The early 2000s were a golden age of the independent scene, flush with talent and innovation that created matches and feuds that will go down as some of the best in professional wrestling history. As the independent circuit grew in popularity and grew to greater and greater heights, more milestones were reached that many thought impossible in a world where WWE was seen as essentially the only game in town. As the pre-eminent promotion in independent wrestling for many years, Ring of Honor was the one that spearheaded this advance and made significant achievements. One of their biggest came in 2007 as the promotion made its debut on traditional pay-per-view.
For ROH, DVD sales were a core pillar of their business model and the primary way in which fans would get their hands on the product if not in attendance for an ROH show. Five years after starting operation, ROH came to pay-per-view on July 1st, 2007 with the aptly named Respect Is Earned. The show was hosted in the Manhattan Center, though not the Hammerstein Ballroom, it was in the same complex in an equally ornate room. Taped a couple of weeks beforehand, the two-hour pay-per-view slot meant a chunk of the card was only seen on the event's bonus DVD, but nevertheless, Respect Is Earned exists in the ROH tape library as a perfect time capsule of that era of the promotion.
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Respect Is Earned Showcases An Array Of Stars In Their Early Days
As their debut on pay-per-view, ROH filled the Respect Is Earned card with the finest talent available, and those that were synonymous with the promotion as their homegrown stars, some that are still attached to them over a decade later. On top of the big names that would go on to become even bigger, the show also had a selection of more obscure independent darlings who never quite reached the heights of their contemporaries for one reason or another.
In terms of the undercard, the that made it onto the pay-per-view demonstrate the quality that comprised the ROH roster in 2007. After a quick opener that sets up larger stories, a pre-CHAOS Rocky Romero takes on Pro Wrestling NOAH's Naomichi Marufuji in a showcase match for both men's technical ability. Things then get a little more frantic as The Briscoes defend the ROH World Tag Team Championships against the tandem of Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli, the Swiss powerhouse now best known as Cesaro. That is then followed up by a hard-hitting grudge match between Delirious, a man that has since gone on to help run ROH, and Roderick Strong, a man of many factions then aligned with the No Remorse Corps. Looking critically at the card, there isn't a bad match in the bunch.
Instead of just assembling a supercard for their first pay-per-view, ROH also used the platform to work in segments and promos to build up other members of their roster. Brent Albright, a man rejected by WWE developmental but welcomed by the ROH faithful, receives a hype package early in the night. The event also goes backstage for some words from the late "Sweet 'n' Sour" Larry Sweeney, one of the best talkers the independent scene has ever produced, as he recruits Sara Del Ray into Sweet 'n' Sour Incorporated. The tag team title match is followed by a challenge from Kevin Steen and El Generico, now known as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, which leads to a violent arena-wide brawl. Later on, another familiar face from the modern WWE landscape appears as "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce delivers a chilling promo to the camera somewhere in the back in what would be the start of The Hangmen Three stable.
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Respect Is Earned Builds Its Main Event Through The Night
Amidst the rest of the action, Respect Is Earned told a story throughout the show that culminated in the main event, starring two of the promotion's most storied rivals as well as a duo of their greatest imported talent. At the core of the tale are Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness, two of the best pure wrestlers to ever step into Ring of Honor. The reigning world champion, Takeshi Morishima, handily dispatches BJ Whitmer, a man now currently working behind the scenes at AEW, before McGuinness comes out to lay out the challenge for Morishima's title. But, Danielson then appears, returning after a several-month absence, declaring his own intentions to challenge Morishima. After some heated words, Danielson attacks McGuinness, then aided by Morishima before the beatdown is broken up.
The night continues until McGuinness returns to the ring, raring to continue the fight, and calls out both Danielson and Morishima. The 2-on-1 doesn't exactly go in his favor, but luckily another Pro Wrestling NOAH star would come to even up the odds. McGuinness finds an unexpected ally in KENTA, who is in the midst of cementing himself as one of the best junior heavyweights ever back in Japan. Once again, this brawl is calmed by security, but the main event is now set; Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima versus Nigel McGuinness and KENTA.
The match weaves all manner of rivalries together, the most obvious being the acclaimed Danielson/McGuinness feud. But, the tag match also feeds into McGuinness' quest to unseat Morishima as ROH World Champion as well as Danielson and KENTA's series that spanned both the United States and Japan. It may seem like a thrown-together tag match on paper, but the main event really was a cross-section of the most exciting feuds happening in alternative wrestling at the time. This sentiment applies to the show as a whole. Although no one thing on Respect Is Earned was a historic chapter in a single story, the event was a demonstration of all the excitement the independents had at the time and a foundation for greater things to come.
