TheROH Pure Championshipis aprofessional wrestling championshipcontested for in the Americanprofessional wrestling promotionRing of Honor(ROH). The current champion isLee Moriartyin his first reign.
| ROH Pure Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
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 The first design of the belt (used from years 2004–2006; 2020–2023) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Ring of Honor(ROH) All Elite Wrestling(AEW) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date established | February 14, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current champion(s) | Lee Moriarty | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date won | July 26, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other name(s) | |||||||||||||||||||
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History
editThe title was originally named the ROH Pure Wrestling Championship andA.J. StylesdefeatedCM Punkin the final of an eight-man, one night tournament to crown the first champion. The tournament took place at theSecond Anniversary Showand also featuredJohn Walters,Chris Sabin,Doug Williams,Matt Stryker,Josh Daniels andJimmy Rave.[1]
Styles was forced to vacate the Pure Wrestling title in the wake of the Rob Feinstein controversy that resulted inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling(TNA) abruptly ending its talent-sharing agreement with ROH (pulling all of its contracted performers, including Styles, from all ROH shows). However, for almost ten years ROH considered the Pure Wrestling Championship and the Pure Championship two distinct titles—not a single title that was merely renamed/re-branded. There was no mention of Styles on ROH's website as having held the Pure Championship, and it was seldom, if ever, acknowledged in commentary that Styles held the previous version of the title or that it even existed until in January 2014, when ROH released a DVD about Styles, describing him as the first ROH Pure Champion.[2]Doug Williamswould win the vacant title after he defeatedAlex Shelleyin the final of a one night mini-tournament atReborn: Completionon July 17, 2004.[3]
Retirement
editOn April 29, 2006,Weekend of Champions: Night Twosaw the first ever title vs. title match in Ring of Honor asROH World ChampionBryan Danielsontook on ROH Pure ChampionNigel McGuinness.The match was contested under Pure title rules, but both the World and Pure titles were on the line. McGuinness won the bout by countout, but since only the Pure title could change hands on a countout, he did not win the ROH World Championship. The two faced each other again on August 12, 2006 inLiverpool,England,with Danielson defeating McGuinness tounifythe ROH Pure Championship with the ROH World Championship.[4]Danielson and McGuinness competed in a rematch for the ROH World Championship later that month, wrestling to a one-hour draw. After the match, Danielson announced that the ROH Pure Championship had been officially retired, and gave the title belt back to McGuinness to keep.[5]
Revival
editOn January 30, 2020, nearly 14 years after it was retired, Ring of Honor announced they were reinstating the ROH Pure Championship, with a tournament to crown a new champion beginning in 2020.[6]Following ROH taking a five-month hiatus due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,a 16-man tournament was conducted in August 2020 to crown the new champion, which ultimately becameJonathan Gresham.[7]
Pure wrestling rules
edit- Matches for the ROH Pure Championship are conducted under "Pure Wrestling Rules." As of 2023,[8]the rules are as follows:
- Each wrestler has three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls.
- After a wrestler exhausts his rope breaks, submission and pin attempts on or under the ropes by his opponent are considered legal.
- No closed-fist punches to the face permitted.
- Open-handed slaps or chops to the face are permitted.
- Punches to the rest of the body are allowed, excluding low blows.
- The first use of a closed fist to the face receives a warning.
- The second use of a closed fist to the face results in disqualification.
- The title can change hands via disqualification and countout.
- Outside interference will result in automatic termination from the roster for the wrestler that interferes.
- If a title match reaches its time limit without a winner being declared, the winner is decided by a panel of three judges.
Inaugural championship tournament (2004)
editTournament bracket
edit| Quarterfinals ROH Wrestling tapings | Semifinals ROH Wrestling tapings | Finals ROH 2nd Anniversary Show February 14, 2004 | ||||||||||||
| A.J. Styles | 7:35 | |||||||||||||
| Jimmy Rave | Pin | |||||||||||||
| A.J. Styles | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Matt Stryker | 20:46 | |||||||||||||
| Matt Stryker | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Josh Daniels | 8:29 | |||||||||||||
| A.J. Styles | 16:37 | |||||||||||||
| CM Punk | Pin | |||||||||||||
| CM Punk | Pin | |||||||||||||
| R. J. Brewer | 13:01 | |||||||||||||
| CM Punk | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Doug Williams | 10:44 | |||||||||||||
| Chris Sabin | 8:18 | |||||||||||||
| Doug Williams | Pin | |||||||||||||
Belt designs
editThe Original ROH Pure title design (2004–2006; 2020–2023) is similar to the first design of theROH World Championshipfrom years 2002 to 2004 was with different wording in the middle center plate and slightly different middle and side plats with different shaping, wording and designs that are also slightly different from the first ROH World title design from 2002 to 2004 as well.[9][10]
On March 31, 2023, a new design of the championship belt debuted onSupercard of Honor,making it the second design in the title’s history.[11]
At ROH Supercard of Honor 2023, a new and second title design was revealed. The main plate is silver with the top saying "RING OF HONOR," a red text in the middle saying the word "PURE," and text on the bottom saying "WRESTLING CHAMPION." The side plates are also silver with the current Ring of Honor logo.
Reigns
edit
Overall, there have been 15championshipreigns between 13 different champions. The title has been vacated once.A.J. Styleswas the inaugural champion, whileJonathan Greshamwas the first champion upon the title's revival.Wheeler Yutais the only champion to have more than one reign with the title, with a total of three reigns.Nigel McGuinnesshad the longest reign at 350 days with 17 title defenses.Bryan Danielsonhad the shortest reign at less than a day since the title was decommissioned after being unified with the ROH World Championship.
Lee Moriartyis the current champion in his first reign. He defeated Wheeler Yuta atDeath Before Dishonoron July 26, 2024, inArlington, Texas.
References
edit- ^"ROH official event results".Ring of Honor.Archived fromthe originalon July 18, 2012.RetrievedApril 7,2012.
- ^"AJ Styles: Styles Clash (2 Disc Set)".Ring of Honor.
- ^Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 17, 2004)."ROH Reborn: Completion".Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database.RetrievedDecember 2,2020.
- ^Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 12, 2006)."ROH Unified".Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database.RetrievedDecember 2,2020.
- ^r/SquaredCircle, snowshoeBBQ."Why did ROH retire the Pure Championship?".Reddit.RetrievedJuly 16,2024.
- ^ROH Reviving Pure Championship - 411 Mania
- ^Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 23, 2020)."ROH Wrestling #476".Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database.RetrievedDecember 2,2020.
- ^"ROH Wrestling Pure Rules Clarified".Archived fromthe originalon 2023-02-26.
- ^Unknown, AimarEraFutebol."Unbo xing ROH Pure Championship Belt with Marty Scurll".Reddit.RetrievedMay 24,2023.
- ^Scurll, Marty."Unbo xing ROH Pure Championship Belt with Marty Scurll".Www.youtube.RetrievedMay 24,2023.
- ^Thomas, Jeremy (April 1, 2023)."New ROH Title Designs Revealed At Supercard of Honor".411Mania.RetrievedApril 3,2023.
External links
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