Last week: The Pure Championship Tournament came to an end with Jonathan Gresham defeating Tracy Williams to become the new ROH Pure champion after Shane Taylor Promotions overcame The Briscoes & the debuting EC3.
ROH TV Episode 477
November 7, 2020
Baltimore, MD
Quinn McKay was here to introduce the viewing audience to another episode of ROH TV coming off the events of last week with Jonathan Gresham becoming the first Pure champion in over fourteen years. The new champion had some words following his victory.
Jonathan Gresham spoke about the responsibility of being the ROH World champion. Gresham claimed that RUSH didn’t continue the tradition of defending the ideals of honor; something that he now will do as the Pure champion. With Jay Lethal, Tracy Williams and a man wearing a Gresham octopus mask standing behind him, the Pure champion welcomed everyone to the new era of honor.
Dak Draper was a part of the interview series seen throughout the last few weeks. Stating his father being his inspiration for being the star of any moment, Draper explained how during his days as an amateur wrestler he was the crème de la crème. Draper actually got a WWE contract after his college days. Draper left WWE and finally found himself as a wrestler and gained an opportunity to join the ROH roster.
After falling short in wresting the Television Championship from Dragon Lee, Dak went back to the drawing board in terms of broadening his grappling skills. Draper was shocked he was made an alternate in the Pure Championship Tournament considering his amateur wrestling background; just like Brian Johnson who too was a Pure Championship Tournament alternate. Draper was shocked to discover how lacking Johnson was in regards to peer’s respect and blamed his opponent for the evening for being seen as a person lucky to be in ROH instead of deserving like himself. For Draper, this is his movie & he’s the star – something Johnson will never be.
Pure Rules Match: Dak Draper vs. Brian Johnson
Following the Code of Honor, Brian Johnson unleashed a closed fist to the face that resulted in a warning. Draper was stunned & being hit by the flying body of “The Mecca”. Sliding clothesline connected for Johnson. Draper came off the mat, hooking Johnson by the waist. Johnson quickly grabbed the ropes for the first rope break of the bout. When Johnson turned around, Draper unleashed a big right hand for his first & only warning. Using a cross body block, Draper took himself & Johnson to the floor. Johnson barely made it back in before the twenty count, running into a tilt-a-whirl slam. Working over Johnson’s left arm saw Draper in complete control heading into the commercial break.
Johnson attempted a double underhook suplex, but ended up feeling a doctor bomb. Using another rope break to save himself from a pin attempt, Johnson was only left with one rope break. Draper came out of the corner with a big boot in mind, but missed everything. This allowed Jonson to pull off the Tower of London … to gain a near fall!
Kicking Johnson away, Draper pulled off a failed pinning combination that started off a series of pin attempt exchanges. Johnson bit his way out of a waist lock, only to be tossed onto his opponent’s shoulders. Johnson elbowed his way out of the situation, using a springboard clothesline to set up a rope-assisted lateral press. The referee saw this, taking Johnson’s final rope break. Johnson wouldn’t be deterred, hitting a neck breaker to gain a two count thanks to Draper getting his foot on the bottom rope. Slapping Draper to his feet, Johnson made a crucial mistake as Dak was able to get underneath his opposition after Johnson hesitated from throwing a punch & getting himself disqualified. Draper executed that Mile High Slam to end Johnson’s night with a three count.
Dalton Castle vs. Brody King
The former World champion found himself being shoved around the ring any time they tied up. Dalton Castle left the ring, tripping Brody King when he approached the ropes to follow. Castle kept the grounded King on all fours while raining down forearms. Muscling his way off the canvas, King drove Castle back first against the turnbuckles several times. Back dropping Castle, King couldn’t follow up as he collided with the corner instead of splashing his opponent. King took a pair of knees to the jaw, only to explode with a clothesline. King was in complete control as he continuously pounded Castle’s back. Senton splash for the former Tag Team champion ended in a two count before the commercial break.
Stuck in a seated abdominal stretch, Castle found his chest pounded with forearms. Cornering Castle for a clothesline failed for King as he ran into a DDT. For every three strikes Dalton threw King could down his opponent with one; so Castle went for the sleeper. King freed himself from the submission, but not the exploder suplex-knee strike combo. King swung himself into a German suplex. Bang-A-Rang attempt failed as King countered with a pile driver for a two count. Dey got up a clubberin’ with King winning that battle. “The Peacock” cinched in the sleeper again when he stopped a follow up attack, only for King to pitch him outside. Dumping Castle over the guardrails to get a breather allowed Brody to reassess his current position. King didn’t want a count-out; sending Castle back in before the twenty count. King got hung on the ropes, taking another knee strike. Castle inadvertently charged into the Boss Man Slam. Snap German suplex was topped by a lariat from King. Hoisting Castle up, King executed that Gonso Bomb to pick up the three count.
Overall: The first episode of ROH TV post-Pure Title Tournament was a solid one with the company wisely sticking to the format that has worked so well for the last two months by having extensive sit-down interviews either reintroducing wrestlers (Draper, Johnson & King) or continuing to tell their story (Castle). All the interview segments did a fantastic job to heighten the anticipation for each bout and allowed people like Draper, Johnson & King a chance to highlight their personalities like never before. The action wasn’t up to the standards set by some of the previous weeks with Draper-Johnson being a solid affair that seemed a little too even considering the size difference.
Definitely appreciated the fact ROH may have Pure Rules matches going forward without the title being involved that could set the rankings for eventual Pure title bouts. The main event was better than Draper-Johnson with Castle showing a more aggressive streak while the bruiser Brody survived & eventually thrived against a former ROH World champion. Not a must-see episode like the previous weeks, but definitely a strong showing from ROH that is being incredibly consistent in its TV presentation in the best way possible.
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