ROH_Pure_Tournament
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.
| ROH Pure Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | ROH |
| Date | September 12 to October 31, 2020 |
| City | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Venue | UMBC Event Center |
| Attendance | 0 (behind closed doors)[lower-alpha 1] |
Jonathan Gresham, winner of the tournament and new ROH Pure Champion | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Professional wrestling |
| Location | |
| Dates | September 12, 2020–October 31, 2020 |
Tournament format(s) | Single-elimination tournament |
| Participants | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champion | Jonathan Gresham |
| Runner-up | Tracy Williams |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Host | Quinn McKay |
| Commentators | Ian Riccaboni |
| Caprice Coleman | |
| Ring announcer | Nick Lendl |
| Referees | Todd Sinclair |
| Joe Mandak | |
| Judges | Gary 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]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Lethal defeated Dalton Castle by pinfall | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match | 13:10 |
| 2 | Jonathan Gresham defeated Wheeler Yuta by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match | 10:24 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Finlay defeated Rocky Romero by pinfall | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match | 13:01 |
| 2 | Matt Sydal defeated Delirious by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match | 9:56 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Yehi defeated Silas Young by pinfall | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match | 13:00 |
| 2 | Josh Woods defeated Kenny King by split decision | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match | 15:00 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tracy Williams defeated Rust Taylor by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block A match | 14:25 |
| 2 | P. J. Black defeated Tony Deppen by pinfall | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 1, Block B match | 12:06 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Lethal defeated David Finlay by pinfall | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block A match | 14:57 |
| 2 | Jonathan Gresham defeated Matt Sydal by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block B match | 13:27 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tracy Williams defeated Fred Yehi by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block A match | 14:03 |
| 2 | Josh Woods defeated P. J. Black by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament round 2, Block B match | 13:27 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Gresham defeated Josh Woods by pinfall | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament, Block B final | 12:00 |
| 2 | Tracy Williams defeated Jay Lethal by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament, Block A final | 19:29 |
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Gresham defeated Tracy Williams by submission | Singles match, ROH Pure Tournament final, for the ROH Pure Championship | 14:37 |
| Round 11[4][5][6][7][8] | Round 2[9][10] | Block Finals[11] | Championship[12] | ||||||||||||
| Jay Lethal | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Dalton Castle | 13:10 | ||||||||||||||
| Jay Lethal | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| 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 Williams | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Tracy Williams | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Rust Taylor | 14:25 | ||||||||||||||
| Tracy Williams | 14:37 | ||||||||||||||
| Jonathan Gresham | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Jonathan Gresham | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Wheeler Yuta | 10:24 | ||||||||||||||
| Jonathan Gresham | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Matt Sydal | 13:27 | ||||||||||||||
| Delirious | 9:59 | ||||||||||||||
| Matt Sydal | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Jonathan Gresham | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Block B 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Josh Woods | 12:00 | ||||||||||||||
| Josh Woods | Decision | ||||||||||||||
| Kenny King | 15:00 | ||||||||||||||
| Josh Woods | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| 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]
| Judge | Wrestler |
|---|---|
| Gary Juster | Woods |
| King | |
| Will Ferrara | Woods |
| King | |
| Sumie Sakai | Woods |
| King |
- Held without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- "Tournament To Crown New Pure Champion Kicks Off In Columbus, Pittsburgh". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
- "Everything You Need To Know About The ROH Pure Title Tournament". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
- Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- "Pure Tournament Bracket". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-15.
- "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament Kicks Off With Jay Lethal Versus Dalton Castle, Jonathan Gresham Versus Wheeler Yuta". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-15.
- "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament First Round: David Finlay Versus Rocky Romero, Delirious Versus Matt Sydal". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-09-22.
- "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.
- "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.
- "ROH Recap: Pure Title Tournament Block Semifinals: Jay Lethal Beats David Finlay; Jonathan Gresham Makes Matt Sydal Tap". www.rohwrestling.com. 2020-10-13.
- "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.
- "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.
- "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.
