Christopher Daniels is one of the few professional wrestlers who enjoyed a lengthy Independent career without going to WWE.
Speaking to Pro Wrestling 24/7, On the heels of All In, Daniels discussed the rise of Independent wrestling in 2018.
"Independent wrestling is more relevant now than ever. With the reach of the internet and the ability to see different promotions around the world. Whether it's through New Japan World, Honor Club, or WWN Network. There's so many options for the wrestling fan that don't involve WWE. As good as WWE is -- for some people, that's enough. For others they want a wider variety. They want different stuff. And now there's so many different avenues that a wrestling fan can take to scratch that wrestling itch. So much of it now is what people qualify as 'Independent wrestling.'"
Ring of Honor and TNA/Impact Wrestling were the first two companies to really break the Independent wrestling mold. TNA was immediately on weekly pay-per-view before striking a deal with Fox Sports Net and then SpikeTV. Ring of Honor managed to get on pay-per-view in 2007 before landing a tv deal with HDNet in 2009.
Daniels played a big role in the success of both companies and believes they've helped bridge the gap between WWE and the Independents.
"When Ring of Honor became -- especially when Sinclair bought ROH and started a television show, I feel like 'Independent' wasn't the right term to describe ROH. You can say the same thing about TNA once they got a national television show. There really wasn't a level of professional wrestling between WWE and Independent wrestling. Companies like TNA and ROH filled that gap. WWE has been around for so many years; they are the gold standard of success in professional wrestling. But for the past 16 years, ROH has kept an uphill steady climb of popularity and of success. In 2019, they sold out Madison Square Garden. More growth like that keeps ROH a destination for young wrestlers to come in and be seen on a national scale."
The Fallen Angel can be seen every week on ROH television. He'll be competing at the upcoming Death Before Dishonor event when he teams with Kazarian to battle ROH Tag Team Champions the Briscoes.
