It’s almost hard to know where to start when it comes to listing all the great wrestlers ROH has signed over the years. But like every remarkable athlete, certain wrestlers inevitably left their mark on the industry during their time in ROH, their contributions glaringly clear. From original members of the company\u2019s roster to some of its best tag teams, here are the best wrestlers to ever compete in Ring of Honor.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not an exaggeration to call Bryan Danielson the heart and soul of ROH. What Sting was for WCW, AJ Styles was for TNA, and Danielson was for ROH, serving as the first major star of the company alongside other founding fathers like Christopher Daniels and Low Ki.<\/span><\/p>\n Combining the technical wrestling skills of Dean Malenko with the hard-edged, chop-heavy style of Japanese wrestling, Danielson was a distinctly different kind of performer in ROH. Regularly wrestling matches that lasted over 60 minutes, he had natural skill on par with Chris Benoit, Bret Hart, and Kurt Angle.<\/span><\/p>\n Spearheading ROH from the brand\u2019s formation in 2002 until his departure in 2009, he <\/span>was personified as Ring of Honor<\/span>, setting an unbelievably high watermark for every top talent in the company that followed.<\/span><\/p>\n The only other wrestler who might be able to claim the title of best ROH wrestler from Bryan Danielson, nobody \u2014 and I mean <\/span>nobody<\/span><\/i> \u2014 comes close to accomplishing what Samoa Joe did during his time in ROH. Debuting shortly after the company\u2019s formation in 2002, Joe continues to stand apart as one of the most unique and dominant competitors in the entire wrestling landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n Competing in all corners of the globe, Joe has climbed numerous heights in the wrestling world, regardless of whether he\u2019s signed to ROH, TNA, WWE, or AEW. When looking at his time in ROH alone, it\u2019s almost overwhelming to describe his impact on the company. His tenure with ROH is perhaps best personified by his 645-day as World Champion, with Joe beating out every challenger from CM Punk and Christopher Daniels to Jay Briscoe and Homicide.<\/span><\/p>\n There have been plenty of standout tag teams in ROH, but few have been as successful as Mark and the late Jay Briscoe. Striving for greatness in both singles and tag team competitions, Mark and Jay were ROH loyalists for almost the entirety of their careers. The Briscoes carried the company\u2019s tag team division on their back for two decades, feuding against 2000s duos like the Kings of Wrestling and later roster additions like the Young Bucks.<\/span><\/p>\n Far from competing in some of ROH\u2019s best tag team bouts, each member of the Briscoe Brothers also made some worthwhile contributions to the singles division. With Mark winning the 2013 Honor Rumble and Jay capturing the World Championship on two separate occasions, the Briscoes were as integral to ROH\u2019s development as they were entertaining.<\/span><\/p>\n As with Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black, CM Punk is more commonly associated with his decade-defining run in WWE, where he became one of the promotion\u2019s main attractions by the early 2010s. If you trace Punk\u2019s career back even earlier than that, you\u2019re also entreated to his immeasurable success as an ROH star, accounting for the brand\u2019s rise in popularity in the mid-2000s.<\/span><\/p>\n Sporting bleach-blond hair and a Pepsi logo emblazoned on his shoulder, Punk was a wholly versatile athlete the likes of which fans had never seen before. Favoring a moveset that blended traditional wrestling with MMA-style kicks and jiu-jitsu-style submission holds, Punk used his time in ROH to experiment with his character, slowly helping him become a star. <\/span><\/p>\n Another founding father of ROH, Christopher Daniels, was also one of the only established competitors to debut in ROH\u2019s early years, in contrast to younger, unknown performers like Bryan Danielson and Low Ki. He was also the first major heel of any merit, disobeying ROH\u2019s Code of Honor by refusing to shake hands with Danielson or Low Ki after his loss at The Era of Honor Begins.<\/span><\/p>\n As the leader of the Prophecy, Daniels\u2019 importance in ROH\u2019s formative years cannot be overstated. His veteran status helped make each match he competed in more dramatic, making it all the more impressive when a young up-and-comer defeated the Fallen Angel. Even his later 2014 return to ROH was enjoyable in its own right, with Daniels finally capturing the World Championship from Adam Cole. This title had eluded him for well over a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s no telling what Nigel McGuinness might\u2019ve achieved if the build-up of injuries he\u2019d accrued over the years hadn\u2019t forced him into an early retirement. Still, when you look at the influence McGuinness had in ROH from 2004 to 2009, you can see that he managed to accomplish an absurd amount with the time he was given.<\/span><\/p>\n Known for his spiky-haired appearance and penchant for bashing opponents\u2019 heads in with a custom clothing iron, McGuinness was like the punk rock version of William Regal. Favoring a suplex-heavy moveset and liberally cheating to win his matches, McGuinness was one of ROH\u2019s better heels in the mid-2000s, competing in some fantastic matches against Austin Aries, Bryan Danielson, and Samoa Joe.<\/span><\/p>\n To be sure, AJ Styles\u2019 early influence in the world of pro wrestling can be more directly attributed to his time in TNA. Around the same time he was making waves in TNA, the Phenomenal One was similarly cementing a place for himself in ROH.<\/span><\/p>\n Almost immediately after arriving at the brand, Styles was treated as a legitimate main event player, unsuccessfully chasing after Low Ki\u2019s World Championship. Residing in ROH until 2006, Styles later returned following his rapid 2014 rise in NJPW as the leader of Bullet Club. Styles was at the pinnacle of his in-ring talents at that point, giving way to matches against former TNA rival Jay Lethal, rising star Adam Cole, and then-ROH top talent Roderick Strong.<\/span><\/p>\n In the 2000s and early 2010s, Jay Lethal was more commonly seen as a comic wrestler \u2014 albeit an incredibly skilled one at that. Relying on his uncanny ability to mimic \u201cMacho Man\u201d Randy Savage, Lethal won audiences over in his later run in TNA, not accomplishing much of merit in ROH during his first tenure with the company.<\/span><\/p>\n Upon departing TNA and returning to ROH in 2011, though, Lethal ascended to the top of the independent wrestling industry. Winning the World Television Championship, Lethal\u2019s first prominent storyline came when he declared his title the ROH World Championship, putting him in direct competition with reigning champ Jay Briscoe. <\/span><\/p>\n TNA viewers probably associate him with his membership in LAX, but faithful fans are more likely to know him for his early 2002 run in ROH. In sharp contrast to ROH\u2019s honor-bound rules, Homicide kicked off his matches with a sign of disrespect to his opponents; from there, his bouts tended to get more than a little extreme, with Homicide usually utilizing numerous hardcore-based weapons (barbed wire, steel chairs, once even a flaming ball of fire).<\/span><\/p>\n Homicide introduced some much-needed anarchy to the sportsmanship-based promotion, bending the rules freely and relying on more violent tactics in his matches. A rough and rugged wrestler with a major chip on his shoulder, Homicide was a refreshing competitor to face Daniels or Bryan Danielson, feeling like a long-lost member of ECW\u2019s vintage roster.<\/span><\/p>\n The third and final founding father of ROH, Low Ki is also known for being the first-ever ROH World Champion in the promotion\u2019s history. An ideal counterpart to the high-flying Daniels and submission-focused Bryan Danielson, Low Ki\u2019s main appeal was his lightning-quick speed, hard kicks and stomps, and highly expressive body language.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n With how seriously Low Ki took his matches, every one of his bouts looked genuinely real, whether he was chopping an opponent\u2019s chest or delivering a brutal-looking double foot stomp to their abdomen. While Low Ki perhaps never achieved the same amount of success or exposure as Daniels or Danielson, the \u201cWorld Warrior\u201d was nevertheless a pillar of ROH for the better part of four years.<\/span><\/p>\n1. Bryan Danielson<\/span><\/h2>\n
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2. Samoa Joe<\/span><\/h2>\n
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3. The Briscoe Brothers<\/span><\/h2>\n
4. CM Punk<\/span><\/h2>\n
5. Christopher Daniels<\/span><\/h2>\n
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6. Nigel McGuinness<\/span><\/h2>\n
7. AJ Styles<\/span><\/h2>\n
8. Jay Lethal<\/span><\/h2>\n
9. Homicide<\/span><\/h2>\n
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10. Low Ki<\/span><\/h2>\n
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11. Adam Cole<\/span><\/h2>\n
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