Rich History of the Ring of Honor Championship
First off, anyone familiar with this topic may think "rich history" may be a bit of a stretch. Sure the ROH title only goes back to 2002, but the men that carried this championship, and the matches they had, is nothing short of spectacular.
Low-Ki: Formally Kaval and Senshi, his reign wasn't that long, but he always had terrific matches and was the top babyface at the time. So a perfect choice for initial champ.
Xavier: The one black eye on the list. All but the most die-hard fans, are saying "Who?" and that is precisely the point (granted he's not that bad of worker, just not champion material). Many people think it should have been Chris Daniels who was the top heel at that point, and I can't disagree. Oh well, you can't win them all. 
Samoa Joe: His reign was nearly two years, he was thought to be unstoppable, and he had the first 5 star match in the US in 7 years. Yes, Joe was/is the man. They call him the "ROH Icon" and it's tough to dispute.
Austin Aries: Aries ended Joe's amazing run, in one of the best matches in ROH history. The last few moments of this match (Final Battle 2004) are absolutely incredible. Aries was the breakout star of '04, and ended that year with the ROH title. A solid six month reign was in store for the "Wrestling Machine".
CM Punk: He was already one of the faces of Ring of Honor when he won the title in the summer of '05, and had been for a while. Most probably thought this was long overdue, especially after his 3 showdowns with Samoa Joe the previous year. Punk's reign wasn't that long, but he pretty much did what he did in WWE this year. He won the belt, and said he was going elsewhere with it. He even signed his WWE contract on the ROH title. "The Summer of Punk" will always be a staple in the ROH history books.
James Gibson: Also known as Jamie Noble in WWE, he came to ROH in 2005 to "remove the shackles of sports-entertainment" and win a world title. The fans took to him quickly, and after having classic match after match, Noble won the belt from Punk in August of '05. He had the shortest reign with the title, before going back to WWE, but it was nice Ring of Honor threw him a bone (not that he didn't deserve it).
Bryan Danielson: Known today as Daniel Bryan, Danielson like Joe, had a legendary reign with the belt. It's the third longest reign in ROH history, but in my opinion it is the best. His matches with Nigel McGuinness alone solidify him as the "Best wrestler in the world", and he had many more amazing outings in his 15 months atop Ring of Honor. 
By the end of '06 Homicide was the most popular guy in the company, after a monster heel run the previous two years. Like Punk the year before, this one was well overdue in many fans' eyes, and were thrilled when it happened.
Takeshi Morishima: This beast literally came out of nowhere to win the title, and steamrolled through the competition. The fans rallied behind him, so it never felt forced, and he had excellent matches against Nigel and Bryan.
Nigel McGuinness: He was always Robin to Bryan Danielson's Batman, until he won the big one. Nigel had been putting on match of the year classics for a few years, once he finally won the title in '07. And he would go on to have many more as champion. He is the second longest reigning champion in history, and easily one of the best to lace up the boots in ROH.
Jerry Lynn: Some remember him from ECW, some from a brief period in WWE. Most probably don't know he still wrestles (until his recent stint in TNA). Not only does he still wrestle, he does it very well. It seemed like no one was going to unseat Nigel, but Lynn did it, and carried the belt for 2 months.
Austin Aries: Aries became the first man to be a two-time ROH champion in the summer of '09. He was still a "wrestling machine" having numerous match of the years during his 8 month reign, but now he was a giant prima dona, and the "Greatest man who ever lived." With two championship reigns, he just might be.
Tyler Black: The youngster had been a top contender for about two years before he finally beat Aries for the title in '10. The crowd turned on Black during his reign, similar to what happened to Nigel, but unlike Nigel this hatred seemed genuine like he didn't deserve the belt. Regardless Black always tore down the house, and was a worthy champion.
Roderick Strong: I don't know about most people, but I thought this was never going to happen. Roderick had been so close for about 5 straight years, but never was quite given "the push". Well the time was now, and in the fall of '10, and Roderick finally did it, and silenced the naysayers. Roddy always kicked ass, and now he kicked ass with the world title.
Eddie Edwards: I think this was a total shock to most people. Roderick was having a successful title reign, and no one thought he was going to lose it yet, and if he did it would be to Davey Richards, who ironically was Edwards tag team partner. Well Eddie proved us all wrong, and was a great champion, which lead into a sweet storyline with another wolf...
Davey Richards: If you missed the link at the top of the page click click here. The setup was American Wolf vs. American Wolf, brother against brother. In a hard hitting match of the year, Davey won the title, and as of today still the ROH champion. The fans (myself included) have been clamoring for this for a while now. Davey pound for pound is the best. He won't let us, or the wonderful lineage of the title down. So if you look the list up and down, it's very impressive. CM Punk for a brief period this year was the most famous wrestler in the world. Danielson is a WWE superstar and "potentially" the number one contender for the World title at Wrestlemania. Aries, Lynn, and Joe are doing their thing in TNA. Tyler Black is in developmental for WWE, and apparently have amazing matches. Low-Ki finally got world-wide recognition in WWE as Kaval, before heading back to Japan where he can kick ass and take names. So in just under 10 years, that is an impressive resume to have as your former banner carriers.
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