a Women of Honor-branded television special the weekend of June 25, 2016 and its success led to a Women of Honor taping that is available on DVD.[31]
At its founding, ROH had a partnership with the female exclusive promotion Shimmer Women Athletes (Shimmer), with their top championship - the Shimmer Championship - being defended at ROH events, essentially serving as ROH's de facto women's title in the promotion's early years.
During years 2015 to 2016 Ring of Honor regularly aired and promoted their Women of Honor matches called Women of Honor Wednesday matches[32][33] (Also known as Women Division Wednesday matches starting years 2021 to 2022[34]) on their YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter platforms.[32][34]
These Women of Honor matches where presented by Ian Riccaboni. Which we're joined by ROH female talent such as Taeler Hendrix, Mandy Leon, Veda Scott, Deonna Purrazzo, Hania the Howling Huntress, Sumie Sakai, Havok and more ROH Women of Honor to compete in these reinstated Women of Honor matches since the division had been reinstated as a permanent Women of Honor division during years 2015 and 2016.[35][36]
In February 2017, ROH partnered with Japanese women's only wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom for a Women of Honor tryout camp.[37] On December 5, 2017 at Final Battle, Riccaboni introduced and announced ROH's creation of its own women's title called the ROH Women of Honor Championship,[38][39] which would later be named the Women of Honor World Championship, as a tournament for the championship was set to start on January 20, 2018.[40] On April 7, 2018 at Supercard of Honor XII, Sumie Sakai defeated Kelly Klein in the tournament final to become the inaugural champion.[41][42] Along with Sumie Sakai, there have been four champions overall, shared between Angelina Love,[43] Mayu Iwatani[44] and Kelly Klein, who held the title in a record setting three-time.[45][46][47]
On January 1, 2020, ROH deactivated the Women of Honor World Champion, held at the time by Kelly Klein, due to the former champion deciding not to renew her contract with the promotion amidst disagreements between the two parties, leading into Klein filling a lawsuit against the company over a year later in early 2021. As such, a new championship was to be created for the division, the ROH Women's World Championship. The winner was originally planned to be crowned in a 16-woman Tournament at Quest For Gold, but that tournament, as well as the Women of Honor division as a whole, was put on hold due to the event being cancelled amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[48]
During the ROH 19th Anniversary Show on March 26, 2021, Maria Kanellis made her on-screen return to the promotion and announced a new tournament to crown a new ROH Women's World Champion, the first since the retirement of the Women of Honor World Championship at the beginning of 2020. The tournament will take place in summer 2021, with a number of the matches to be showcased on ROH TV.[49]The division also seemingly dropped using the 'Women of Honor' name as a month later, 'Women's Division Wednesdays' returned on ROH's official YouTube channel starting on April 28, 2021.[50]
As of January 1, 2020, ROH deactivated the ROH Women of Honor World Championship (due to contractual issues with reigning champion Kelly Klein), and announced the creation of a brand new championship for the division, the ROH Women's World Championship. The winner was originally planned to be crowned in a 16-woman Tournament at Quest For Gold, but had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After ROH resumed operations following a five-month pandemic related hiatus, a new 15-woman tournament (with one participant - Angelina Love - getting a first round bye due to Vita VonStarr being removed from the tournament via other personal issues with Maria Kanellis) was announced at Best in the World that took place beginning on July 31, 2021, and tournament final which Rok-C won to become the inaugural ROH Women's World Champion on September 12, 2021, at Death Before Dishonor XVIII.[51]
During early January 2022 Ring of Honor stopped having Wednesday version's of ROH women's matches and once more had ROH women's matches on ROH Wrestling TV shows alongside the men as they did during years 2002 to 2011 & years 2011 to 2015.[52][53][54]
On December 16, 2023 of Ring of Honor's tapings Tony Khan unveiled a new ROH Women's title named the ROH Women's World Television Championship.[55] On April 5, 2024 at ROH pay-per-view Supercard of Honor of year 2024 Billie Starkz defeated Queen Aminata to become the inaugural ROH Women's World Television Championship holder.[56]
On September 15, 2024 Athena became the longest reigning ROH women's champion & ROH title holder of all time as a women surpassing Samoa Joe's reign as ROH World Champion at 645 days by holding the ROH Women's World Championship for 646 days.[57]
The following list shows the Women of Honor that are currently holding all active Women of Honor championships in Ring of Honor Wrestling.
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held |
Location | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROH Women's World Championship |  |
Athena | 1 | December 10, 2022 | 737+ | Arlington, Texas | Defeated Mercedes Martinez at Final Battle. | [58] |
| ROH Women's World Television Championship | .jpg) |
Red Velvet | 1 | July 26, 2024 | 143+ | Arlington, Texas | Defeated Billie Starkz at Death Before Dishonor | [59] |
| Championship | Final champion(s) | Date won | Date retired | Days held | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women of Honor World Championship | Kelly Klein | October 12, 2019 | January 1, 2020 | 81 | Retired after the champion Kelly Klein's contract was not renewed. The title was replaced by the new ROH Women's World Championship. |
| Shimmer Championship | Nicole Matthews | October 18, 2014 | 2014 (in ROH) | 357 | The championship ceased being defended at ROH events in 2014. |
| Shimmer Tag Team Championship | Daizee Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa | March 27, 2011 | 2011 (in ROH) | 188 | The championship ceased being defended at ROH event in 2011. |
| Year won | Award | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Shimmer Wrestler of the Year | Sara Del Rey |
| 2017 | WOH Wrestler of the Year | Deonna Purrazzo[60] |
| 2018 | Sumie Sakai[61] | |
| 2020 | Female Wrestler of the Year | Session Moth Martina[62] |
| 2021 | Rok-C[63] | |
| Best New Star | Rok-C[64] | |
| Breakout Star of the Year: Female | Quinn McKay[65] |
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessie Brooks defeated Gabby Ortiz | Women of Honor Championship Qualifying Match |
| 2 | Brandi Rhodes defeated Stella Grey | Women of Honor Championship Qualifying Match |
| First Round ROH Wrestling / Women of Honor tapings | Quarterfinals ROH Wrestling / Women of Honor tapings | Semifinals ROH Wrestling / Women of Honor tapings | Final Supercard of Honor XII April 7, 2018 | ||||||||||||
| Mandy Leon | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Madison Rayne | |||||||||||||||
| Mandy Leon | |||||||||||||||
| Kelly Klein | KO | ||||||||||||||
| Jessie Brooks | |||||||||||||||
| Kelly Klein | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Kelly Klein | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Mayu Iwatani | |||||||||||||||
| HZK | |||||||||||||||
| Mayu Iwatani | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Mayu Iwatani | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Deonna Purrazzo | |||||||||||||||
| Deonna Purrazzo | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Holidead | |||||||||||||||
| Kelly Klein | |||||||||||||||
| Sumie Sakai | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Jenny Rose | |||||||||||||||
| Kagetsu | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Kagetsu | |||||||||||||||
| Sumie Sakai | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Hana Kimura | |||||||||||||||
| Sumie Sakai | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Sumie Sakai | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Tenille Dashwood | |||||||||||||||
| Stacy Shadows | |||||||||||||||
| Tenille Dashwood | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Tenille Dashwood | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Brandi Rhodes | |||||||||||||||
| Karen Q | |||||||||||||||
| Brandi Rhodes | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| First Round1 2 ROH Wrestling July 30 August 7 and 14 ROH Women's Division Wednesday August 4 | Quarterfinals ROH Wrestling August 21 and 28 | Semifinals ROH Wrestling September 4 | Final Death Before Dishonor XVIII September 12 | ||||||||||||
| Rok-C | Pin[66] | ||||||||||||||
| Sumie Sakai | 9:36 | ||||||||||||||
| Rok-C | Pin[67] | ||||||||||||||
| Quinn McKay | 10:14 | ||||||||||||||
| Mandy Leon | 7:12 | ||||||||||||||
| Quinn McKay3 4 5 | Pin[68] | ||||||||||||||
| Rok-C | Sub[69] | ||||||||||||||
| Angelina Love | 6:44 | ||||||||||||||
| Holidead | 9:18 | ||||||||||||||
| Max the Impaler | Pin[70] | ||||||||||||||
| Max the Impaler | 5:53 | ||||||||||||||
| Angelina Love | DQ[71] | ||||||||||||||
| Angelina Love | Bye[72] | ||||||||||||||
| –6 | |||||||||||||||
| Rok-C | Pin[73] | ||||||||||||||
| Miranda Alize | 18:13 | ||||||||||||||
| Alex Gracia | 8:43 | ||||||||||||||
| Miranda Alize | Pin[66] | ||||||||||||||
| Miranda Alize | Pin[67] | ||||||||||||||
| Nicole Savoy | 13:04 | ||||||||||||||
| Mazzerati | 8:45 | ||||||||||||||
| Nicole Savoy | Pin[66] | ||||||||||||||
| Miranda Alize | Sub[69] | ||||||||||||||
| Trish Adora | 12:16 | ||||||||||||||
| Willow Nightingale | 11:30 | ||||||||||||||
| Allysin Kay | Sub[74] | ||||||||||||||
| Allysin Kay | 13:30 | ||||||||||||||
| Trish Adora | Pin[71] | ||||||||||||||
| Marti Belle | 7:13 | ||||||||||||||
| Trish Adora | Sub[68] | ||||||||||||||
1 ^ Participants in the original tournament included: Ashley Vox, Gia Scott, Heather Monroe, Jenny Rose, Katarina, Kellyanne, Lindsay Snow, Maria Manic, Session Moth Martina, and Tasha Steelz.
2 ^ Brandi Lauren and Laynie Luck were named as alternates.
3 ^ Spot was originally meant for Vita VonStarr, but her interference in matches involving The Righteous got her removed.
4 ^ Allie Recks was slated to take VonStarr's place in the tournament, but a knee injury kept her from competing.
5 ^ Chelsea Green was slated to take VonStarr's place in the tournament, but a broken wrist kept her from competing.
6 ^ Love defeated Quinn McKay on the May 8 ROH Wrestling episode to earn a bye.
| First Round ROH Wrestling (February 15 and 22) | Quarterfinals ROH Wrestling (February 29, March 7 and 14) | Semifinals ROH Wrestling (March 21) | Final Supercard of Honor (April 5) | ||||||||||||
| Kiera Hogan | 6:31[75] | ||||||||||||||
| Diamanté | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Diamanté | 11:38[76] | ||||||||||||||
| Billie Starkz | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Billie Starkz | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Robyn Renegade | 9:47[77] | ||||||||||||||
| Billie Starkz | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez | 11:33[78] | ||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Trish Adora | 9:46[75] | ||||||||||||||
| Mercedes Martinez | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Abadon | 9:46[76] | ||||||||||||||
| Viva Van | 5:48[77] | ||||||||||||||
| Abadon | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Billie Starkz | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Queen Aminata | 17:42[56] | ||||||||||||||
| Rachael Ellering | 10:49[75] | ||||||||||||||
| Leyla Hirsch | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Leyla Hirsch | 9:46[79] | ||||||||||||||
| Red Velvet | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Sandra Moone | 9:01[77] | ||||||||||||||
| Red Velvet | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Red Velvet | 9:24[78] | ||||||||||||||
| Queen Aminata | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| J–Rod | 6:04[75] | ||||||||||||||
| Queen Aminata | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Queen Aminata | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Taya Valkyrie | 8:52[80] | ||||||||||||||
| Sussy Love | 7:19[77] | ||||||||||||||
| Taya Valkyrie | Pin | ||||||||||||||
1 ^ Originally scheduled participant Lady Frost was on tour in Mexico when the tournament began, so she was removed.
The following list shows the first ever Ring of Honor and partnered with Ring of Honor Shimmer Women Athletes Women's Championship winners and the years that the titles were first ever won by Women of Ring of Honor in Ring of Honor history.
| Championships | Women of Honor (ROH_WOH) | Company | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shimmer Championship | Sara Del Ray | Shimmer Women Athletes (Jointed with, Used by, and Borrowed by ROH) and Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) Partnered (2002–2011) |
2007–2014 |
| Shimmer Tag Team Championship | Ashley Lane and Nevaeh | Shimmer Women Athletes (Jointed with, Used by, and Borrowed by ROH) and Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) Partnered (2002–2011) |
2008–2011 |
| Women of Honor Championship | Sumie Sakai | Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) |
2017–2020 |
| ROH Women's World Championship | Rok-C | Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) |
2020–present |
| ROH Women's World Television Championship | Billie Starkz | Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) |
2023–present |
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PWI Female 50 | ||||||||||
| 2008[81] | - | - | - | - | MsChif | Sara Del Rey | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | - | - | - | MsChif | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | MsChif | - |
| 2011 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | MsChif | Sara Del Rey |
| 2012 | - | - | - | Sara Del Rey | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Tara | - | - |
| PWI Female 100 / PWI Women's 100 / PWI Women's 250 | ||||||||||
| 2018[82] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Mayu Iwatani | - |
| 2019[83] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Nicole Savoy |
| 2023[84] | - | - | - | - | - | Athena | - | Willow Nightingale | - | - |
| Year Won | Award | Wrestler |
|---|---|---|
| 2012[85] | Rookie of the Year | Veda Scott |
The following list shows the Top 5 ROH 5 Count Women of Honor Trailblazers[86] and the Top 5 ROH 5 Count Women of Honor Competitors[87] in all of Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) history.
| Numbers | Name | Women of Honor (WOH) | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[86] | ROH 5 COUNT: WOMEN OF HONOR TRAILBLAZERS | Sara Del Rey | 2005–2012 | She was one of the most dominant and the measuring stick during her run in the women's division throughout her years in ROH. |
| 2 | Daizee Haze | 2004–2011 | Haze formed an alliance with Delirious, who was her trainer. | |
| 3 | Lacey | 2004–2008 | Lacey made quite an impact during her time in ROH and defeated a lot of hardcore veteran female talent that worked for ROH while there. | |
| 4 | MsChif | 2006–2013 | Held the Shimmer Championship for 715 days while in Ring of Honor. | |
| 5 | Allison Danger | 2002–2009 | She is younger sister of former ROH star Steve Corino. |
| Numbers | Name | Women of Honor (WOH) | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[87] | ROH 5 COUNT: TOP 5 WOMEN OF HONOR COMPETITORS | Kelly Klein | 2015–2019 | She was known as "The Gatekeeper" and "The Pretty Badass," and Became a 3-time ROH Women of Honor Champion. |
| 2 | Deonna Purrazzo | 2015–2018; 2021 | She is known as "The Virtuosa" and was one of the pioneers of WOH's relaunch in 2015 and she also became ROH Women's World Champion. | |
| 3 | Mandy Leon | 2014; 2015–2022 | Known as The "Exotic Goddess" and ROH Dojo graduate who has come a long way in a short amount of time while in ROH. | |
| 4 | Sumie Sakai | 2002; 2015–2021 | She was victorious in the very first WOH match in 2002, is a 20-year veteran, and was the first ROH Women of Honor Champion. | |
| 5 | Jenny Rose | 2013; 2015–2020 | Competed in her first ROH Women's match against Leah Von Dutch, MsChif, and Athena after training in the ROH Dojo and wrestling in Japan after her training. |
| Ring name | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Athena[88] | Adrienne Palmer[89] | Women's World Champion |
| Billie Starkz[90] | Lillian Bridget[91] | |
| Charlette Renegade[92] | Charlette Williamson[93] | |
| Diamante[94] | Priscilla Zuniga[95] | |
| Lady Frost[96] | Brittany Steding[97] | |
| Leyla Hirsch[98] | Leyla Hirsch[99] | |
| Marina Shafir[100] | Marina Shafir[101] | |
| Mercedes Martinez[102] | Jazmin Benitez[103] | |
| Queen Aminata[104] | Aminata Sylla | |
| Rachael Ellering[105] | Rachael Ellering[106] | |
| Red Velvet[107] | Stephanie M. Cardona | Women's World Television Champion |
| Robyn Renegade[108] | Robin Williamson[109] | |
| Trish Adora[110] | Patrice McNair[111] |
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