It’s been two years since Jay Lethal last wrestled a Ring of Honor World Championship match at a Death Before Dishonor show and the company has evolved in numerous ways.
Ring of Honor has grown considerably in terms of popularity, created a women’s division and already sold out a wrestling show at Madison Square Garden for 2019. Lethal, who has been one of the key members on the ROH roster for years, told Fightful in a media call before Death Before Dishonor XVI that there has been a couple of factors that has helped the promotion grow in just a couple of years.
“The biggest difference, although I would love to pat Ring of Honor in the back and we can’t take credit but we did aid in it, is that wrestling as a whole is on the rise. There is definitely a boom period in all of professional wrestling. That’s helping Ring of Honor and helping every wrestling company out there and it has been the biggest difference [between 2016 and 2018],” Lethal said.
That boom period also included the highly successful All In event, a show that was solely created by wrestlers and a show that Lethal competed in. In one of his first defenses as the new Ring of Honor World Champion, Lethal defeated Flip Gordon.
As the company’s top champion, Lethal is one of the central figures of the promotion, but Lethal also said that the entire company is as strong as it’s ever been. Thanks to the company’s ability to quickly replace any top stars with new ones, Lethal remains confident that ROH’s growth continues on especially in a period where professional wrestling is thriving.
“Another aspect on the other side of the coin is that Ring of Honor has always had the greatest roster out there currently,” Lethal said. “Even though we lose some puzzle pieces here and there, we always pick ourselves up, go and find ourselves some new talent. Someone [earlier in the media call] mentioned Mark Haskins and he’s a phenomenal talent, but yeah, the biggest piece of the puzzle is Ring of Honor’s ability to always have the greatest roster out there. That, on top of wrestling as a whole is in a boom period, wouldn’t you agree?”
Fightful had live coverage of Death Before Dishonor XVI on September 28 where Lethal defended his Ring of Honor World Championship against Will Ospreay. You can check out a replay of the show on ROH HonorClub.
