ROH World Championship

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The ROH World Championship is Ring of Honor’s top men’s wrestling title, created in 2002. It’s considered ROH’s most prestigious prize and is sometimes defended on AEW programs because Tony Khan owns both promotions.

Current champion: Bandido. He is in his second reign, having defeated Chris Jericho in a Title vs. Mask match on April 6, 2025 at AEW Dynasty in Philadelphia.

A quick history in plain terms:
- Inaugural champion: Low Ki, who won a Four-Way Iron Man match on July 27, 2002 after a tournament that began on June 22, 2002.
- The belt has been unified with the ROH Pure Championship in 2006, and the Pure title effectively merged into the World Championship.
- The title was vacated for the first time in 2013 when Jay Briscoe was stripped due to injury.
- The World Championship was defended outside the United States for the first time in Japan at Wrestle Kingdom 10 (January 2016).
- In late 2021 ROH paused operations after Final Battle. In 2022, Bandido and Jonathan Gresham defended their titles elsewhere during the hiatus; they then faced off at Supercard of Honor XV to unify the titles, with Gresham winning and the original belt eventually being carried by him.
- Belt designs have changed several times, with the current (introduced in 2023) design featuring a black strap and five plates, a silver main plate with two black banners, a globe in the center with the ROH logo, and side plates honoring Jay Briscoe.

Statistics and records:
- Total reigns: 42 among 33 champions
- Vacancies: 2
- Longest single reign: Samoa Joe (about 645 days)
- Shortest reign: Kyle O’Reilly (about 33 days)
- Oldest champion: Chris Jericho (53 years, 349 days)
- Youngest champion: Low Ki (22 years, 324 days)
- Heaviest champion: Takeshi Morishima (320 lb / 150 kg)
- Lightest champion: Jonathan Gresham (161 lb / 73 kg)

The ROH World Championship has been defended in various promotions beyond ROH, including AEW and other partner promotions, reflecting its status as a major prize in modern professional wrestling. Bandido currently holds the title for the second time, after defeating Jericho in 2025.