Nerdly » ‘Ring of Honor: Pure Title Tournament

05th Oct2020

‘Ring of Honor: Pure Title Tournament – Week 3’ Review

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s Ring Of Honor review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and Suspiria is a horror movie in America and Tuesday in Aunt Carol’s basement. Those pants are slimming on you! Okay, let’s get to more from this fabulous Pure Title Tournament…toots!

Match #1: Fred Yehi def. Silas Young – Block A First-Round Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

Silas Young has been a fixture in ROH for the better part of the past eight years and is a two-time former World Television Champion. Fred Yehi spent those same eight years competing on the independent circuit and has never stepped inside an ROH ring. While their careers have taken different paths, both men are more than capable of making a deep run in the tournament. Young has a well-deserved reputation for being a tough-as-nails brawler who’s not unwilling to take short cuts. However, “The Last Real Man” also has shown that he’s one of the best technical wrestlers in the sport when he chooses to wrestle that style and adhere to the rules. Yehi, one of the top free agents in pro wrestling, is an outstanding technical wrestler in his own right. “The Savageweight” holds victories over stars such as former ROH World Champion Eddie Edwards, Jonathan Gresham, Flip Gordon, Matt Riddle, Killer Kross, MJF, Brian Cage, Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin. Yehi is a former Evolve Tag Team Champion with Tracy Williams and won the Full Impact Pro Title in 2016 and held it for a record 562 days. Fast facts: Young is 11-6 against participants in this tournament. Yehi has made it to at least the semifinals in eight of the past 11 tournaments he’s competed in. Yehi put Young in an Indian Deathlock, but Young used his first of three allotted rope breaks. Yehi punished Young with a series of knee strikes in the corner to his face and chest. Yehi trapped Young in a Koji Clutch. Young tried to escape, but Yehi countered into a crucifix for a two count. Young rallied with a tornado DDT off the middle tope for a two count. He followed with a superplex, running knee and Anarchist Suplex. Yehi caught Young with an inside cradle for a near fall. Young went for the Milwaukee Plunge, but Yehi moved and Young landed on his feet. Yehi stomped Young’s foot, swept his leg and trapped him in an inside cradle to score the upset at 13:00. Yehi advances to the Block A semifinals against the winner of next week’s match between Tracy Williams and Rust Taylor.

My Opinion: 3.9 out of 5 – Yehi and Young gelled real well together, like turtles and Hos. Yehi lived-up to his supreme technician reputation, especially when Young tried to muscle his younger opponent around the ring. Yehi just felt like a breath of fresh air, not just as a new arrival to the roster, but in his skill-set and demeanor. I wanted this to go even longer, but at least you got a smart match with precise wrestling that delivered every bit as much as it advertised.

Match #2: Josh Woods def. Kenny King – Block B First-Round Match

The following is courtesy of rohwrestling.com:

As an 18-year veteran, two-time former ROH World Television Champion and former ROH World Tag Team Champion, Kenny King has a significant edge over Josh Woods in pro wrestling experience and accolades. In their only previous one-on-one match, King successfully defended the World Television Title against Woods in 2017. So under normal conditions, King undoubtedly would be the favorite against Woods. However, in a match contested under Pure rules, all bets are off. Woods, the 2017 ROH Top Prospect Tournament winner, was an outstanding collegiate wrestler at Central Florida, where he won a national championship and was a four-time All-American. He also was the captain of the 2012 US MMA team and has run camps for MMA stars such as King Mo, Seth Petruzelli, Alex Nicholson, Mike Perry and Tom Lawlor. Woods is determined to become a champion in ROH, but King is just as motivated to once again wear gold around his waist, as he is currently the only member of La Faccion Ingobernable not to be a champion. Fast facts: Woods broke into pro wrestling in 2014 when he signed a developmental deal with WWE. He spent two years at NXT and trained under Billy Gunn and former ROH star Adam Pearce before coming to ROH. … King has an 8-1 record in one-fall matches in Baltimore (the site of the tournament), since April 2012. King went for a leapfrog, but Woods caught him in an ankle lock and transitioned into a seated double anklock. King slid under the bottom rope to the floor, which was ruled a rope break.

Woods was about to punch King in the face, but he stopped himself. King took advantage of the hesitation by connecting with a closed fist to the face that rocked Woods. King received a warning from the referee for the punch. Woods shook off the effects of the blow and hit an overhead belly to belly suplex. Woods followed with a running knee strike in the corner to score a two count. Woods hit GTS near the ropes, and a staggered King took a spill to the floor. Once he was back inside the ring, King hit Royal Flush and went for a cover. Woods’ right arm was under the ropes, which the referee ruled a rope break. King went for a superplex off the middle rope, but Woods countered into a twisting superplex. King caught Woods in a single-leg crab with 10 seconds remaining in the 15-minute time limit. Woods held on until the time expired. The match went to the judges. Woods was declared the winner by split decision. Sumie Sakai and Will Ferrara voted for Woods, while Gary Juster went with King. Sakai said the difference was King using a punch to the face. Woods advances to the Block B semifinals against the winner of next week’s match between PJ Black and Tony Deppen.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – King may be the better all-around fighter of the two, but Woods delivered more here and showed more as well. I really enjoyed how Woods stayed to the ground as much as he could, which of course plays right into his strengths. King didn’t do anything better than anybody else out there, but he managed to prove how sound he is in all the important areas. I imagine this will be seen as the weakest match of the tournament, but since this was an excellent bout, I suppose that says great things about this tourney as a whole.