ROH Pure Championship
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The Pure Championship was a title contested for in the North American independent professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor.
Matches for the Pure Championship are conducted under three simple Pure Rules:
- Each wrestler has three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls during the match. After a wrestler exhausts his rope breaks, submission and pin attempts under the ropes by the opponent are considered legal.
- There are no closed-fist punches to the face allowed in a Pure match, only open-handed slaps or chops to the face are allowed. Punches to other parts of the body (save for low-blows) are permitted. The first use of a closed fist will get a warning, and the second will cause the wrestler to be penalized a rope break. If he is already out of rope breaks, he will be disqualified.
- A wrestler is subject to a twenty count by the referee if the wrestler goes to the floor.
While not a rule itself, it is worth noting that unlike other championships, the Pure championship can change hands on a disqualification or count out.
On August 12, 2006, the Pure Title was unified with the ROH World Championship when ROH World champion, Bryan Danielson defeated Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England. About 2 weeks later in St. Paul, Minnesota, after a World Title rematch in 2 out of 3 falls ended in a draw with both wrestlers having one fall a piece, Bryan Danielson said to McGuinness, "I think we are phasing out the Pure Title, but I think it should belong to the man who made it." Danielson then gave McGuinness the title belt as a sign of respect between the two.
[edit] Title history
| Wrestler | Reigns | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Styles | 1 | February 14, 2004 | Boston, Massachusetts | Defeated CM Punk in a tournament final to become the first champion. |
| Vacated on April 23, 2004 when Total Nonstop Action Wrestling pulled Styles from ROH. | ||||
| Doug Williams | 1 | July 17, 2004 | Elizabeth, New Jersey | Defeated Alex Shelley in a tournament final to crown the new champion. |
| John Walters | 1 | August 28, 2004 | Braintree, Massachusetts | |
| Jay Lethal | 1 | March 5, 2005 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Samoa Joe | 1 | May 7, 2005 | New York City, New York | |
| Nigel McGuinness | 1 | August 27, 2005 | Buffalo, New York | |
| Bryan Danielson | 1 | August 12, 2006 | Liverpool, England | Unified into the ROH World Championship. |
[edit] Trivia
- The title was originally named the ROH Pure Wrestling Championship
- A.J. Styles defeated CM Punk in the finals of an 8 man, one night tournament to crown the first champion. The Tournament took place at ROH's Second Anniversary show and also featured John Walters, Chris Sabin, Doug Williams, Matt Stryker, Josh Daniels and Jimmy Rave.
- Renamed the ROH Pure Championship after Styles was stripped of the Pure Wrestling Title due to being unable to wrestle for ROH as he became a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling exclusive wrestler. ROH considers the "pure wrestling championship" and the "pure championship" to be two distinct titles. There is no mention of Styles on ROH's website as having held the "pure championship."
- On April 29, 2006, the Cleveland event (Weekend of Champions Night 2) saw the first ever title vs. title match in Ring of Honor as ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson took on ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness. The match was contested under Pure Title rules, but both the World and Pure Titles were on the line. Pure champion Nigel McGuinness won the bout by countout, but as only the Pure title can change hands on a countout both champions retained. The two men faced each other again on August 12 in Liverpool, England in a match where the World title could change hands on a countout or disqualification, in which Danielson defeated McGuinness to unify the championships.
