I know that there are a lot of choices for ladies in this generation of women’s wrestling. We’ve watched the ladies of ROH serve up five-star matches and become the buzz of the town in the last year. Many people believe that ROH now has a women’s division.
However, like with any excellent novel, there are numerous chapters that make a tale memorable. With this post, I want to highlight the first chapter in the women’s division of the Ring of Honor. On June 22, 2002, the legendary Sumie Sakai faced Simply Lucious in Ring of Honor’s inaugural women’s contest. The women would make only rare appearances after that, but when they did, they left an indelible impact.
Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze, Amazing Kong, Mschif, Allison Danger, and Lacey, in my humble opinion, demonstrated that they could garner fans and viewers just as much as the guys. They had to endure coming in many times as valets or managers, but when they were able to demonstrate their ability in the Ring, they made certain that everyone in that building knew their names. If CM Punk is the guy who helped develop ROH, Sara Del Rey is the woman who helped build Women of Honor.
Del Rey was recognized as one of the greatest female wrestlers to never compete in a big organization during her peak on the indie scene. In 2012, she became the fourth woman to be named to the PWI list of the world’s top 500 wrestlers.
Del Rey has had fantastic wrestling adventures in locations like Japan, Mexico, and Canada. However, in 2005, Del Rey began to make an impression on ROH. She began a fight with Daizee Haze, one of my favorite babyfaces of all time. Del Rey was a member of the Dangerous Angels, who included Allison Danger, an unsung hero in women’s wrestling. Del Rey began collaborating with Chris Hero and then added Claudio Castagnoli (now known as Caesaro) to form the wildly famous faction The Kings of Wrestling.
Sarah was demonstrating how much of an attraction she was for both male and female followers by joining the all-male sect and not only being viewed and appreciated as an equal but also being one of the primary factors that made the group so successful. This was not the standard at the time for a woman who was all about showing off her wrestling skills.
Sarah Del Rey, also known as the Death Rey will be remembered as one of the greatest and most respected ladies to ever lace up a pair of boots. Despite never working for a big US promoter, no female independent artist has ever received as much praise or acclaim.
Awesome Kong’s initial appearances in the United States after conquering Japan were so anticipated that spectators were on the edge of their seats from the time she walked down the ramp. Kong would normally crush her opponents in a matter of minutes. That was her honest opinion. Her standing. Kong, on the other hand, realized she had to put in some effort with someone like Del Rey. The ROH fans gobbled it up. Kong’s tenure in ROH was regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime event that could only be witnessed by a live audience.
Daizee Haze was the babyface I wanted to cheer for long before Bailey donned her characteristic ponytail and Macho Man-inspired outfit with tassels.
When it came to her capacity to win a match, her weight was viewed as a weakness or a bad feature. She, on the other hand, exploited her petite height to her advantage and had a cool demeanor that seemed to soften up even the coldest critic. Daizee Haze made her Ring of Honor debut in 2004.
Haze began a program with Allison Danger and quickly became a member of the faction Generation Next. Soon after, Daizee Haze and Sara Del Rey competed for the Shimmer title. They demonstrated that Shimmer (ROH’s sister company) could create the same dedicated fans who were entirely involved in the sheer athleticism and interesting stories that ROH fans were drawn to.
In her feuds, Haze was known to take up massive and challenging obstacles. Though she did not always win, she always survived to fight another day. Daizee Hazes joined the ROH Wrestling Academy as a trainer in 2009. Daisy Haze has been out of the ring since 2011.
Allison Danger, who, in my mind, was the bricklayer who wanted to help construct a smoother route for this generation and help create the fact that women could work behind the camera and in the commentators’ booth, was such a light in my path to finding good women’s wrestling in the 2000s.
Allison Danger entered ROH as part of the Christopher Street connection team, and soon after, she took over as manager of the prophesy faction’s Christopher Daniels. A heel stable that did not uphold the principles of the code of honor. Danger had a brief conflict with Daizee Haze, but he shone as a manager who enjoyed playing mind games and sticking it to the babyfaces.
Danger rose to prominence as a champion of women’s wrestling and began to lay the groundwork for Shimmer Wrestling. She helped run it, wrestled, and commented on the shows. She demonstrated that you could truly cheer for other women to succeed and contribute to the business. You didn’t have to try to restrain other ladies.
Lacey was the heel wrestler who didn’t mind burning your mother alive to win a match or achieve what she wanted. She also thrived on leading teams of people that had the same dark hearts.
Lacey first appeared in 2004 as the girlfriend of the Special K faction. She had a few catfights with Becky Bayless before forming her own faction, Lacey’s Angels. Soon after, a tag team featuring Colt Cabana and Jimmy Jacobs was hinted at when the two guys tagged together a few times. When Colt joked about doing things with Lacey, Jacobs appeared to have an issue with it. Cabana rejected to join the organization on an official basis, and Lacey was not pleased.
Lacey and Daizee Haze had a notable long-running dispute. Lacey finally won the Shimmer championship bout as a consequence of this. Lacey was also a part of the Jimmy Loves Lacey YouTube series. Jimmy Jacobs genuinely desired to battle for her poisonous love and proclaim it to the public!
The Age of the Fall stable was comprised of Jacobs, Necro the Butcher, and Lacey. Lacey later betrayed Aotf by departing with Austin Aries and falling in love with him. Lacey and Jacob’s bizarre affair continued when Jacobs uploaded videos on YouTube telling her she had a week to contact him. He later stalked her, and it was soon revealed that she was quitting wrestling to attend college, thus it appeared like they intended to leave the conflict on a mysterious note. Fans would then be able to speculate on what happened to Lacey when Jimmy snapped.
With the pairing of Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs, my teenage metal heart was fed with this very dark, passionate, and an extremely psychotic storyline that kind of ended with Lacey kayfabe’s kidnapping. Lacey and Jimmy Jacob deserve credit for using YouTube’s rising popularity to promote their feuds and storylines to become a successful stable in ROH during the mid-2000s. Lacey was designated a Woman of Honor in 2006 and 2007.
Mschif is noted for her banshee gimmick, shrieking at her opponents, her signature green and black hair, and her remarkable flexibility, which she used to her advantage but also got her caught in some weird submission holds. Mschif made her ROH debut at Supercard of Honor 1 in 2005. She triumphed in the six-woman mayhem match. Mschif would team up with one of her rivals, Daizee Haze, to go against the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew in 2007 at ROH’s driven (Lacey and Rain). At numerous Shimmer events, this gang had been attacking Mschif. As a result, this had to be resolved.
Mschif clashed with Sara Del Rey in 2009 and effectively prevented Sara from reclaiming the championship. Mschif briefly joined The Age of the Fall stable and even teamed up with Jimmy Jacobs to take on Delirious and Daizee Haze.
Mschif was a triple champion in 2009 and 2010. Currently holding the NWA global women’s championship. The Midwest women’s championship and the Shimmer championship are both held in the Midwest. Mschif was unquestionably a champion that any promotion would want on their card at the moment.
This generation of Ring of Honor ladies established the standard for what to expect in the ROH ring. They suffered receiving little time, but generated such a buzz and inspired more women to go into the business that Shimmer was founded and is still functioning today as a gift to the fans.
That is a legacy to be proud of. A legacy worth debating and, more importantly, a heritage worth learning from. We honor the inaugural Women of Honor.
Comments