ROH Pure Tournament

Last updated
ROH Pure Tournament
ROH Pure Tournament.jpg
Promotion ROH
DateSeptember 12 to October 31, 2020
City Baltimore, Maryland
Venue UMBC Event Center
Attendance0 (behind closed doors) [lower-alpha 1]
ROH Pure Tournament
Jonathan Gresham.jpg
Jonathan Gresham, winner of the tournament and new ROH Pure Champion
Tournament information
Sport Professional wrestling
Location
DatesSeptember 12, 2020–October 31, 2020
Tournament
format(s)
 Single-elimination tournament
Participants16
Final positions
Champion Jonathan Gresham
Runner-up Tracy Williams
Tournament statistics
Matches played15

The ROH Pure Tournament was a single-elimination professional wrestling tournament produced by Ring of Honor Wrestling. The tournament, originally scheduled to start on April 12, commenced on September 12, 2020 and ended on October 31, 2020. It featured 16 wrestlers competing for the newly-reactivated ROH Pure Championship: 9 from Ring of Honor, 2 from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and 5 free agent or independent wrestlers.

Contents

Background

Other on-screen personnel
Role:Name:
HostQuinn McKay
Commentators Ian Riccaboni
Caprice Coleman
Ring announcer Nick Lendl
Referees Todd Sinclair
Joe Mandak
JudgesGary Juster
Will Ferrara
Sumie Sakai

History

The ROH Pure Championship was announced to be reactivated on April 12, 2020, being used for the first time since 2006, with events to take place in Columbus, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [1] However, plans had to be put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with ROH suspending all television production immediately thereafter. In August, it was announced that ROH would return to producing TV starting in September with the ROH Pure Tournament that was originally scheduled 5 months ago. [2] The field of announced wrestlers includes Jay Lethal, Dalton Castle, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams, Kenny King, P. J. Black, Josh Woods, Delirious, and Silas Young from Ring of Honor, David Finlay and Rocky Romero from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Matt Sydal, Fred Yehi, Tony Deppen, Wheeler Yuta, and Rust Taylor from the independent circuit. In the event that any wrestler is unable to compete for any reason, there are 2 alternate wrestlers for each block: Dak Draper for block A and Brian Johnson for block B.

Rules

16 wrestlers compete in a single-elimination tournament, split off into two blocks of "A" (represented by the color red) and "B" (represented by the color silver). The rounds have increasing time limits, starting at a 15-minute time limit for round 1, 20 for round 2, 30 for the block finals, and a 1 hour time limit for the tournament final. Every match begins and ends with the traditional Code of Honor handshake. Each wrestler is allowed only 3 rope breaks for breaking up submissions and pinfalls. After all rope breaks are exhausted, pins and submissions outside of the boundary of the ropes are considered legal. Closed fist punches to the face are illegal, with the first use garnering a warning from the referee and the second use resulting in a disqualification. Open-hand slaps and chops to the face, as well as all punches to the body, excluding low blows, are permitted. Should a match go to a time limit draw, the decision will go to 3 judges positioned at ringside. Any wrestler that interferes in any match will be fired from the company. Once a new champion is crowned, the title can change hands by count-out or disqualification. [2]

Storylines

The tournament included matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. [3]

Results

Round 1 (September 12)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 Jay Lethal defeated Dalton Castle by pinfall Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match13:10
2 Jonathan Gresham defeated Wheeler Yuta by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match10:24
Round 1 (September 19)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 David Finlay defeated Rocky Romero by pinfall Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match13:01
2 Matt Sydal defeated Delirious by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match9:56
Round 1 (September 26)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 Fred Yehi defeated Silas Young by pinfall Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match13:00
2 Josh Woods defeated Kenny King by split decision Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match15:00
Round 1 (October 3)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 Tracy Williams defeated Rust Taylor by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match14:25
2 P. J. Black defeated Tony Deppen by pinfall Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match12:06
Round 2 (October 10)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 Jay Lethal defeated David Finlay by pinfall Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block A match14:57
2 Jonathan Gresham defeated Matt Sydal by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block B match13:27
Round 2 (October 17)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 Tracy Williams defeated Fred Yehi by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block A match14:03
2 Josh Woods defeated P. J. Black by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block B match13:27
Block Finals (October 24)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 Jonathan Gresham defeated Josh Woods by pinfall Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament, Block B final12:00
2 Tracy Williams defeated Jay Lethal by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament, Block A final19:29
Championship (October 31)
No.ResultsStipulationsTimes
1 Jonathan Gresham defeated Tracy Williams by submission Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament final, for the ROH Pure Championship 14:37

Bracket

Round 1 1 [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Round 2 [9] [10] Block Finals [11] Championship [12]
        
Jay Lethal Pin
Dalton Castle 13:10
Jay LethalPin
David Finlay 14:57
David Finlay Pin
Rocky Romero 13:01
Jay Lethal 19:29
Block A 2
Tracy Williams Sub
Silas Young 13:00
Fred Yehi Pin
Fred Yehi 14:03
Tracy WilliamsSub
Tracy Williams Sub
Rust Taylor 14:25
Tracy Williams 14:37
Jonathan GreshamSub
Jonathan Gresham Sub
Wheeler Yuta 10:24
Jonathan GreshamSub
Matt Sydal 13:27
Delirious 9:59
Matt Sydal Sub
Jonathan GreshamPin
Block B 2
Josh Woods 12:00
Josh Woods Decision
Kenny King 15:00
Josh WoodsSub
P. J. Black 13:27
P. J. Black Pin
Tony Deppen 12:06

1 ^ Participants in the original tournament included: Adam Brooks, Mark Haskins, Joe Hendry, Yuji Nagata, Ren Narita, Marty Scurll, Alex Shelley, Slex, and Doug Williams
2 ^ Dak Draper and Brian Johnson were named as alternates for Block A and Block B, respectively

Scorecards

Josh Woods vs. Kenny King [7]

JudgeWrestler
Gary JusterWoods
King
Will Ferrara Woods
King
Sumie Sakai Woods
King

Notes

  1. ↑ Held without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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References

  1. ↑ "Tournament To Crown New Pure Champion Kicks Off In Columbus, Pittsburgh". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  2. 1 2 "Everything You Need To Know About The ROH Pure Title Tournament". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  3. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Pure Tournament Bracket". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-15.
  5. ↑ "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament Kicks Off With Jay Lethal Versus Dalton Castle, Jonathan Gresham Versus Wheeler Yuta". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-15.
  6. ↑ "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament First Round: David Finlay Versus Rocky Romero, Delirious Versus Matt Sydal". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-22.
  7. 1 2 "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament First Round: Josh Woods Versus Kenny King, Silas Young Versus Fred Yehi". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  8. ↑ "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament First Round: Tracy Williams versus Rust Taylor, PJ Black versus Tony Deppen". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  9. ↑ "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament Block Semifinals: Jay Lethal Beats David Finlay; Jonathan Gresham Makes Matt Sydal Tap". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-10-13.
  10. ↑ "ROH Recap: Tracy Williams, Josh Woods Advance To Pure Title Tournament Block Finals; EC3 Arrives!". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  11. ↑ "ROH Recap: Tracy Williams Upsets Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham Beats Josh Woods To Set Up Pure Title Tournament Final". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  12. ↑ "ROH Recap: Jonathan Gresham Puts Clamps On Tracy Williams To Win Pure Title Tournament; EC3 Makes In-Ring Debut". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
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