Ring Of Honor TV – September 30, 2020: With The Karate Busters….Or Something
IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling
Ring of Honor
Date: September 30, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni
It’s week three of the Pure Title Tournament and that means we could be in for another good show. The first two weeks were both pretty solid as it’s a relatively easy concept to grasp. There is something smart about just running bare bones wrestling matches and that’s what they have been doing around here. Just keep doing that for a bit. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Quick video on the Pure Title.
Opening sequence.
Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and we look at the end of David Finlay beating Rocky Romero.
Finlay is proud to win but wants to beat a legend in Jay Lethal.
Matt Sydal beat Delirious and he’s proud to beat his long time wrestling rival. He thanks the wrestling gods and now he’s going for the finish against Jonathan Gresham.
Fred Yehi talks about growing up in a very drug heavy environment but he saw wrestling as a kid and knew it’s what he wanted. He saw that as his way around drugs and crime so he gave it everything he had. Yehi wound up wrestling D1 in college and always admired Bryan Danielson. Now it’s time to make Silas Young tap on his way to the Pure Title.
Silas Young grew up with five older brothers so he knows what it’s like to take a beating. He grew up in this business wrestling against some big guys and now he is one of the few multiple time ROH TV Champions. While he has been away, he has been training in Brazilian ju-jitsu so you can’t prepare for him. Young hasn’t seen much of Yehi but he has seen enough to move on. He was in the most recent Pure Rules match before the tournament and Jonathan Gresham had to cheat to beat him, so Yehi shouldn’t be a problem.
Pure Title Tournament First Round: Fred Yehi vs. Silas Young
I love the stats they throw in, such as Young’s record against everyone in the tournament. They fight over a lockup against the ropes to start and I guess it’s a referee’s decision to not call it a rope break. Yehi elbows him in the face and we have another standoff. Young’s wristlock doesn’t last long so it’s a hammerlock on the mat for a change. Back up and we hit the test of strength until Yehi sweeps the leg for the break.
Young is already frustrated and gets taken down again in another knuckle lock. This time it’s Young pulling on the leg to take over but Yehi reverses into a standing Indian deathlock. Young rolls over for the first rope break and we take a break. Back with Yehi pulling Young off the middle rope as commentary calmly explains what happened while we were away (simple, quick, effective).
Yehi starts stomping on the fingers and it’s a Koji Clutch to keep Young in trouble. Young slips out though and hits a running big boot in the corner. A tornado DDT gives Young two and they both need a breather. Yehi is back up and grabs a German suplex but Young hits a regular suplex of his own. A quick small package has Young in more trouble but he’s right back with the Regal Roll. The springboard moonsault misses though and Yehi gets in another small package for the pin at 13:00.
Rating: C+. That’s quite the relief as they were teasing a time limit judges’ decision or Young winning and Yehi is a lot more interesting at this point. Giving Yehi a win over Young is a nice surprise and something that could mean a little something for him going forward. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Yehi in the past and it’s a good thing to see him getting another chance in the next round.
Josh Woods talks about being the Top Prospect in 2017 and winning all kinds of college and amateur championships. He has Kenny King, who is a little arrogant and doesn’t seem to think much of Woods’ abilities.
Kenny King is ready to win the Pure Title to make another step towards total dominance of ROH. Woods is dangerous but King has been training in MMA to be ready for this match. He doesn’t care about the rules and Woods can call Shredder, Mr. Miyagi or the Ghostbusters but it won’t help.
Pure Title Tournament First Round: Josh Woods vs. Kenny King
They go to the mat to start before fighting over arm control. King wins a battle of the armbars before it’s time for more grappling on the mat. Woods tries a Kimura and then a triangle choke but can’t get either in full as we take a break. Back with grabbing some weird double ankle lock, sending King to the rope for his first break. King doesn’t seem to agree so he pulls Woods to the floor and hammers away, setting up the Tranquilo pose on the apron.
Back in and Woods knees away, only to get dropped with a right hand. That’s good for a warning so the frustrated King grabs the chinlock. Woods breaks it up in a hurry and a running knee in the corner gets two on King. Back up and the Royal Flush connects but Woods uses the rope break for the save.
Woods is sat on top but comes back with a super spinning suplex and they’re both down in a heap. They’re back up again and Woods’ Seismic Toss is countered so he grabs a rollup for two more. We have a minute left and they trade strikes in the corner until Woods misses a running kick, setting up a half crab from King as time expires at 15:00.
Rating: C+. This was a different kind of King and that’s a good thing compared to his usual self. King is good, but his normal style doesn’t really suit a tournament like this. It’s nice to see him switching things up to be more appropriate for something like this as a lot of people might not do so. At the same time, Woods is pretty much a perfect fit for the thing and didn’t need to change a thing. Good match too.
Woods wins via decision with Sumie Sakai and Will Ferrara voting for Woods while Gary Juster voted for King. Cool, as he’s the more interesting of the two.
Overall Rating: B-. We’re done with the third week and I’m liking this more and more every time. They have stripped everything else away and all we have left is a pair of wrestling matches between people who can have entertaining wrestling matches. They have laid out the rules and are seeing who can win under said rules, which means the first time someone cheats, it is going to be a big deal. This is a nearly completely fresh start and it is working out very well. Check these shows out if you are looking for something bare bones but still rather well done.
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