Ring of Honor ended an era at its Final Battle pay-per-view, and the company’s future is unclear. ROH will go on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 while its decision-makers “reimagine” the promotion, and it’s fair to assume that this new version will be quite different from its predecessor.
If so, it’s a fitting time to look back on the past and appreciate some of the most amazing moments in the company’s illustrious history. Bobby Cruise, who has been with the company for almost two decades, has had the chance to see many of these highlights from the best seat in the house; he has been the lead ring announcer for the past several years.
In a recent interview with WrestleZone, “The Voice of ROH” looked back on some of his favorite matches from his time with the company and named the classic 2005 bout between Samoa Joe and Kenta Kobashi as one of his favorites. He described how the “intimate” setting at the venue, the New Yorker Hotel, made the atmosphere even more special.
“It’s so hard, over 17 years, you pile up so many different memories, so many great matches and so forth,” said Cruise. “But I always go back to like maybe, what’s the word I’m looking for, my trusty three or four, I guess. You know, one of them was in New York City at the New Yorker Hotel, the ballroom they have there, before we moved over to the Manhattan Center and then downstairs to the Hammerstein Ballroom, a bigger venue obviously. This New Yorker Hotel was a very much more intimate setting, and that’s where we had Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi, which, that atmosphere, that night, I could talk about for years. It was awesome, the match was awesome, [they were] just beating the hell out of each other. So that was one.”
Cruise then pointed to the unforgettable championship unification match between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness as another highlight because it was a historic contest; he went on to bring up CM Punk’s final bout in ROH prior to his move to WWE as third pick.
“Another one was the unification match between Bryan Danielson as the World Champion and Nigel McGuinness as Pure Champion in Liverpool, England, of course, in front of the home crowd for Nigel over in England,” said Cruise. “That was another one that was great. Fans knew they were gonna see history that night, even before they got to the building, seeing one guy walk out with both titles. So any time you have something like that, with a crowd like that, that’s really cool.
“And then CM Punk’s final night in Ring of Honor, in Chicago, Illinois, you know, his home city, basically, and against long-time pal and fellow Chicagoan Colt Cabana, that’s another one that really stands out.”
While Cruise noted that these selections are his typical answers because they have etched a place in his memory, he also emphasized how special G1 Supercard at Madson Square Garden was to him. The event, which was run by ROH and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, gave Cruise the opportunity to be in the ring at “The World’s Most Famous Arena”, and he cherishes this remarkable experience.
“But any time I talk about these [memories], I never talk about Madison Square Garden, which is ridiculous because why wouldn’t I talk about Madison Square Garden?” said Cruise. “I don’t know if it’s still too recent, maybe. Because all those memories that I mentioned previously are all kind of older memories. But it’s obviously Madison Square Garden.
“Walking out there and standing in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden. And having both my daughters there to see everything was really, really something that I’m sure will never happen for me again, and that’s something that, for one night, some of these things that are one night, you really have to cherish.”
Given the uncertain nature of ROH’s future, the company’s fans continue to hope that its new era will produce more memories and matches that will go down in history.
