ROH are returning to action and with that the promotion is also bringing back the ROH Pure championship. Taped shows will begin streaming after this weekend September 12th and will also begin the first match of the tournament for the ROH Pure Championship.
The tournament will consist of two blocks with 8 competitors in each block and will be held under a single-elimination format. Round 1 matches have a 15-minute time limit, the block semifinals have a 20-minute time limit, the block finals have a 30-minute time limit and the tournament final has a one-hour time limit. There will be three judges for each match, and time-limit draws will go to a judges’ decision, one of the Judges has already been announced as ROH Director of Operations Gary Juster. Gary Juster served as Judge for the famous NWA World Title Match between Ric Flair and Sting on the first “Clash of the Champions” broadcast in 1988 so he has plenty of experience as a judge.
All 16 competitors have now been announced for the tournament, the two blocks have been picked first rounds are set. We take look at all those involved in the tournament and look at their chances in tournament.
Block A
Jay Lethal vs. Dalton Castle
Jay Lethal
The franchise player of ROH, when you think of ROH you think of Jay Lethal, he is a Grand Slam Champion and Triple crown winner in that he has held every title the company has to offer, including the Pure title. For those reasons alone he has to be high on list of potential winners, he is a fantastic wrestler and he has won tournaments before within ROH including ROH’s Survival of the fittest back in 2012.
Dalton Castle
Dalton Castle is a freestyle wrestling prodigy and he is tailor made for this style tournament. Castle is a former ROH world champion and he has also held the trio tag titles but it’s been while since Dalton Castle has held gold in ROH so I’m sure he’ll be going all out to win this tournament.
Prediction:
I think Dalton’s Freestyle wrestling will give him the edge in a pure wrestling contest, this should be an incredible first round match and great way to kick off the tournament. Jay Lethal is an incredible competitor and should be considered a favourite, just as Dalton should and I see Dalton picking up the win and moving on to the Block Semi-Final.
David Finlay vs. Rocky Romero
David Finlay
The NJPW Dojo graduate David Finlay will be out to make an impression, he’s competed in plenty of tournaments and knows what it takes to win, having won the NJPW tag team tournament, the World Tag League along side his partner Juice Robinson. Robinson is currently out with an injury so no doubt Finlay will be out to make an impression as a single star and good run in this tournament would see to that.
Rocky Romero
The New Japan veteran, Rocky Romero has been a permanent fixture in the NJPW super junior division, having competed in every year’s Super Jr and Super Jr tag tournaments. Before competing in NJPW Romero was a permanent fixture with ROH for 5 years, Rocky has had far more success as part of a tag team than as a singles competitor. He’ll be looking to use this tournament to shake that moniker off and bring some success as singles star.
Prediction
David Finlay to pick up the win, the NJPW Strong stars will no doubt put on great match, the Veteran Vs young star looking to break out by himself, I feel that the young drive of Finlay will see him coming out on top.
Silas Young Vs Fred Yehi
Silas Young
Young has been a member of the ROH since 2007 and the last real man that has held the ROH world Television title on 2 separate occasions. During his feud with Jonathan Gresham he started calling himself the last Technician of honour, the two rivals would go to face off against each other in a pure rules match so he has the experience. He hasn’t held any title with ROH since 2018 and with his tag partner and protege Josh Woods in the tournament, he wont want to be outdone.
Fred Yehi
Fred Yehi is true Mat Wrestler known as the “Savageweight” he knows how us his technical wrestling to grind his opponents before locking in his favourite submission, the rear naked choke. Fred Yehi has competed for some of the top US independent promotions including Evolve where he was a former Tag team champion along side Tracy Williams, Yehi has also competed in MLW, as well as top European companies such as REVPro in England and WXW in Germany.
Prediction
I see Fred Yehi getting the upset here, I expect he will catch Silas and other competitors by surprise with his wrestling ability, he has all the tools to make it to the Block Final. This will be a hard fought contest, both competitors have incredible wrestling pedigrees and Silas knows every trick in book, however I give the slight edge to Yehi and see him possibly going all the way.
Tracy Williams vs. Rust Taylor
Tracy Williams
Williams fellow life blood team mate Mark Haskins has a shot at the world championship title upon his return and this has left Tracy William’s with not much to do in ROH. Williams will see this as his opportunity to finally make his mark in ROH, another wrestler who style of wrestling is very much suited for this Pure Championship tournament. Williams is a master of matt wrestling with a variety of submissions and hold that should see him do well in tournament.
Rust Taylor
Taylor is not short in experience the 16 year pro, he has mainly competed for Empire Wrestling Federation where he was 2 x Cruiserweight champion, American Champion, 3 x Tag Team Champion and Heavyweighht Champion. Taylor has also held the NWA Heritage Champion as part of Hollywood Championship wrestling.
Prediction
Unfortunately for Rust Taylor he has been drawn against Tracy Williams, in what will be truly excellent wrestling contest but Williams should pick up the in. Williams will be using this tournament as chance to break out as single star, I see Williams as top contender to go on win the whole tournament.
Block B
Jonathan Gresham vs. Wheeler Yuta
Jonathan Gresham
Jonathan Gresham is one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, he is literally purpose built for this style of tournament and has skill set to go all the way and win the tournament. Gresham actually competed the last ROH Pure match when he took on Silas Young, he would go on to win that match with less than honourable methods. He and Jay Lethal have become much more aggressive and Gresham is not afraid to do what ever it takes to win.
Wheeler Yuta
Yuta is young prospect with only 5 years experience he is a true prodigy and has already competed in some of the top promotions from around the world including XWX and MLW. Wheeler Yuta earned himself a spot on PWI 500 2020 coming in at 386, Yuta was trained by WWE superstar Drew Gulak as well as ROH superstar Tracy Williams so he has a solid matt wrestling lineage.
Prediction
I cannot look past Jonathan Gresham, he has to be one of the favourites to go on and win the tournament. Gresham should not be looking past Yuta though, he will be in for one hell of fight in what should be one of best matches in the first round, with Gresham coming out victorious.
Delirious vs. Matt Sydal
Matt Sydal
The man once known as Even Bourne, Matt Sydal is without a doubt, one the best high flyers in the business, he is no stranger to holding championships either, having held gold in nearly every promotion he has been involved in. Sydal is mostly known for his high flying offence, however he is more than just high flyer, he is modern day hybrid able to mix up his wrestling offence.
Delirious
Delirious Hunter Johnston has been part of ROH since 2004 a true ring of honour veteran, despite this longevity Delirious does not have many accomplishments to his name, having never held any of the titles, however he did win survival of fittest back in 2006. He will be looking to finally add a championship to his name, he has a very wild and unpredictable style that may catch his opponents off guard.
Prediction
This should be a fun and crazy opening match up, it is likely to be very different to many of the other matches, it will be much more frantic and high pace. I have to give the edge to Sydal, I feel he is more of a complete wrestler and that will see him adapt better to the Pure Wrestling match style, and I think that will see him have the advantage to win the match.
Josh Woods vs. Kenny King
Kenny King
Kenny King is a very accomplished wrestler as two time ROH world television champion and 1 time tag team champion along side Rhett Titus, King knows what it’s like to be a champion. King’s style of wrestling is not quite as good as a technical mat wrestler like many others in the tournament. King is a very good wrestler he wouldn’t have been so successful if he wasn’t but his style is much more of a flamboyant brawling type, with high impact moves that are not quite made for this tournament, although ego and confidence can carry you a long way.
Josh Woods
The most legit competitor in this tournament, Josh Woods is a decorated college wrestler he was a two time NCWA All American and National Runner-up. He also runs camps for Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes such as Alex Nicholson, Seth Petruzelli, Mike Perry and Tom Lawlor. He also has tournament experience having won the top prospect tournament back in 2017, he then took a break to compete in and win Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions. He has all the right the tools to go on and win this tournament and he has to be one of the favourites to go all the way.
Prediction
This tournament is made for Josh Woods, his back ground will see him have a clear advantage of Kenny King, King is a fantastic competitor so should not be overlooked I am sure he won’t make it easy for woods. I see Woods as one of the favorites for this tournament with all his accolades in college wrestling, MMA and BBJ competition so he has all the tools he needs to win this tournament.
PJ Black vs. Tony Deppen
PJ Black
PJ Black is veteran in this tournament, also being the most well travelled he is a complete wrestler but typically likes to fly high. Known as the Dare-Wolf due to his in ring style, he is also adept at keeping to the mat, he is a true hybrid wrestler and has the ability to do well in this tournament. However he hasn’t had the most successful tenure since joining the ROH roster, so this is a great opportunity to carve out some success.
Tony Deppen
Tony Deppen will be looking to show everyone he is more than just a indy darling, the 11 year veteran has competed for some of the top independent promotions. Last year Deppen competed for over 25 promotions. He has been a main stay at GCW for the past 5 years and was the GCW’s Extreme Champion for 315 days, he’s a rough and ready hybrid wrestler who could go on to surprise his opponents.
Prediction
I see an upset here with Tony Deppen picking up the win and advancing to the block semi finals, PJ Black is a well travelled competitor but that should not faze the 11 year vet in Deppen. Deppen will be out to show that just because he has not travelled as much as Black, he’s just as good and I see him getting the win here.
Top 5 Picks to Win the Tournament
5) Tracy Williams
4) Fred Yehi
3) Dalton Castle
2) Josh Woods
1) Jonathan Gresham
Top 5 to Competitors watch
5) Wheeler Yuta
4) Tony Deepen
3) Josh Woods
2) Fred Yehi
1) Jonathan Gresham
Highlights of the matches will be aired on their weekly ROH TV show but you can catch all the matches in full on honour club. This looks set to be a great tournament with some great wrestling from some of the best technical wrestlers from America. Due to travel restrictions international talent such as; Mark Haskins, Joe Hendry, Doug Richards, Ren Narita and Yuji Nagata were unable to participate. That just means who ever goes on to win this tournament will have several challengers ready and waiting once things get back to normal.
Team Venom Media will be watching all of the action to provide news, reviews and recaps of each round of the ROH Pure Tournament.
Andrew More
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