ROH crowns first Pure Champion since 2006
For the first time since 2006, Ring of Honor has a Pure Champion.
Airing this weekend on their TV show and Monday on Honor Club, Jonathan Gresham defeated Tracy Williams in the tournament finals to win the title. He now holds two championships as he is one half of the Tag Team Champions with Jay Lethal.
Gresham’s path to the title started in Block B with wins over Wheeler Yuta, Matt Sydal, and Josh Woods while Williams was in Block A and defeated Rust Taylor, Fred Yehi, and Lethal on his way to the finals.
The Pure title was created in 2004 with a specific set of rules, first held by AJ Styles after he defeated CM Punk in a tournament final. It lasted just over two years before it was unified with the World title in a match between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness. ROH announced they were reviving the title earlier this year.
ROH held a set of fanless TV tapings in Baltimore, Maryland, with a 16-man tournament that kicked off on TV in mid-September.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.