When Ring of Honor held their first show, The Era of Honor Begins, on February 23, 2002, many critics and fans believed that WWE had a new alternative. With WCW and ECW effectively closing their doors at this point, ROH had the opportunity to revolutionize the wrestling business and be a true competitor to Vince McMahon and the company.

The Era of Honor Begins featured future legends and Hall of Famers such as Eddie Guerrero, Jay Briscoe, Bryan Danielson, and Christopher Daniels. The only thing that held back ROH at this time was money, but that all changed in 2011 when Sinclair purchased the promotion. It finally felt like the first true steps to challenging WWE as a strong alternative, but unfortunately for the brand, it just never got the heat that TNA or AEW did.

It came extremely close when the Bullet Club faction started in 2013. For five years, The Bullet Club was the hottest thing in professional wrestling. And that translated over to the success of Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. The thing about ROH is that the style was vastly different than anything seen on the market when it first made its debut in 2002.

That all changed as time passed by. More independent shows started popping up, but the thing about ROH is that there was always something unique about its branding. The stories they told were great and some of the best world champions made the company a must-see. ROH was by no means perfect throughout its original run, especially when Cody, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega left. That created a massive void in their company that they just couldn’t fill.

That’s a big reason the company had to shut down in 2021. They no longer stood out in a sea filled with so many independent promotions. There were still moments of uniqueness such as the Pure division, but the Elite leaving the company was a crushing blow.

So when Tony Khan purchased the brand, it was a joy for him to buy the once-beloved promotion. But, ROH under Tony Khan’s brand just isn’t working right now. This isn’t to say that the product is bad. It’s actually quite entertaining, especially Athena, who’s criminally underrated at this point.  But, there’s nothing special about it either. Ring of Honor feels like AEW’s version of Main Event. The difference is that there are actually meaningful stories going on, but the brand doesn’t have much of an identity that separates itself from other promotions.

Most of the prominent talents on the brand are just AEW exports. Plus the style of ROH itself isn’t something that you can’t see on AEW, New Japan, or the dozens of other indie shows that are currently on the market. If Tony Khan wants the brand to truly succeed then he needs to give it a fresh coat of paint.

Figure it out how to make ROH stand out in a crowded market again. Plus, stop having the titles defended on AEW television. The concept behind it is sound: Get more eyes on the ROH product by having those belts defended on weekly television or pay-per-view. But when was the last time MJF stepped into an ROH ring? He’s one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions! The Young Bucks and Hangman Page never went back over to ROH when they won the Trios titles briefly. Samoa Joe just relinquished the ROH World Television title, so the biggest star on the show will no longer be exclusive to the long-time brand.

The matches themselves are nothing different from what you traditionally see on AEW television. This concept of showcasing ROH on AEW television only works if the matches highlight what makes the brand unique from AEW or other pro wrestling companies.

Tony Khan isn’t killing the Ring of Honor. But he’s certainly doing it no favors. He’s keeping the brand on so names like Ethan Page or Dalton Castle are given some type of platform to wrestle. But again, it feels like a glorified version of WWE’s Main Event.

There’s no buzz around the product because we haven’t been given a reason to care about it. It isn’t just because it doesn’t have a TV deal. Though that would help greatly, there’s never any big news or stories that make ROH a brand that audiences must watch. The roster is stacked with talented names who deserve better. They just need an identity that can get some hype going about the product. Getting a huge name like CM Punk could work too, but it’s doubtful that any name of that caliber would agree to star on a show that’s played online only. ROH isn’t dead yet, but if Tony Khan doesn’t give it something unique that grabs the attention of viewers, then it will be in five years’ time.