Ring of Honor / History History . 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 Eddie Guerrero and Super Crazy , and a triple threat match between the early mainstays of ROH , Christopher Daniels , Bryan Danielson and Low Ki . 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 . It was announced that Feinstein and ROH had severed their ties , but Feinstein was still involved with the company until 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 DVD ' s 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 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 Takagi holding the ROH World Tag - Team Championship , whilst their fellow countryman and Pro Wrestling NOAH star Takeshi Morishima holds the ROH World Championship .