Founded in 2002, Ring of Honor quickly became a bright spot in the wrestling scene, functioning as an alternative to the mainstream nonsense of WWE and TNA, and showcasing independent talent that would take over the wrestling world. Huge names who performed in Ring of Honor include Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Adam Cole, Samoa Joe, and AJ Styles.
So what were the best matches? Easily the best way to get a feel for that would be to see what the users on Cagematch.net have rated highly, since ROH is decidedly geared toward the die-hard fans who use that website.
10 CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe (ROH All Star Extravaganza II, 12/4/2004) - 9.53
One of the great wrestling trilogies of the 21st century was between Samoa Joe and CM Punk for the ROH World Title. Their first two encounters in this series were highly acclaimed, but both ended in 60-minute time limit draws. The third, held near the end of 2004, runs in about half the time but is many fans’ preferred match of the trilogy, which some consider to have put ROH on the map and established independent wrestling as a must-watch for avid wrestling fans.
9 Austin Aries vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Rising Above, 12/29/2007) - 9.54
Austin Aries may be tarnishing his legacy on the daily thanks to social media, but in the mid to late 2000s he was considered a must-see talent on the indies, and in this ROH World Title match challenged champion Nigel McGuinness in what was easily the match of the night. This match is infamous for Aries hitting a suicide dive that busts open McGuinness’ head on the guardrail but what happens after is a ridiculously stiff and brutal classic that also has some great technical wrestling in it.
8 Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Rising Above, 11/22/2008) - 9.56
The MVPs of late 2008 Ring of Honor were most definitely Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness, who were both technical wizards who also hit as hard as possible. Put them together, and they would wrestle a number of classics during their time together in the promotion.
This near-30-minute classic was for Nigel’s World Title, featuring loads of great technical wrestling and storytelling that had at least two Cagematch users describing the match as “masterful stuff.”
7 KENTA vs. Low Ki (Final Battle, 12/17/2005) - 9.57
Final Battle is pretty much the WrestleMania of ROH, offering huge high-stakes matches to close out the year. The 2005 edition is the third-highest rated ROH show on Cagematch, offering a great Bryan Danielson World title defense against Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Naomichi Marufuji as well as the match in question. Main eventing the show is KENTA making his ROH debut, defending NOAH’s GHC Junior Heavyweight Title against indie darling Low Ki in a ridiculously stiff match that introduced KENTA to Western fans.
6 CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe (ROH Joe vs. Punk II, 10/16/2004) - 9.60
This Joe/Punk encounter is, of course, the second in their aforementioned trilogy, and somehow rated by Cagematch users even higher than their final encounter. North American wrestling was in shambles in 2004, and Samoa Joe and CM Punk revived it with an expertly wrestled 60-minute match that was the first American match to be awarded five stars by journalist/critic Dave Meltzer since the Shawn Michaels/Undertaker match at WWE Badd Blood in 1997. It may have five matches ranked above it, but there are a number of Cagematch users who consider it THE greatest match in Ring of Honor history.
5 Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA (Glory By Honor V - Night 2, 9/16/2006) - 9.61
Right now, the second installment of Glory By Honor V is the highest rated ROH show ever on Cagematch, and ranks in the top 20 overall, coming in at #13 just behind AEW's All Out 2021 and WWE's Money in the Bank 2011. It’s a remarkably consistent card that climaxes with the main event where Bryan Danielson defends the ROH World Title against KENTA in a half-hour epic in front of a white-hot crowd. Expectedly stiff and with a nail-biting final stretch, many Cagematch users hail this bout as the best of both wrestlers’ careers.
4 Blood Generation vs. Do FIXER (ROH Supercard Of Honor, 3/31/2006) - 9.61
While Danielson was putting on another awesome match in the main event against Roderick Strong, a huge chunk of the Dragon Gate Pro-Wrestling roster was stealing the show earlier on the card. In this six-man tag, the CIMA, Masato Yoshino, and Naruki Doi of the Blood Generation stable took on the Do FIXER team of Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi, and Ryo Saito.
NOAH was involved in a number of these highly rated matches, but Dragon Gate got a whole slot to themselves with this amazingly fast-paced 20-minute spotfest, introducing ROH fans to a different kind of Japanese wrestling style.
3 Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Driven, 9/21/2007) - 9.64
It’s stiff competition at the top of the ratings on Cagematch, with the top three ROH matches being ridiculously close in number. In this bout, the rivalry between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness continued with a #1 Contender match for the World Title, resulting in yet another great match showing off the competitors expert matwork as well as their ability to pull off amazingly brutal spots. Danielson would get the win here, and take on World Champion Takeshi Morishima in two highly acclaimed matches.
2 Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Unified, 8/12/2006) - 9.65
It may come as a surprise to fans that Bryan Danielson never held the Ring of Honor Pure Championship, a title that seems perfectly suited to his in-ring sensibilities. But Nigel McGuinness had it, and held it for a record 350 days, leading to the ultimate match between the two: a unification match for Danielson’s World Title and McGuinness’ Pure Title. Their third match together in ROH, this bout has all the qualities of their previously mentioned efforts, but this one is the most beloved, with many Cagematch users considering it the best ROH match of all time.
1 Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe (ROH Joe vs. Kobashi, 10/1/2005) - 9.65
This match may have the same rating as Danielson/McGuinness, but it’s got more ratings from users, so it gets the top spot. Featuring All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH legend Kenta Kobashi going up against ROH sensation Samoa Joe, this bout features two of the stiffest strikers in wrestling -- and two of the best in the world -- putting on a classic that’s elevated by an ROH crowd of roughly 800 for whom the word “rabid” is an understatement. It’s one of those rare dream matches that not only happened, but exceeded expectations.