Survival of the Fittest is a professional wrestling tournament held by Ring of Honor (ROH). The inaugural tournament took place in 2004, and - with exceptions (2008, 2013, 2019–2020, 2022) - has become an annual tradition in ROH ever since.[1]
Wrestlers compete in a variety of "qualifying" matches, usually either singles matches or tag team matches, with the winner(s) of each match advancing to an elimination match where the last remaining competitor would be deemed the Survival of the Fittest winner, and receive a future ROH World Championship match (except the 2023 tournament winner will be crowned ROH World Television Championship).[1]
The tournament setup is based on Maryland Championship Wrestling's Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup, as ROH was to continue the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup following the shutdown of MCW in 2003. However, following a controversy with ROH's owner in early 2004, MCW dropped their association with Ring of Honor, and ROH renamed the already scheduled tournament "Survival of the Fittest".[2] [3] [4]
In 2019, it was announced the event would take place on November 9 and 10, but the shows were ultimately cancelled.[5]
– Championship victory
– Championship match loss
– Championship match draw/no contest
| 1 | Bryan Danielson | Midnight Express Reunion | 2004 | Danielson unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 2 | Roderick Strong | This Means War | 2005 | Strong unsuccessfully challenged Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 3 | Delirious | Honor Reclaims Boston | 2006 | Delirious unsuccessfully challenged Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 4 | Chris Hero | Glory By Honor IV - Night 1 | 2007 | Hero unsuccessfully challenged Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 5 | Tyler Black | Final Battle | 2009 | Black wrestled ROH World Champion Austin Aries to a sixty-minute time limit draw. Black defeated Aries in a rematch to win the ROH World Championship at the 8th Anniversary Show. | |
| 6 | Eddie Edwards | Manhattan Mayhem IV | 2010 | Edwards defeated Roderick Strong to win the ROH World Championship. | |
| 7 | Michael Elgin | Showdown in the Sun - Night 2 | 2011 | Elgin unsuccessfully challenged Davey Richards for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 8 | Jay Lethal | 11th Anniversary Show | 2012 | Lethal unsuccessfully challenged Kevin Steen for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 9 | Adam Cole | Final Battle | 2014 | Cole unsuccessfully challenged Jay Briscoe in a Fight Without Honor for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 10 | Michael Elgin (2) | All Star Extravaganza VIII | 2015 | Elgin unsuccessfully challenged Adam Cole for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 11 | Bobby Fish | Manhattan Mayhem | 2016 | Fish unsuccessfully challenged Adam Cole for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 12 | Punishment Martinez | Ring of Honor Wrestling (February 10, 2018) | 2017 | Martinez unsuccessfully challenged Dalton Castle for the ROH World Championship. | |
| 13 | Marty Scurll | G1 Supercard | 2018 | Scurll challenged Jay Lethal in a three-way ladder match for the ROH World Championship, also involving Matt Taven. Taven won the match. | |
| 14 | Bandido | Best in the World | 2021 | Bandido defeated Rush to win the ROH World Championship. | |
| 15 | Kyle Fletcher | Final Battle | 2023 | Survivor of the Fittest for the vacant ROH Television Championship. Fletcher defeated Komander, Lee Moriarty, Bryan Keith, Dalton Castle and Lee Johnson to win the championship. |
ROH's first Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on June 24, 2004 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] [7]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samoa Joe | Colt Cabana | Pinned with a sunset flip | 15:22 | |
| Colt Cabana | Mark Briscoe | Pinned after a shooting star press | 17:06 | |
| Homicide | Mark Briscoe | Both men pinned each other | 19:05 | |
| Mark Briscoe | Homicide | |||
| Austin Aries | Bryan Danielson | Submitted to an Elevated Boston crab | 42:28 | |
| Bryan Danielson | ||||
ROH's second Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on September 24, 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts.[7] [8]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samoa Joe | Roderick Strong | Pinned after the Best Moonsault Ever by Daniels onto Joe | 13:57 | |
| Christopher Daniels | Austin Aries | Pinned with a sunset flip | 19:12 | |
| Jay Lethal | Roderick Strong | Pinned after Death by Roderick | 31:23 | |
| Colt Cabana | Pinned after a pildedriver | 35:51 | ||
| Austin Aries | Submitted to the Stronghold | 50:30 | ||
| Roderick Strong | ||||
ROH's third Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on October 6, 2006 in Cleveland, Ohio.[7] [9]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Aries | Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe | Pinned after a Doomsday Device | 11:17 | |
| Jay Briscoe | Matt Sydal | Pinned with a roll-up | 19:04 | |
| Mark Briscoe | Pinned after the Shooting Sydal Press | 23:06 | ||
| Matt Sydal | Delirious | Submitted to the Cobra Stretch | 34:51 | |
| Delirious | ||||
ROH's fourth Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on October 19, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[7] [10]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Tornado | Chris Hero | Pinned after the Hero's Welcome | 3:58 | |
| Rocky Romero | Pinned after a 450° splash from Aries onto Romero | 13:32 | ||
| Austin Aries | Pinned with a roll-up | 15:38 | ||
| Colt Cabana | Pinned after the Hero's Welcome | 35:51 | ||
| Claudio Castagnoli | Passed out in the Hangman's Clutch | 50:30 | ||
| Chris Hero | ||||
ROH's fifth Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on October 10, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana.[7] [11]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claudio Castagnoli | Colt Cabana | Pinned after a rolling elbow by Hero to Castagnoli | 23:00 | |
| Colt Cabana | Delirious | Pinned with a roll-up | 23:05 | |
| Delirious | Roderick Strong | Pinned after the Sick Kick | 24:59 | |
| Chris Hero | Tyler Black | Pinned with God's Last Gift | 28:38 | |
| Roderick Strong | Pinned after the Avada Kedavra | 39:36 | ||
| Tyler Black | ||||
ROH's sixth Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on November 12, 2010 in Dearborn, Michigan.[7] [12]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Steen | Claudio Castagnoli | Pinned after a bicycle kick | 0:08 | |
| Adam Cole | Pinned after a lariat | 9:19 | ||
| Rhett Titus | Pinned after a pop-up European uppercut | 12:18 | ||
| Claudio Castagnoli | Kenny King | Pinned after the Royal Flush | 14:23 | |
| Kenny King | Eddie Edwards | Submitted to an Achilles lock | 16:12 | |
| Eddie Edwards | ||||
ROH's seventh Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on November 18, 2011 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Dayton, Ohio.[13] [14]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Briscoe | Eddie Edwards | Pinned after Die Hard | 18:21 | |
| Mark Briscoe | Submitted to a dragon sleeper | 18:37 | ||
| Roderick Strong | Pinned with a schoolboy | 20:41 | ||
| Eddie Edwards | Michael Elgin | Pinned after a spinning back fist / lariat combo | 20:58 | |
| Kyle O'Reilly | Pinned after the Elgin Bomb | 33:19 | ||
| Michael Elgin | ||||
ROH's eighth Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on September 22, 2012 at the Du Burns Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The tournament was recorded in a single day for Ring of Honor's television show, and aired on a taped delay over the span of several weeks.[1] [6] [15]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Mondo | Roderick Strong | Pinned after the Sick Kick | 4:49 | |
| Roderick Strong | Adam Cole | Pinned after a superkick | 6:41 | |
| Adam Cole | Michael Elgin | Pinned after the Elgin Bomb | 7:32 | |
| Michael Elgin | Jay Lethal and Davey Richards | Double pinned after both men hit him with a Buzzsaw Kick | 13:32 | |
| Davey Richards | Jay Lethal | Pinned after the Lethal Injection | 21:26 | |
| Jay Lethal | ||||
ROH's ninth Survival of the Fittest tournament took place on November 8, 2014 at the Seagate Convention Center in Toledo, Ohio. The tournament took place over a span of 2 days.
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roderick Strong | Adam Page | Pinned with a roll-up | 17:08 | |
| Adam Page | Matt Sydal | Pinned after the Shooting Sydal Press | 21:10 | |
| Matt Sydal | Tommaso Ciampa | Pinned after Project Ciampa | 31:13 | |
| Tommaso Ciampa | Adam Cole | Pinned after Michael Elgin hit Ciampa with a steel chair | 32:03 | |
| Hanson | Pinned after the Florida Keys | 40:50 | ||
| Adam Cole | ||||
See main article: Survival of the Fittest (2015).
See main article: Survival of the Fittest (2016).
See main article: Survival of the Fittest (2017).
See main article: Survival of the Fittest (2018).
ROH announced the tournament would return in 2021, taking place throughout the month of June on ROH's flagship TV program Ring of Honor Wrestling, and their online show ROH Week by Week.
There were 12 participants competing in six qualifying matches, with the winners advancing to a six-way elimination finals (aired June 26 on Ring of Honor Wrestling) where the winner received an ROH World Championship match at Best in the World.[16]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demonic Flamita | Bandido | Pinned with a roll-up | 4:50 | |
| Brian Johnson | Rhett Titus | Pinned after the King Kong Knee Drop | 12:56 | |
| Rhett Titus | Chris Dickinson | Submitted to a kneebar | 13:27 | |
| Chris Hero | Bandido | Pinned after the 21-Plex | 18:56 | |
| Eli Isom | Submitted to an omoplata | 23:51 | ||
| Bandido | ||||
Note - In late 2021, ROH was sold to Tony Khan, the owner and general manager of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and with that ROH was then effectively absorbed into AEW.
On the November 8, 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite, Samoa Joe, who had held the ROH World Television Championship for a record 574 days, voluntarily vacated the title to concentrate on pursuing the AEW World Championship.
Tony Khan announced a week later on Ring of Honor Wrestling that Survival of the Fittest would return, and be used in crowning a new champion. Qualifying matches took place on ROH Wrestling, leading up to the six-way finals on December 15 at Final Battle, with the winner becoming the new ROH World TV Champion.[17]
Qualifying matches:
Finals:
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Johnson | Lee Moriarty | Submitted to the Border City Stretch | 8:46 | |
| Dalton Castle | Pinned after The Fang | 11:20 | ||
| Lee Moriarty | Bryan Keith | Pinned after the Emerald Tiger Driver | 15:38 | |
| Bryan Keith | Kyle Fletcher | Pinned after the Grimstone | 16:52 | |
| Komander | 25:54 | |||
| Kyle Fletcher | ||||
On July 25, Tony Khan announced a Survival of the Fittest match for the following day's Death Before Dishonor event, where ROH World Television Champion Atlantis Jr. would defend his title against Brian Cage, Johnny TV, Lee Johnson, Lio Rush, and Shane Taylor. This would be the first Survival of the Fittest where none of the participants had qualifying matches and the first in which a championship was defended.[18]
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Eliminated by | Method of elimination | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Taylor | Lio Rush | Pinned after The Final Hour | 9:56 | |
| Lio Rush | Lee Johnson | Pinned after the Big Shot Drop | 11:32 | |
| Lee Johnson | Brian Cage and Johnny TV | Double pinned after a powerslam / springboard kick combo | 15:05 | |
| Johnny TV | Brian Cage | Pinned after the Drill Claw | 18:39 | |
| Brian Cage | Atlantis Jr. | Pinned with a victory roll | 19:12 | |
| Atlantis Jr. (c) | colspan="2" | |||