The Top Prospect Tournament is an annual

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

tournament held by

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

since 2011. The inaugural tournament took place in 2011 and has occurred every year since except for 2012 and 2018.

Format

Aspiring ROH wrestlers compete in a variety of "qualifying" singles matches with the winner(s) of each match advancing to the next round. There are three rounds, with the winner of the Top Prospect Tournament receiving a Ring of Honor contract and a shot at a Ring of Honor championship.

History

The tournament started in 2011 with the goal of giving rising wrestlers a chance of getting an ROH contract and displaying their talents for the promotion. In 2011, the first winner of the tournament was Mike Bennett, who went on to become an ROH mainstay. After a one-year break, the tournament returned in 2013 with the winner getting a chance at

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Col ...

ROH World Television Championship The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type championship returned to na ...

. The winner of the 2013 tournament was

Matt Taven Matthew Marinelli (born March 20, 1985), known by his ring name, Matt Taven, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, who currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling. He is best known for his work with Ring of Honor (ROH), ...

, who associated himself with

Truth Martini Martin Krcaj (born May 8, 1975) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Manager (professional wrestling), manager, and trainer better known by the ring name Truth Martini. He is perhaps best known as the manager of Th ...

and captured Cole's championship at the 11th Anniversary Show. He went on to become the longest reigning Television Champion in ROH history since the title's inception in 2010 before losing it to

Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Whitney (born May 8, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tommaso Ciampa. Whitney began his career in 2005, working on several independent pro ...

. In 2014,

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ba ...

won the tournament by defeating future tag team partner

Raymond Rowe Raymond Rowe Sr. (born August 21, 1984) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Erik. He is also known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he and his tag ...

in the finals. In 2015,

Donovan Dijak Christopher James Dijak (born April 23, 1987) is an Americans, American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Dijak. Di ...

won a Ring of Honor contract after beating

Will Ferrara William Ferrara (born June 30, 1991) is an American professional wrestler, formerly known on the indies by his ring name Spartan. He is currently signed to Ring of Honor (ROH), wrestling under his real name. He also works as an assistant trainer ...

. In 2016,

Lio Rush Lionel Gerard Green (born November 11, 1994), better known by the ring name Lio Rush, is an American professional wrestler and musician currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Chaos stable. He has also ap ...

defeated Brian Fury to win the tournament and instead gained an

ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Claudio Castagnoli, who is in his second ...

opportunity against

Jay Lethal Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Dubbed "The Franchise" of Ring of Honor, Lethal is a two-time ROH World Champion, ...

. Rush lost the match and left ROH less than two years later. Dak Draper is the most recent winner of the Top Prospect Tournament, having won in 2019.

List of winners

*2011 – Mike Bennett *2013 –

*2014 –

*2015 –

*2016 –

*2017 – Josh Woods *2019 - Dak Draper

Tournament history

2011

ROH's first Top Prospect Tournament took place in January 2011.

2013

ROH's second Top Prospect Tournament took place in January and February 2013.

2014

ROH's third Top Prospect Tournament took place in January and February 2014.

2015

ROH's fourth Top Prospect Tournament took place in January and February 2015.

2016

ROH's fifth Top Prospect Tournament was announced in December 2015 as happening January 9.

2017

ROH's sixth Top Prospect Tournament was announced in December 2016 as happening January 28.

2019

The seventh Top Prospect Tournament began on July 21, 2019 at the Mass Hysteria Event. The announced competitors are Austin Gunn, Brian Johnson, Dante Caballero, Joe Keys, Dak Draper, Haitian Sensation, Ken Dixon and Makita. The Semi-Finals were held during the joint ROH-CMLL show Global Wars Espectacular. Dak Draper defeated Austin Gunn at Death Before Dishonor event on September 29, 2019.

References

External links

rohwrestling.com (Official website)
{{ROH Top Prospect Tournament Recurring events established in 2011 Top Prospect Tournament, ROH Ring of Honor tournaments