ROH debuts new rankings system

Chugga, chugga, choo, choo! Ring of Honor is jumping aboard the rankings train.

ROH has five men’s championships: World, Pure, TV, Tag Team, and Six-Man. There is also a women’s title, but that was never crowned due to the coronavirus pandemic canceling tournament plans.

ROH released two sets of inaugural rankings during the latest edition of ROH Week by Week. Quinn McKay explained that wrestlers will only be ranked in one singles division at a time, but they are allowed to be ranked simultaneously as part of tag teams or six-man squads.

The ROH board of directors placed wrestlers in specific singles divisions. If a wrestler wants to switch divisions, then they must submit a request to the board for evaluation and approval. Rankings criteria include wins and losses, caliber of wins and losses, strength of opponent, resume, style, and influence from fans. Any wrestler in the top three is eligible to challenge for the respective title at the discretion of the board.

The rankings for the Pure Championship and TV title were revealed.

ROH Pure Championship rankings

5. Fred Yehi
4. Rhett Titus
3. Josh Woods
2. Flip Gordon
1. Tracy Williams
Champ: Jonathan Gresham

ROH World Television Championship rankings

5. LSG
4. Kenny King
3. Dak Draper
2. Tony Deppen
1. Rey Horus
Champ: Dragon Lee

My initial reaction to the Pure rankings is the same I often have toward the AEW rankings. They both appear stagnant. Gresham already defeated Woods and Williams in the Pure tournament, and he took care of Gordon at the Final Battle PPV. All three finishes were clean victories. The rematches would likely all be entertaining, but there is no justification to award a second chance at this moment. Let’s hope ROH can differentiate itself from AEW by offering more frequent top 5 matchups to mix things up.

The TV rankings are intriguing. Horus earned the top spot with an upset victory over Dalton Castle at Final Battle. He will get his title shot against Dragon Lee on the next TV episode of ROH Wrestling. Lee defeated Deppen at Final Battle, but Deppen was wrestling his second match of the evening after earning the opportunity in a four-way win. He took Lee to the limit, so it makes sense to wonder what he could do if fully rested.

Do you like ROH instituting a rankings system? What do you think of the rules? Do you agree with the order of the Pure and TV rankings?

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