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#16 Austin Aries
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The Greatest Man That Ever Lived is an ROH original as it was the promotion that gave his first big break back in 2004. Aries’s perfect blend of charisma and excellent in-ring talent made him an instant hit with the ROH fans. He was handpicked to defeat the longest reigning ROH World Champion Samoa Joe - a validation of his skill.
Did you know a top WWE Superstar just wrestled outside the company? More details HERE
Being the sound worker he is, every Aries match lives up to the standards of a classic and his ones in ROH were no different. His six-month-long world title reign included a string of solid defences that ended with him dropping the strap to CM Punk. The world title wasn’t the only championship he held while being with the company as he is also a one-time World Tag team champion with Roderick Strong.
Interesting Fact: Austin Aries replaced CM Punk as the head trainer at ROH Wrestling School back in 2005 after the Cult Of Personality announced his WWE signing.
#17 Roderick Strong
WWE’s latest acquisition Roderick Strong is a bonafide ROH legend with a lengthy career to boast of with the promotion.
His 13-year career at ROH spawned innumerable five-star matches, feuds and moments that forced the WWE to take notice of him and sign him up to the hottest brand in sports entertainment, NXT. Strong went up against the biggest names on the indie scene during his time in ROH such as Seth Rollins, Jay Lethal, Austin Aries (who he won the tag titles with), Sami Zayn, Adam Cole and many others en route to attaining legendary status in the company.
Currently, he’s quite over backstage in NXT and if that is any indication, Strong’s dream of eclipsing his ROH accomplishments in a WWE ring might mot be too far-fetched.
Interesting Fact: Roderick Strong is the second Triple Crown Champion in the company’s history as he’s held the World title and the Tag team titles once each and the World Television title twice. He also defeated Daniel Bryan at a Full Impact Pro (ROH’s sister promotion) show in a Title vs. Career match Heavyweight Champion of the company.
#18 Luke Harper
It goes without saying that Luke Harper is one of the most talented big men to come to the WWE in a long time. His hard-hitting style infused with the ariel ability makes him a unique prospect for any promotion to have. Luke Harper, better known as Brodie Lee on the indie circuit, developed his in-ring style by wrestling for popular indie promotions before he set foot in the WWE.
Naturally, ROH was one of those promotions where he had a surprisingly short stay. He made his ROH debut in 2008 as part of The Age of the Fall stable and helped its leader Jimmy Jacobs in running roughshod through the roster.
His matches against Necro Butcher and March Delirious are the only noteworthy singles matches from Harper’s ROH career.
Interesting Fact: Rick Rude, Big Show and Jake 'The Snake' Roberts have influenced Harper the most.
