Last week: The Pure Championship Tournament continued with Tracy Williams submitting Rust Taylor and PJ Black pinning Tony Deppen.
ROH TV Episode 473
October 10, 2020
Baltimore, MD
Like the last few weeks, the winners from the previous episode had some thoughts on their victory & their upcoming tournament matches. Tracy Williams – a man always looking for the next challenge to push him as a wrestler – found himself without the option of wrestling for six months. In his first match back, Williams stated Rust Taylor knocked the ring rust off of him in “Hot Sauce’s” journey to restore honor back to Ring of Honor. But Williams wouldn’t be in the ring with an unknown to him as he brought up the history between himself and Fred Yehi including their time in the Catchpoint faction. Williams was excited to showcase his skills against someone who knows him so well.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was PJ Black as he harped on his skills that will make the three rope break stipulation in Pure Rules matches his way to victory because he has so many submissions & holds in his back pocket. Black seemed unfazed by the fact he’ll be facing someone like Josh Woods in the next round.
Block A Semifinal Match: Jay Lethal vs. David Finlay
Though this is the first time they’ve competed in singles competition, David Finlay is 2-0 against the ROH World Tag Team champion in tag team competition. The former ROH World champion found himself trying to avoid being taken down unsuccessfully. A stalemate resulted in the two attempting to find a point of interest. Jay Lethal had the left arm in mind when it came to cinching in holds, only for Finlay to be one step ahead of him; resulting in the pace quickening and David actually performing a hip toss to send Lethal over the top rope. Three minutes in the twenty-minute time limit had passed when Lethal landed the first significant shot of the match with an enzuguri topped by the baseball slide to the floor. Finlay was ready for that patented dive, but Finlay had him scouted and avoided the maneuver while Lethal caught himself from crashing & burning. Lethal executed that cartwheel dropkick off the hip toss after avoiding an incoming Finlay prior to the commercial break.
Finlay was in control during the ten-minute warning with the replay of David executing a backbreaker during the commercial was shown. Tripping Finlay into the figure-four leg lock attempt, Jay failed; but did pull off the Lethal Combination for a two count. Finlay rushed the corner Lethal was climbing, only for Jay to jump over him. When Lethal turned around he walked right into the spear. Finlay didn’t go for the pin; instead opting to put Jay in the Indian deathlock. Lethal was contemplating about using a rope break as the pain shot through his legs.
Lethal had no choice, using the ropes to save himself from further damage. Finlay and Lethal ended up fighting on the apron after Jay exited the ring. David went from punching to kicking at Lethal’s leg. Jay stopped the driver on the apron, dropkicking Finlay to the floor for that tope. Lethal couldn’t do three topes as usual, rolling Finlay in for Hail to the King. Finlay got his boots up, only for Jay to stop himself from hitting said boot. Finlay pulled a stunned Lethal into the small package, only for the Tag Team champion to kick out. Lethal propelled into the ropes, coming off with Lethal Injection for the pin fall victory.
Vincent made a surprising appearance, cutting a promo in the ring where he talked about his truth; his truth of once being lost in the darkness. Now in the spotlight, Vincent is ready to gain a level of success never before seen by making enemies. The #FollowTheTrend vignette that’s been airing as of late finally played in full with the revelation that it signaled the return of Matt Taven. Taven entered the ring and immediately took his old ally-turned-adversary down before choking him with his own belt. Just the Tip connected for Taven before he tore a portion of the ring canvas apart to expose the wooden beams. Proclaiming that Vincent made him do this, Taven executed the Climax on the exposed portion of the ring!
Taven wasn’t done, pulling out a table and setting it up at ringside. Vincent was helpless as Taven beat him onto the table. Taven came off the top rope, frog splashing Vincent through the table! Taven promised this wasn’t the end of their issues.
The “Control Your Narrative” vignette aired again with a spray-painted message stating, “You have been warned”.
Block B Semifinal Match: Jonathan Gresham vs. Matt Sydal
Jonathan Gresham came out wearing his ROH World Tag Team title belt unlike what he did during his first round bout. In this second first-time encounter, both men traded holds with Gresham going after the legs of the highflier. Countering a knee bar, Matt Sydal cranked his opponent’s legs before cinching in an ankle lock. “The Octopus” countered the submission; going after Matt’s arms and eventually tying him in a seated STF. Gresham got a little too comfortable, being caught in a crucifix topped by the arm bar. Both men ended up rolling into the ropes to force a break, but no rope breaks lost on either side. Avoiding a standing moonsault, Gresham simply back elbowed Sydal before the commercial break.
Sydal was chopping & kicking Gresham with all of his might prior to executing a modified Michinoku driver. Gresham blocked the cobra stretch that helped Sydal win his previous match, but not the dragon screw leg whip. With less than half the time left in the time limit, Sydal kicked Gresham’s leg (out of his leg). Countering a victory roll, Sydal landed a big roundhouse kick. Before Sydal could capitalize, “The Octopus” kicked Matt’s legs from underneath him. Gresham had the Mexican surfboard in mind. Gresham let Sydal go out of midair, hooking the left ankle on the way down with his left leg while grabbing Sydal’s left arm in a modified chicken wing. Sydal quickly tapped out for another sudden submission in favor of Gresham.
Another “Control Your Narrative” vignette aired with a full shot of EC3 training. EC3 is coming to ROH.
Overall: From an in-ring perspective this may have been one of, if not the best episodes making up the Pure Tournament thus far. The stories of all the wrestlers adapting to the Pure Rules and potentially sacrificing their health to avoid moments like losing a rope break or keeping their anger in check to not punch someone. Both matches were mostly ground based and showcased a different level of grappling acumen from both men who haven’t shown that they are catch wrestlers first & foremost. Another interesting aspect is the fact Gresham has won twice so suddenly in his matches; making him come across as incredibly unpredictable while his tag partner has his typical path to victory with the Lethal Injection.
But there were some storytelling beyond the in-ring action. The assumed vignettes promoting the impending arrival of EC3 in ROH finally confirmed that the former Impact champion will be in a ROH ring in the near future. Matt Taven also returned to demolish his former friend. While the return was great, everything leading up to it was rough thanks to no explanation to new or lapsed fans as to who Vincent is, what he’s about, and why Matt Taven attacked him. The commentators did a solid job in a rushed manner, but the ROH production crew could have easily played a quick video package showcasing Vincent putting Taven out of action following “Final Battle” even if it would’ve made it a little obvious Taven was coming back soon. Great stuff mostly all around with some wonderful wrestling and storytelling.
