5 ROH World Champions They Waited Too Long To Crown (& 5 Times They Got It Right)

Ring of Honor’s World Championship holds more prestige than most other world titles in wrestling based on the names involved. History saw many future top stars winning the belt at a time in their careers when they were hungry to prove they belonged and had something special to offer. The ROH World Championship helped lead many careers to prominence.

However, one common issue that came up too often was ROH waiting too long to pull the trigger on a hot act winning gold. ROH wasted time and went with the hot hand too late to cause disappointment. Luckily, there were also noteworthy names to win it at the right time. Find out which scenarios unfolded either way. The following ROH World Champions were either crowned too late or at the right time.

10 Waited too long: Davey Richards

Ring of Honor started elevating Davey Richards into a bigger role after Bryan Danielson left for WWE. Richards defeated Bryan in one of his final ROH matches and continued to move up the card with fan support.

ROH waited a bit too long for Richards to win the belt by having Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards winning the ROH World Championship before him. Fans were already starting to turn on Davey when he won the belt as a face.

9 Right timing: Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe defeating Xavier for the ROH World Championship played a huge role in the company staying alive during a tough time. ROH was losing money and one of the founders was blacklisted for his actions outside of wrestling.

Joe winning the title created interest with his great matches that caused diehard fans to buy the DVDs. The all-time longest ROH World Championship reign saw Joe helping add stability to ROH with the company getting to a healthy position.

8 Waited too long: Matt Taven

The emergence of Matt Taven in Ring of Honor saw him breaking out when Mike and Maria Kanellis left for bigger roles in Impact Wrestling. Taven recreated The Kingdom faction as the new leader and earned more trust from ROH.

The company was clearly positioning him for a world title reign, but they held off on it for a while. Taven winning the ROH World Championship at Madison Square Garden should have made him a bigger star. However, fans were already over Taven’s story and wanted Marty Scurll to win it. Taven would have been better off ending Dalton Castle’s reign when he was injured.

7 Right timing: Kevin Steen

The rise of Kevin Steen saw him returning to Ring of Honor after losing a “Loser leaves town” stipulation vs El Generico. Steen didn’t realize how long ROH was going to keep him home when agreeing to the storyline.

ROH fans missed Steen even more than he missed the company and it made his return a big deal. Steen became an antihero, ripping apart many things that fans genuinely disliked about the promotion’s change. The popularity of Steen made him the hottest act when winning the ROH World Championship from Davey Richards.

6 Waited too long: Michael Elgin

Ring of Honor made Michael Elgin a top player when he was having solid matches at a time when the company needed new stars. Elgin found himself losing a few major title shots before the audience started to prioritize other wrestlers.

The decision to have Adam Cole drop the ROH World Championship to Elgin on a huge PPV before starting a new television deal turned into a disaster. Elgin had the worst title reign in company history with fans and his peers completely turning against him. ROH had him drop the title quickly to Jay Briscoe.

5 Right timing: Eddie Edwards

One of the most shocking moments to feature the ROH World Championships saw Eddie Edwards winning the gold. Edwards was viewed as the secondary wrestler in the American Wolves tag team to Davey Richards at the time.

However, ROH did have the vision to see Edwards was closing that gap and developing a close bond with the fans. Edwards upsetting Roderick Strong made him even more beloved by the fans and his title reign was short but had a few great matches.

4 Waited too long: Kyle O'Reilly

Kyle O’Reilly was one of the most popular wrestlers of the 2010s for Ring of Honor making the journey from a tag team wrestler to a top singles star. The bond with Adam Cole saw Kyle having great moments teaming and feuding with each other.

O’Reilly defeated Cole in the main event of ROH’s biggest show, Final Battle 2016, to finally win the big one. ROH waited too long in the literal sense this time as Kyle’s contract was expiring in a few weeks. WWE was the place O’Reilly wanted to sign with and it caused him to drop the title to Cole in New Japan in his first defense.

3 Right timing: Adam Cole

The era of Adam Cole leading Ring of Honor saw him taking a bigger role after Kevin Steen, AJ Styles and a few others left at that time. Cole was ready for the top spot when winning the ROH World Championship in a tournament when the belt was vacated.

The aftermath of the win saw Cole turning heel to develop his ideal character. Cole became a ruthless villain dominating the title scene. ROH fans always loved watching Cole whether enjoying his work or wanting to root for him. Cole is the only man to win the ROH World Championship three times.

2 Waited too long: Tyler Black

The biggest instance of Ring of Honor dropping the ball with timing saw Tyler Black aka Seth Rollins winning the ROH World Championship way too late. Black was the hottest new star in 2008 and became the fan’s choice when losing a hard-fought title match to Nigel McGuinness.

Everyone expected Tyler to be the one who ended the legendary title reign of McGuiness. ROH went with Jerry Lynn instead, hoping to replicate the story of The Wrestler and it went poorly. Austin Aries was next with ROH once again missing out on the obvious choice. Black winning the belt from Aries was a great moment, but the fans were already turning on him due to the poor timing.

1 Right timing: Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson was always a consistent top performer for Ring of Honor from the first show. ROH realized it was Bryan’s time shortly after CM Punk left and Samoa Joe was making TNA his main priority.

Jamie Noble’s short ROH World Championship reign ended at the perfect time with Bryan defeating him. ROH fans were ready for someone new in the top spot and Bryan perfected his reputation as the “best wrestler in the world.” The company grew to new heights with Bryan playing a huge role in defining ROH’s ultimate legacy.

NEXT: Ranking The 10 Greatest ROH World Champions In History