List of ROH World Champions
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The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. The championship was created and debuted on July 27, 2002, at ROH's Crowning a Champion event. Originally called the ROH Championship, the title was renamed to the ROH World Championship in May 2003 after the title was defended outside the United States for the first time—earlier that month, then-champion Samoa Joe had defeated The Zebra Kid in London, England, at the Frontiers of Honor event co-promoted with the Frontier Wrestling Alliance. On August 12, 2006, the ROH World Championship was unified with the ROH Pure Championship after then-champion Bryan Danielson defeated ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England. The Pure Championship was deactivated after this match (though would be reactivated in 2020).
ROH World Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in scripted rivalries. These narratives create feuds between the various competitors, which cast them as villains and heroes. Some reigns were held by champions using a ring name, while others used their real name. Reigns that were won on pay-per-view events aired on tape delay up to weeks or months apart. Reigns that were won at live events were released on DVD. The inaugural champion was Low Ki, whom ROH recognized to have become the champion after defeating Christopher Daniels, Spanky, and Doug Williams in a four-way 60-minuted Iron Man match on July 27, 2002, at ROH's Crowning a Champion event.
As of April 2026, there have been 42 reigns among 33 wrestlers with two vacancies. Adam Cole holds the record for most reigns, with three. Jay Lethal has the most defenses, with 41; Kyle O'Reilly has the least, with 0. At 645 days, Samoa Joe's reign is the longest in the title's history; Kyle O'Reilly's reign is the shortest at 33 days. Bandido is the current champion in his second reign. He defeated Chris Jericho in a Title vs. Mask match on April 6, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Dynasty.
Title history
Names
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| ROH Championship | June 22, 2002 – May 17, 2003 |
| ROH World Championship | May 17, 2003 – April 1, 2022 April 1, 2022 – present |
| Undisputed ROH World Championship | April 1, 2022 |
Reigns
| No. | Overall reign number |
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| + | Current reign is changing daily |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | ||||
| Ring of Honor (ROH) | |||||||||
| 1 | Low Ki | July 27, 2002 | Crowning a Champion | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 56 | 1 | Defeated Christopher Daniels, Spanky and Doug Williams in a four-way 60-minute Iron Man match after the Block A, Block B, Block C, Block D ROH Championship tournament finals to become the inaugural champion. | |
| 2 | Xavier | September 21, 2002 | Unscripted | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 182 | 4 | ||
| 3 | Samoa Joe | March 22, 2003 | Night of Champions | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 645 | 29 | After Joe defeated The Zebra Kid on May 17, 2003 in London, England, the ROH Championship was renamed the ROH World Championship. | |
| 4 | Austin Aries | December 26, 2004 | Final Battle | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 174 | 17 | ||
| 5 | CM Punk | June 18, 2005 | Death Before Dishonor III | Morristown, NJ | 1 | 55 | 4 | ||
| 6 | James Gibson | August 12, 2005 | Redemption | Dayton, OH | 1 | 36 | 4 | This was a four-way elimination match, also involving Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe. | |
| 7 | Bryan Danielson | September 17, 2005 | Glory by Honor IV | Lake Grove, NY | 1 | 462 | 38 | Danielson unified the title with the ROH Pure Championship on August 12, 2006 by defeating Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England. | |
| 8 | Homicide | December 23, 2006 | Final Battle | New York City, NY | 1 | 56 | 3 | ||
| 9 | Takeshi Morishima | February 17, 2007 | The Fifth Year Festival: Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 231 | 20 | ||
| 10 | Nigel McGuinness | October 6, 2007 | Undeniable | Edison, NJ | 1 | 545 | 38 | ||
| 11 | Jerry Lynn | April 3, 2009 | Supercard of Honor IV | Houston, TX | 1 | 71 | 6 | ||
| 12 | Austin Aries | June 13, 2009 | Manhattan Mayhem III | New York City, NY | 2 | 245 | 13 | This was a three-way elimination match, also involving Tyler Black. | |
| 13 | Tyler Black | February 13, 2010 | ROH 8th Anniversary Show | New York City, NY | 1 | 210 | 7 | ||
| 14 | Roderick Strong | September 11, 2010 | Glory By Honor IX | New York City, NY | 1 | 189 | 5 | This was a no disqualification match, with Terry Funk as the ringside enforcer. | |
| 15 | Eddie Edwards | March 19, 2011 | Manhattan Mayhem IV | New York City, NY | 1 | 99 | 3 | ||
| 16 | Davey Richards | June 26, 2011 | Best in the World | New York City, NY | 1 | 321 | 11 | ||
| 17 | Kevin Steen | May 12, 2012 | Border Wars | Toronto, ON | 1 | 328 | 16 | ||
| 18 | Jay Briscoe | April 5, 2013 | Supercard of Honor VII | New York City, NY | 1 | 89 | 6 | ||
| — | Vacated | July 3, 2013 | — | — | — | — | — | The title was vacated by ROH Match Maker Nigel McGuinness after Jay Briscoe suffered a storyline injury at the June 23 television tapings and would not be able to compete for the foreseeable future. | |
| 19 | Adam Cole | September 20, 2013 | Death Before Dishonor XI | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 275 | 13 | Defeated Michael Elgin in a tournament final to win the vacant championship. | |
| 20 | Michael Elgin | June 22, 2014 | Best in the World | Nashville, TN | 1 | 76 | 7 | ||
| 21 | Jay Briscoe | September 6, 2014 | All Star Extravaganza VI | Toronto, ON | 2 | 286 | 13 | ||
| 22 | Jay Lethal | June 19, 2015 | Best in the World | New York City, NY | 1 | 427 | 27 | This was a winner takes all match, also for Lethal's ROH World Television Championship. | |
| 23 | Adam Cole | August 19, 2016 | Death Before Dishonor XIV | Sunrise Manor, NV | 2 | 105 | 5 | ||
| 24 | Kyle O'Reilly | December 2, 2016 | Final Battle | New York City, NY | 1 | 33 | 0 | This was a no disqualification match. | |
| 25 | Adam Cole | January 4, 2017 | Wrestle Kingdom 11 | Tokyo, Japan | 3 | 65 | 3 | This was a New Japan Pro-Wrestling event. | |
| 26 | Christopher Daniels | March 10, 2017 | ROH 15th Anniversary Show | Sunrise Manor, NV | 1 | 105 | 8 | ||
| 27 | Cody | June 23, 2017 | Best in the World | Lowell, MA | 1 | 175 | 17 | ||
| 28 | Dalton Castle | December 15, 2017 | Final Battle | New York City, NY | 1 | 197 | 7 | ||
| 29 | Jay Lethal | June 30, 2018 | Ring of Honor Wrestling | Fairfax, VA | 2 | 280 | 14 | This was a four-way match, also involving Cody and Matt Taven. Aired on tape delay on July 23, 2018. | |
| 30 | Matt Taven | April 6, 2019 | G1 Supercard | New York City, NY | 1 | 174 | 11 | This was a three-way ladder match, also involving Marty Scurll. | |
| 31 | Rush | September 27, 2019 | Death Before Dishonor XVII | Sunrise Manor, NV | 1 | 77 | 2 | ||
| 32 | PCO | December 13, 2019 | Final Battle | Baltimore, MD | 1 | 78 | 2 | This was a "Friday the 13th Massacre" no disqualification match. | |
| 33 | Rush | February 29, 2020 | Gateway to Honor | St. Charles, MO | 2 | 498 | 3 | This was a three-way match, also involving Mark Haskins. | |
| 34 | Bandido | July 11, 2021 | Best in the World | Baltimore, MD | 1 | 152 | 4 | ||
| — | Vacated | December 10, 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | The championship was vacated after Bandido tested positive for COVID-19. | |
| 35 | Jonathan Gresham | December 11, 2021 | Final Battle | Baltimore, MD | 1 | 224 | 17 | Defeated Jay Lethal to win the vacant championship. Former champion Bandido still had the ROH World Championship title belt, while Gresham won the original ROH World Championship title belt. Gresham defeated Bandido at Supercard of Honor XV to determine the Undisputed ROH World Champion. During this reign, Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor. | |
| 36 | Claudio Castagnoli | July 23, 2022 | Death Before Dishonor | Lowell, MA | 1 | 60 | 4 | ||
| 37 | Chris Jericho | September 21, 2022 | Dynamite: Grand Slam | Flushing, Queens, NY | 1 | 80 | 6 | This was an All Elite Wrestling event. | |
| 38 | Claudio Castagnoli | December 10, 2022 | Final Battle | Arlington, TX | 2 | 284 | 10 | ||
| 39 | Eddie Kingston | September 20, 2023 | Dynamite: Grand Slam | Flushing, Queens, NY | 1 | 198 | 11 | This was an All Elite Wrestling event and a Winner Takes All match also for Kingston's NJPW Strong Openweight Championship. During this reign, the championship became part of the American Triple Crown Championship (also referred to as the Continental Crown), with Kingston defending the championship alongside the AEW Continental Championship and Strong Openweight Championship after winning the Continental Classic tournament at Worlds End. Kingston would lose the AEW Continental Championship to Kazuchika Okada on the March 20, 2024 episode of AEW Dynamite, thus dissolving the Triple Crown. | |
| 40 | Mark Briscoe | April 5, 2024 | Supercard of Honor | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 201 | 6 | ||
| 41 | Chris Jericho | October 23, 2024 | AEW Dynamite | Salt Lake City, UT | 2 | 165 | 3 | This was a Ladder War match that took place at an All Elite Wrestling event. | |
| 42 | Bandido | April 6, 2025 | Dynasty | Philadelphia, PA | 2 | 375+ | 8 | This was a Title vs. Mask match that took place at an All Elite Wrestling event. Had Bandido lost, he would have been forced to unmask. |
Combined reigns
As of April 16, 2026.
| † | Indicates the current champion |
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined defenses | Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Lethal | 2 | 41 | 707 |
| 2 | Samoa Joe | 1 | 29 | 645 |
| 3 | Rush | 2 | 5 | 575 |
| 4 | Nigel McGuinness | 1 | 38 | 545 |
| 5 | Bandido † | 2 | 11 | 527+ |
| 6 | Bryan Danielson | 1 | 38 | 462 |
| 7 | Adam Cole | 3 | 21 | 445 |
| 8 | Austin Aries | 2 | 30 | 419 |
| 9 | Jay Briscoe | 2 | 19 | 375 |
| 10 | Claudio Castagnoli | 2 | 14 | 344 |
| 11 | Kevin Steen | 1 | 16 | 328 |
| 12 | Davey Richards | 1 | 11 | 321 |
| 13 | Chris Jericho | 2 | 9 | 245 |
| 14 | Takeshi Morishima | 1 | 20 | 231 |
| 15 | Jonathan Gresham | 1 | 17 | 224 |
| 16 | Tyler Black | 1 | 7 | 210 |
| 17 | Mark Briscoe | 1 | 6 | 201 |
| 18 | Eddie Kingston | 1 | 11 | 198 |
| 19 | Dalton Castle | 1 | 7 | 197 |
| 20 | Roderick Strong | 1 | 5 | 189 |
| 21 | Xavier | 1 | 4 | 182 |
| 22 | Cody | 1 | 17 | 175 |
| 23 | Matt Taven | 1 | 11 | 174 |
| 24 | Christopher Daniels | 1 | 8 | 105 |
| 25 | Eddie Edwards | 1 | 3 | 99 |
| 26 | PCO | 1 | 2 | 78 |
| 27 | Michael Elgin | 1 | 7 | 76 |
| 28 | Jerry Lynn | 1 | 6 | 71 |
| 29 | Homicide | 1 | 3 | 56 |
| Low Ki | 1 | 1 | 56 | |
| 31 | CM Punk | 1 | 4 | 55 |
| 32 | James Gibson | 1 | 4 | 36 |
| 33 | Kyle O'Reilly | 1 | 0 | 33 |
Notes
1. ^ – This event was a live event that was later released on DVD.
2. ^ – This event was a pay-per-view that later aired on tape delay.
3. ^ – Each reign is ranked highest to lowest; reigns with the exact number mean they are tied for that certain rank.
General
- . Solie.org. from the original on June 4, 2008.
- . Ring of Honor. Archived from on April 12, 2010.
- . Ring of Honor. Archived from on March 22, 2013.
Specific
External links
- December 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine at Cagematch.net