ROH's Third Anniversary Celebration was a three-day professional wrestling event marking the promotion's third year, featuring title matches and a Best of Five series.
Key Facts
- Event Duration
- Three days: February 19, 25, and 26, 2005
- Venues
- Rex Plex (NJ), Montgomery County Fairgrounds (OH), Frontier Fieldhouse (IL)
- ROH World Champion
- Austin Aries retained against Colt Cabana and Samoa Joe
- ROH Tag Team Champions
- B.J. Whitmer and Dan Maff won and retained titles
- Best of Five Series
- Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson: matches 2 and 3 contested
- Notable Return
- A.J. Styles returned to ROH for first time in over a year
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ring of Honor had been building its roster and championship scene through 2004, establishing ongoing rivalries such as Homicide versus Bryan Danielson in a Best of Five Series and cementing Austin Aries as ROH World Champion, setting the stage for a major multi-day anniversary event.
The Third Anniversary Celebration spanned three nights across New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois, featuring ROH World and Tag Team Championship matches, a steel cage match, a Taped Fist match, and the return of A.J. Styles. Austin Aries successfully defended the ROH World Championship twice across the event.
B.J. Whitmer and Dan Maff emerged as the new ROH Tag Team Champions, the Homicide–Danielson Best of Five Series advanced with each competitor winning one match, and James Gibson and A.J. Styles made notable appearances, raising ROH's profile heading into the rest of 2005.