The ROH Top 10

I don't follow Ring of Honor as regularly as I once did now that the regular late night broadcast of the show I used to watch here in Eastern Iowa has became very late night. I do occasionally watch the streamed episodes after they air, but I often find the promotion to be incredibly weak booking wise. Often I feel like they hold off on pushes of hot talents until they grow cold while pushing many stars that the ROH faithful just feel flat about. That doesn't stop the company from having some amazing matches still and as they recently closed out their year with Final Battle it seemed like a fitting time to introduce their inaugural top ten.

Remember, all these talents are available for your voting pleasure in the year end Top 10 list!

So without anymore ado, let's get to the countdown!

Image credit: TheWrestlingMayhemShow.com

1. Young Bucks: Matt and Nick Jackson seem to be on the same trajectory too many new ROH signings end up on: downward. The company hasn't made any major effort to do anything with them since they signed with the company despite both of them being the kind of men an entire promotion probably could be brought up on. It's truly a shame they are so low on this list.
2. Dalton Castle: Dalton Castle has the advantage of not needing tons of wins to stay over in ROH, but that still doesn't mean his continued losses to Silas Young make sense from a storytelling angle. While he certainly doesn't need The Boys to get over, his character seems to be stalling in his feud while his mainstream press could be used to draw a lot more attention to ROH.
3. Moose: Moose was probably ROH's biggest star at this time last year. Now he's barely able to win matches. It's confusing decision making on ROH's part and while his loss at Final Battle made sense as a way to get Elgin ready for his title shot, it did little to help the charismatic young star continue to freshen up the ROH roster.
4. All Night Express: Since reuniting Kenny King and Rhett Titus seem to be a major focus of ROH's booking committee. The team was always solid, but it seems a bit insulting that Titus only gets pushed when his former tag partner returned from TNA. I doubt we will see a title victory by them anytime soon however, as War Machine should destroy them in the eventual match.
5. Silas Young: Silas Young's ROH character still seems like a lower quality knock-off of Joey Ryan's sleazy heel gimmick, but his bits with the Boys have been amusing. I still think an end of his current feud and a tag push with the Beer City Bruiser would be a smarter move for his future with the company.
6. Roderick Strong: Strong has always been a person I find it hard to write about. He put on some great matches in ROH this year, but he remains perhaps the most vanilla personality in wrestling today. No one has ever needed a gimmick infusion more than Strong and I doubt that will change even as he continues to make TV title defenses.
7. War Machine: Injuries made War Machine's tag title victory into almost a squash, but honestly that's not a problem. Hanson and Raymond Rowe are beasts as a team and it works incredibly well for them to dominate against the outgoing unit. Hopefully it sets up a far stronger push for them than they've received in the past.
8. Adam Cole: Adam Cole feels like the wrestler that should have graduated from ROH by now, but is still somehow toiling away with the company. He now seems to be playing his greatest hits now with his brief return to the Kingdom as well as his grudge match with Kyle O'Reilly. Should Elgin win the title at Wrestle Kingdom X, I expect a feud with Elgin to continue that cycle.
9. Michael Elgin: He looked dominant in his win over Moose, just one of several victories in recent weeks in ROH. His run in both major NJPW tournaments as ROH's representative has also meant a much higher profile for Big Mike, as he has developed into a competitor that mixes his power moves with the ROH strong style perfectly. Will it be enough to unseat Jay Lethal? That remains to be seen as they go one on one in Japan.
10. Jay Lethal: Lethal put on the match of his career against AJ Styles at Final Battle, which may very well serve as Styles' final ROH singles match if WWE rumors are true. He is the pinnacle of the ROH company man though and that means he often isn't the most exciting figure on the roster by leaps and bounds. And while Styles was a capable threat, he might be facing an even larger challenge when he visits New Japan for the first time to challenge Michael Elgin in front of a massive Tokyo Dome audience.

Will Jay look this cocky after his battle with Elgin in Tokyo?
Image credit: ROHWrestling.com.