A number of great wrestlers competed in Ring of Honor during the past 10 years, but none greater than “The Greatest First Generation Wrestler” Jay Lethal.
Known as “The Franchise of ROH,” Lethal set the gold standard in the 2010s. Not only did Lethal win ROH’s two singles titles multiple times during the decade, but he also set records with his title reigns.
Lethal won the ROH World Television Title from El Generico in August 2011 and held it for 231 days. In April 2014, he became the first man to regain the championship when he defeated Tommaso Ciampa. His second reign lasted 567 days, a record that still stands.
Lethal was just getting started. At the appropriately named Best in the World pay-per-view in June 2015, Lethal put up his TV title against Jay Briscoe’s ROH World Title. Lethal defeated Briscoe to become the only man to hold both titles simultaneously.
His 427-day reign as ROH World Champion is the fourth-longest in ROH history. After losing the title in August 2016, Lethal was obsessed with regaining it. He became just the fifth man to win the title a second time when he beat then-champion Dalton Castle, Cody and Matt Taven in a four-way match in June 2018. He would successfully defend the title for 280 days.
Lethal holds the record for most combined days as ROH World Champion (707) and ROH World Television Champion (798).
Lethal, who briefly held the now-defunct Pure Title in 2005, became ROH’s third Grand Slam champion this past December at Final Battle when he and Jonathan Gresham defeated the Briscoes for the ROH World Tag Team Title.
