Started as a way to pit the best talent in ROH against one another, the Survival of the Fittest tournament became a platform for stars to break out of the pack and truly establish themselves amongst the elite competitors in Ring of Honor. In addition, every winner has also received a shot at the ROH World Title shortly after their tournament victory. Past entrants have included Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Alex Shelley, Matt Sydal, Homicide, and Christopher Daniels just to name a few. And each one can tell you that this tournament has tested them like few others. In essence you must deal with at least six opponents in a single night, potentially five of them at one time, in order to be crowned the Survivor.
The inaugural “Survival of the Fittest†tournament took place on June 24, 2004 in Essington, PA and was loaded with top talent. Mark Briscoe defeated Alex Shelley to qualify for the finals, Colt Cabana beat Trent Acid, Austin Aries picked up the pin in a tag match to qualify, Homicide pinned Jay Briscoe, Bryan Danielson stretched Jack Evans, and Samoa Joe defeated Matt Stryker to earn the last slot in the 6-Man elimination match. When the match came down to the final two men, it was Danielson and Aries who battled it out to be crowned victor. Many argue that those 20 minutes are what made Aries in the eyes of the ROH faithful, and it’s hard to contest that point. He fought his heart out, but it was Danielson who would come out with his hand raised in victory and go on to challenge for the ROH World Title at “Midnight Express Reunionâ€.
“Survival of the Fittest 2005†emanated from Boston, MA on 9/24/05 and was once again loaded with the best of the best, and many who had competed in the 1st tournament and were looking to redeem that loss. The qualifying matches saw Jay Lethal beat Sal Rinauro, Colt Cabana defeated Ricky Reyes, Austin Aries beat Jimmy Rave, Samoa Joe bested Milano Collection AT, Roderick Strong beat Jerrelle Clark, and Christopher Daniels defeat James Gibson for the final slot in the Elimination Match. Once again Aries stood as one-half of the final two wrestlers, the other being his Generation Next ally Roderick Strong, and once again Aries came up short in his bid to win the tourney. Strong survived, and would battle for the ROH World Title at “This Means Warâ€.
“Survival of the Fittest 2006†came to the fans from Cleveland, OH on 10/6/06 and featured a mix of fresh faces and familiar names. In the qualifying rounds Delirious beat Jimmy Rave, Matt Sydal bested Davey Richards, Aries defeated Chris Daniels, Jay & Mark Briscoe beat Homicide & Roderick Strong for both brothers to qualify, and finally Samoa Joe & Bryan Danielson went to a time limit draw thus neither man advanced. The finals were then only a 5-Man Elimination Match and it all came down to two long time rivals in Delirious and Matt Sydal. After a hard fought battle, it was Delirious who won the 2006 edition of the tournament and went on to challenge for the ROH World Title at “Honor Reclaims Bostonâ€.
“Survival of the Fittest 2007†hailed from the unlikely location of Las Vegas, NV on 10/19/07 and was another mix of tourney veterans and rookies all challenging for the crown. In the qualifiers Roderick Strong beat Brent Albright, Chris Hero bested Karl Anderson, Rocky Romero defeated TJ Perkins, Austin Aries beat Delirious, Claudio Castagnoli defeated Davey Richards, and in what was supposed to be the final qualifier, Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson went to a time-limit draw. Unlike the previous year, ROH officials had a back-up match between Human Tornado, Tony Kozina, and Shane Hagadorn to determine the 6th man, and Tornado picked up the victory there. Ultimately it was Chris Hero who captured the crown and would get his shot at the ROH World Title at “Glory by Honor VI, N.1â€.
ROH officials have scheduled the latest installment of “Survival of the Fittest†for Indianapolis, IN on October 10th. Several matches have already been announced and will now be included in the tournament, and we have more added below. This will be the opportunity for someone to break out of the pack and emerge as a new star here in ROH; a chance for someone to assert their dominance in Ring of Honor. Here’s a look at what’s set-up so far:
- Tyler Black versus Kenny King
- Claudio Castagnoli versus Petey Williams
- Kenny Omega versus Chris Hero
- Kevin Steen versus Colt Cabana
- Roderick Strong versus Rhett Titus
With one more qualifier to be determined, this has the potential to be the best tournament so far.
