The former Braun Strowman has been announced for his first match post-WWE.
Strowman, now going under his real name Adam Scherr, will face Ring Of Honor star EC3 on the second installment of EC3’s web video series, “Free The Narrative”. This will be the 37-year old’s first apperance outside of WWE since he was released earlier this year.
The “Free The Narrative 2” event will be premiering on October 1st, 2021 on Vimeo. The first installation of event was held back on May 27th and featured EC3 taking on Matt Cardona, along with a slew of names from other promotions like John Skyler, Moose and more. The description for the event reads as followed: “Free The Narrative” is completely independent of any wrestling promotion. Set to an original score, FTN blends professional wrestling, cinema, and harsh reality in what will become the true definition of “creative freedom” for an industry that desperately needs it, and any performer that truly seeks it.”
Scherr started his wrestling career with WWE in 2014 and has yet to wrestle in any other promotion. During his seven year stint with the company, Scherr was a two time Tag Team Champion, and a one time Intercontenial and Universal Champion.
EC3 is set for action at ROH Glory By Honor night one.
ROH announced today that EC3 vs. Brian Johnson has been added to the card for Glory By Honor night one. Glory By Honor nights one and two are taking place at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, August 20 and Saturday, August 21. Both shows will air live on HonorClub.
EC3 defeated Flip Gordon at ROH’s Best in the World pay-per-view earlier this month. Gordon is challenging Bandido for the ROH World Championship in the main event of Glory By Honor night one.
ROH noted that EC3 inserted himself into the World title picture by defeating Gordon and is looking to keep his momentum going against Johnson.
“A win over EC3 would be the biggest of Johnson’s career, and it couldn’t happen at a better venue for the Philadelphia native,” ROH wrote.
Here are the updated cards for Glory By Honor nights one and two:
Glory By Honor night one (Friday, August 20) —
ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Flip Gordon
ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham (w/ Jay Lethal) defends against Rhett Titus (w/ Tracy Williams)
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King & Bestia del Ring)
EC3 vs. Brian Johnson
Glory By Honor night two (Saturday, August 21) —
Steel cage match: Matt Taven vs. Vincent Marseglia (Taven’s future ROH World title shot is on the line)
Bandido & Rey Horus vs. Rush & Dragon Lee
Violence Unlimited (Brody King, Tony Deppen, Homicide & Chris Dickinson) vs. The Foundation (Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus)
ROH has announced a new addition to the lineup for next month’s Best in the World pay-per-view.
EC3 vs. Flip Gordon will take place at Best in the World on Sunday, July 11. The PPV is taking place at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. It will be the first ROH show with fans in attendance since February 2020.
EC3 formerly hired Gordon as a mercenary during his feud with Jay Briscoe. EC3 lost to Jay at ROH’s 19th Anniversary this March, but they shook hands after the match and showed each other respect. Gordon defeated Mark Briscoe at 19th Anniversary after hitting a low blow near the end of the match.
On ROH TV last month, EC3 & Gordon defeated The Briscoes after Gordon hit Mark with Jay’s chain. EC3, who didn’t see Gordon use the chain, pinned Mark to get the win. When he was informed what Gordon did during a post-match interview, EC3 promised that violence would be coming to Gordon.
EC3 later interrupted a promo by Gordon on ROH TV and told him, “You have been warned.”
“In addition to this match being personal, it also could have implications for the ROH World Title picture,” ROH wrote. “Gordon is owed a title shot and is No. 3 in the current rankings. EC3 recently stated that his mission is to become ROH World Champion.” The ROH World Championship is currently held by Rush.
Here’s the updated lineup for Best in the World:
Brody King vs. Jay Lethal
Last Man Standing match: Josh Woods vs. Silas Young
The Big Takeaway: Flip Gordon and EC3 took on The Briscoe Brothers in a fun TV match, while PCO answered Brian Johnson’s open challenge. Also, Quinn McKay made her ROH debut.
The broadcast began with Ian Riccaboni checking in from the ROH Studio, rather than Quinn McKay. This is obviously because McKay headlines tonight’s show against Angelina Love. Riccaboni also notes that the ROH board of directors teamed up Flip Gordon and EC3 to take on The Briscoes for tonight’s show.
****
Flip Gordon and EC3 defeated The Briscoes (12:38)
Note: This match was filmed before EC3 was hospitalized with an infection. Best wishes go out to Ethan and I hope recovery is going well for him.
EC3 and Jay started the match out. Commentary put this over because of their phenomenal encounter at the 19th Anniversary show, which is currently in my top 5 matches of the year.
Both men grappled for a minute and exchanged a few head scissors, eventually coming to a stalemate. EC3 sent Jay to the other side of the ring where Gordon cheap shotted him. EC3 questioned Gordon’s antics, to which Gordon responded by tagging himself in.
Jay came in on a blind tag and sent Gordon to the mat with a headbutt. The Briscoes did a great job keeping in the fresh man in this match. Mark came in and started choking Gordon with his bandana. Gordon eventually was able to tag out to EC3, which sent us into a commercial break.
Back from the break and EC3 was in control of Jay until Gordon tagged himself in. EC3 stared him down for a few moments before stepping out of the ring. Gordon tried a springboard stunner but Jay shoved him down in mid air. Mark got a hot tag and demolished Gordon with the help of Jay. EC3 tagged himself in and got hit with the redneck boogie, but Gordon broke up the pin.
In the final sequence of the match, referee Joe Mandak was distracted by a chair that Mark Briscoe had introduced to the match. Gordon took advantage of this and punched Mark with a chain, letting EC3 hit his inverted DDT for the win. EC3 didn’t see Gordon hit Mark with the chain.
****
Brian Johnson had his best promo of his career before his open challenge. Johnson touched on how faction heavy ROH is, and boasted himself for standing alone. Johnson whined about not getting talked about and said he would do whatever it takes to get noticed, even if it included “bankrupting the Mercenary, mocking the narrative, cooking the Octopus into calamari, lassoing the Bull, ending the Purple Reign or making The Franchise fall.”
Another great quote from the promo: “Before you say the names Danielson, Punk, Nigel or Joe, Aries, Black, Richards, Cole, Lethal, Briscoe, Cabana or Steen; you better clear your throat and say the M.E.C.C.A. Because i don’t care who you are or who you align with, it’ll always be Mecca vs Everybody.”
PCO defeated Brian Johnson (6:57)
PCO accepted Johnson’t open challenge. Danhausen came out and said since he’s beaten Johnson multiple times, he has a gift for him. PCO came out.
Johnson tried to jump PCO before the bell but to no avail. PCO came back with fiery chops and sent Johnson over his head with a back body drop into a commercial break.
Back from the break and PCO back body drops Brian Johnson over the barricade. PCO started to “malfunction” as commentary put it and ran around ringside before launching himself into a barricade. Johnson took advantage of this and threw PCO into the barricade himself.
Johnson slid PCO back in the ring and went to the top rope. Johnson hit a great splash, but PCO sat up immediately after and “malfunctioned” again. Johnson was sent to the mat with a few punches while PCO climbed to the top rope and hit a PCOsault. Johnson surprisingly kicked out.
PCO chased referee Joe Mandak out of the ring and then returned to the ring, where he started ripping Johnson’s jaw apart. It was played off as a submission and Johnson submitted.
****
Angelina Love (w/ Mandy Leon) defeated Quinn McKay (8:01)
Love and McKay started the match with a lock up, which is a weird choice after having a almost year long feud. Love sent McKay to the mat with a wrist lock and then walked on her back. This sent us into a commercial break.
Back from the break and Love is bashing McKay’s head into the mat. Love eventually picked up McKay and nailed her with a flat liner, followed by locking in a Koji Clutch. McKay fought to get a rope break but was on the verge of passing out when Love let her go. Leon exclaimed at ringside that it wasn’t gonna end like that.
Love was showboating when McKay took advantage of an opportunity and hit a stunner. McKay followed it up with a great running powerslam that opened the door for her to get back in the match. McKay then locked in a standing cobra clutch, which Love didn’t really sell at all.
McKay still had the clutch cinched in when Leon stood on the apron and started yelling at McKay. McKay let go of the hold and entertained Leon’s bickering, allowing Love to recover and nail McKay with the “Botox Injection” kick for the win. As a stipulation of her winning, Love will get a first-round bye in ROH’s Women’s World Championship tournament this summer.
****
Final Thoughts: A lot to unpack here on a very eventful and newsworthy episode of ROH TV. The Briscoes and EC3/Flip Gordon had a great match. Briscoes lost again though, and I’m sticking with my theory that they are headed for a split.
Brian Johnson had the best promo I’ve ever heard from him personally and the best promo on ROH TV in some time. But then he loses to a 53 year old PCO. that hasn’t been on TV in months and has no general direction. It was an awful decision in my opinion, and had the results been reversed could have done a lot for Johnson.
Quinn McKay and Angelina Love was short, but sweet. In roughly 8 minutes they told a great story without giving away too much action. With the distraction finish, it’s clearly a story ROH wants to continue and have a bigger payoff for in the future, which is great, if it ends with McKay standing tall.
EC3 took to his blog to talk about the infection that has kept him out of action for the last month.
In the blog, he wrote about his experiences with a severe infection that occurred following his battle with COVID-19 last year, citing a torn toe tendon procedure and a cut suffered during a match.
“A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a swelling developing in my arm, and in other areas of my body,” he wrote. Paying it very little attention while using bro-science and internet diagnosis, I continued my daily missions and the overwhelming burdens I place upon myself in training, performing, business, and creative endeavors. When I thought about getting it looked at professionally, another thing would come up that I’d give priority.
“This repeated and I lived life normally, consistently going, no rest,” he continued. “Finally, after an attempt at some athletic based therapy, my arm became a gigantic, swollen, horrifying, ungodly, painful atrocity and I went to the ER. Next thing I knew, words like cellulitis, staph, and stenosis were thrown around, I was being pumped full of fluids, antibiotics, and morphine, and was in an ambulance to my STAYCATION DESTINATION, Advent Health Downtown Orlando.”
He continued to write that for the next ten days, he shut down both physically and mentally, tuning out family and friends.
“It was a reminder of both a childhood spent very ill, and a career spent where when things were very promising, began to reach an apex, and accomplishments being achieved I would drasticly be shattered with catastrophic injuries (torn ligaments, tendons, concussions etc.) Completely unforeseen. Completely unnecessary,” he wrote.
EC3 went on to write that he was now at home to heal and to rest, and he had circled three dates on his calendar, with May 27 being the first.
Last month, EC3 wrote on Instagram that he had been in the hospital with an infection. He has not wrestled since April 9, when he lost to Moose by DQ at a Game Changer Wrestling event.
The ROH star wrote on Instagram that he has been hospitalized for the last five days with an unnamed infection. The picture included in the post shows him in a hospital room.
:#ControlYourNarrative CAN KILL YOU,” he wrote.”That’s not strictly just an attention grabbing headline. it’s more of an update. Short version; an infection I neglected proper care for, put others people’s needs before [mine], went straight empath, caught up to me and broke me. Long version; it’s extensive, I’ve been hospitalized 5 days and we’ll need longer. Anyways I will heal, if you want to help drop a comment or a thought or affirmation. Please do no not text. PLEASE.all I ask. If you want to help let me be alone.”
His most recent match was against Moose at the GCW We Run This Town event as part of WrestleMania weekend. He lost the match via disqualification.
EC3 has most recently been a part of the Ring of Honor roster. He lost to Jay Briscoe at the ROH 19th Anniversary show on March 26th.
A grudge match has been confirmed for Ring of Honor’s 19th Anniversary pay-per-view.
On the latest edition of ROH Week By Week, it was announced that Jay Briscoe vs. EC3 will take place at the promotion’s 19th Anniversary PPV on Friday, March 26. The match was originally supposed to happen at Final Battle in December, but EC3 was pulled from that show due to pre-travel COVID-19 testing.
EC3 returned to ROH television last month and helped cost The Briscoes a number one contender’s tag team match. The storyline was that EC3 paid off Flip Gordon to interfere in the match.
The latest episode of ROH TV featured Briscoe and EC3 both taking part in a four corner survival match to decide ROH World Champion Rush’s challenger for the 19th Anniversary PPV. Briscoe and EC3 fought to the back near the end of the match. Jay Lethal then pinned Matt Taven to get the win after Taven was distracted by The Righteous’ Vita VonStarr.
Rush vs. Lethal for the ROH World Championship and Briscoe vs. EC3 are the first two matches that have been announced for the 19th Anniversary PPV. The event, which is ROH’s second PPV since the COVID-19 pandemic began, will be available via PPV and HonorClub. Every ROH title will be defended on the show.
Last year’s scheduled 18th Anniversary PPV didn’t take place due to the pandemic.
After being released by WWE during last April’s roster cuts, EC3 made his ROH debut at a set of television tapings that took place in August. EC3, who is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, also returned to Impact Wrestling in July. He faced Moose in a cinematic match at Bound for Glory in October.
EC3 was supposed to face Jay Briscoe at December’s ROH Final Battle pay-per-view but was pulled from the show due to pre-travel COVID-19 testing. On the ROH TV episode that premiered this past weekend, EC3 made his return and continued his storyline with Briscoe.
Here’s ROH’s full announcement regarding EC3’s contract:
Ring of Honor is pleased to announce that EC3 has signed with the company.
EC3, who had been pro wrestling’s hottest free agent since he hit the open market last summer, made a few appearances with ROH in the fall. He made his unannounced return on last weekend’s episode of ‘Ring of Honor Wrestling’ to confront Jay Briscoe.
EC3 and Briscoe had been scheduled to face each other at Final Battle in December, but the match was called off after EC3 tested positive for COVID-19.
Recognized as a two-time former world champion, EC3 boasts one of the most chiseled physiques in the sport and stellar speaking skills.
EC3 seized control of his narrative during his time as a free agent. A darker, more intense and more dangerous EC3 showed up in ROH declaring that he was on a quest to see if honor is real.
Now that EC3 is making ROH his home, he’ll have ample time to find out.
ROH has also announced over the past several weeks that Mark Haskins, Bandido, Amy Rose, Bateman, Brian Johnson, Sumie Sakai, Tracy Williams, The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser & Brian Milonas), Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, Rush, Dragon Lee, Kenny King, Slex, and ROH Dojo trainee Sledge have re-signed with the company. Plus, Rush and Dragon Lee’s father La Bestia del Ring has signed his first ROH contract.
EC3 has confirmed that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
He revealed his positive diagnosis to Chris Van Vliet. As a result, he will not be a part of Ring of Honor’s Final Battle event this Friday.
“I’ve been quarantined for a week to 10 days,” he told Villet. “At this point, I have covid, and I’m at the tail end of it. It sucked a little bit. Some of it wasn’t bad. I’m healthy so I was fortunate. It infected my parents who were visiting me, whoops, so they had to stay longer so I’ve had no alone time.”
“I would say I’m at 90%,” he continued.”This is the tail end of it. I’ve had none of the respiratory issues. It felt like the flu and a moderately bad cold some of the time.”
Others that have been removed from this weekend’s event include Bandido, Flamita, and Kenny King.
EC3 made his debut for ROH several weeks ago, starting a feud with Jay Briscoe. After refusing to look him in the eye and extending his hand to adhere to the Code of Honor, Briscoe was DQ’d in after refusing to take his foot off EC3’s throat, angry that EC3 wouldn’t look at him.
Changes are coming to the ROH Final Battle card due to four wrestlers being off the show.
Ring of Honor announced today that — as a result of pre-travel COVID-19 testing — Bandido, EC3, Flamita, and Kenny King will not be appearing at Final Battle. Bandido, Flamita & Rey Horus were supposed to defend their ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against Shane Taylor & The Soldiers of Savagery at Final Battle. EC3 was set to face Jay Briscoe in a grudge match. King didn’t have a match announced for the pay-per-view.
ROH stated that all four wrestlers are doing well and resting at home. It was noted that all other ROH performers and staff are safely in the ROH bubble after passing their second round of tests.
Final Battle will air on PPV and HonorClub starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time next Friday (December 18). Prior to the main card starting, Final Battle Hour One will air for free on several platforms at 8 p.m. Eastern. The changes to the Final Battle card will be announced during Final Battle Hour One.
ROH’s full announcement regarding Bandido, EC3, Flamita, and Kenny King being off Final Battle is available below:
With the health and safety of Ring of Honor’s talent, staff and fans the company’s No. 1 priority during the pandemic, ROH enacted stringent COVID-19 protocols in conjunction with the Maryland State Athletic Commission.
As a result of pre-travel testing, the following performers will not appear at the Final Battle pay-per-view on Dec. 18:
Bandido
EC3
Flamita
Kenny King
All four performers are doing well and resting at home. ROH wishes them a speedy recovery and looks forward to their return to action in 2021.
All other ROH performers, production staff and general staff are safely in the ROH bubble after passing their second round of tests.
Changes to the Final Battle card given this development will be announced during Final Battle Hour One, which airs free from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern on Best on the Planet, STIRR City, Facebook, YouTube, FITE, pay-per-view and for HonorClub members on ROHWrestling.com.
The first match has been announced for next month’s ROH Final Battle.
Jay Briscoe will face EC3 in a singles match, ROH confirmed today. EC3 made his debut for the company during their latest tapings, first appearing in a match against Briscoe two weeks ago. EC3 repeatedly refused to look Briscoe in the eye and extended his hand to adhere to the Code of Honor. This caused Briscoe to get upset, and was eventually disqualified after refusing to take his foot off of EC3’s throat.
EC3 said after the match that he has come to ROH to find out “if honor is real”, and said that Briscoe attacking him after extending his hand proved that it isn’t.
The feud has become heated enough that Mark Briscoe is looking for another tag team partner, as Jay has become too obsessed with EC3.
Final Battle is scheduled to take place on December 18. It will be held without an audience.
An in-depth look at WWE finances and the company going forward is the lead story of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Our lead story not just looks at the investors call this week, but goes through financial details and what they mean from the call, and looks at the landscape as well as things said that were misleading.
The new issue also covers:
TV ratings, streaming, value of the Thunderdome setting, Nick Khan’s debut on the call and his main comments, Vince McMahon talks his new management team, WWE numbers, new programming, plight of furloughed employees, company market value, cutbacks in expenses, Saudi Arabia, costs going up next month, how many people view the free tier of the WWE Network, Vince talks ratings, network subscriptions in the U.S. and abroad, how much money the company makes from television, and unique notes about merchandise sales.
Daniel Bryan’s statements regarding his career, how much longer he wants to do this, what he’s said about his own athletic ability, where he can be valuable and Roman Reigns’ opponens.
Hell in a Cell, a look at Survivor Series, changes from last year, the top of Raw, Money in the Bank, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Khabib Numragomedov’s last fight, Dana White talks if he will retire, Khabib says he will, plus UFC 254 with match-by-match coverage and poll results.
WWE talent and Twitch and comments by Paige, update on Thunderdome location after the end of November and why they have to move, we update the latest COVID outbreak in WWE, why Matt Riddle got a name change, brutal WWE match this past week, where wrestling stands in sports ratings, Canadian and U.K. ratings, donors to Trump and Biden’s campaign,why little was announced ahead of time for Smackdown, new names for lots of WWE talent, what former wrestler is WWE trying to keep from using his WWE name, and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Impact’s Bound for Glory. We look at the situation with Kylie Rae, the injuries, Ken Shamrock in the Hall of Fame and his relationship with Dwayne Johnson, Mick Foley and Bret Hart, Shamrock’s background plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings.
TripleMania press conference, the matches announced, the unique new promotional tie-in with Marvel and the first show announced with no date and why.
Detailed look at the television business, with ratings breakdowns in every segment for Wednesdays and every category for other shows, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
This week’s episode of The Bump features former Tough Enough winner Maven, Elias, Pat McAfee, and the NXT Tag Team champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
Mustafa Ali is the guest on this week’s episode of After the Bell with Corey Graves.
The company has abandoned their attempt to trademark the name Cody Rhodes, HeelByNature reported.. Cody Runnels was rejected last year from attempting to trademark the name after WWE’s failed to renew the rights on time. Additionally on October 30, Cody dropped trademark applications for ‘Slamboree’ and ‘The Match Beyond’.
Goldberg, Lita, Ultimate Warrior, The Usos, Eddie Guerrero, Trish Stratus, and Booker T will be added to the WWE Battlegrounds roster on November 6.
WWE PC’s YouTube page has Kacy Catanzaro recreating her favorite Royal Rumble moment.
Other Wrestling
Tony Khan talked to PWInsider about Alex Reynolds being knocked out in a recent match: “Yeah, you know, we’ve been recently doing everything we can to work on our protocols and make this as safe as possible work environment. I’ve added another independent neurologist to the staff. We’ve added an independent doctor at all the shows in addition to our staff medical team and we’re adding extra support. I’ve added a two-way feature where the referees can talk back to us if there are injuries so that the referee, you know, not all communication is going one way, and I’ve encouraged the referees to let us know what’s going on.”
AJPW announced that Zeus has tested positive for COVID-19. He will remain isolated in a hotel in Osaka until November 11. Their international Twitter account noted that there was no close contact with other AJPW wrestlers.
Fightful Select is reporting that EC3 has finished with Impact Wrestling for the time being and is now working for Ring of Honor through the end of the year.
TSN has an interview with Eddie Kingston, who talks about signing with AEW and his match with Cody.
Matt Hardy posted a video hyping his Elite Deletion match taking place at Full Gear against Sammy Guevara.
Looking Ahead: For the first time in 14 years, we will crown a new Ring Of Honor Pure Champion. Also on tab, Shane Taylor Promotions takes on the trio of EC3 & The Briscoes.
Quinn McKay welcomed us to the show. We get a promo package hyping up Tracy Williams vs. Jonathan Gresham. McKay notes that this is Gresham’s match to lose. She also reviewed last week’s encounter between Matt Taven and Vincent. She revealed that ROH will not tolerate another incident like this, and both men would be punished if it happens again.
McKay then replayed last week’s promos from EC3 and Shane Taylor to set up the six-man tag match.
Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Moses Maddox, & Jasper Kaun) defeated EC3 and The Briscoes after Taylor pinned Mark Briscoe (9:16)
EC3 started the match with Kaun. After an early lock up, EC3 immediately took Kaun down. Kaun rolled out, but baited EC3 right back in the ring. EC3 continued to dominate Kaun before tagging in Mark Briscoe. After some back and forth, Kaun sent Briscoe into the corner and hit a running splash, followed by Moses tagging himself in. After both men ran the ropes, Jay Briscoe tagged himself in and hit a double team maneuver on Moses.
We came back from break and all hell had broken loose. Kaun ran and ate a clothesline from EC3. Moses took advantage and smushed EC3 in the corner. Moses then ate a springboard dropkick from Mark Briscoe. Taylor and Jay made their way back in the ring, to which Taylor hit a V-Trigger type knee strike which only got a two count.
Taylor tagged out to Moses, who repeatedly stomped Briscoe in the corner, causing EC3 to enter the ring. The referee backed EC3 out of the ring while Moses tagged back in Taylor. Taylor knocked EC3 off the apron. Jay made the hot tag to Mark Briscoe, to which Briscoe double drop kicked Moses and Kaun off the apron. Briscoe went to the top and attempted a frog splash, but nobody was home. Taylor followed up the missed maneuver with his piledriver finisher for the win.
******
We shift our focus to the main event. We first heard from Tracy Williams, who admitted his time in ROH so far has been flawed by failures. He also admitted he has failed to restore honor. Williams said he called Gresham before the tournament began and told him he’d meet him in the finals. Williams called his shot and says he’d be the one holding the Pure Championship over his head by the end of the night.
Gresham talked about this phone call as well. He says this tournament is more than just the championship, but it’s based on the principle of The Foundation. Gresham said it’s his job to bring attention to the men and women who view the sport the way he does. Gresham also said that ROH had lost honor and identity. Gresham said that no matter who wins, The Foundation has achieved their goal in restoring Honor.
Jonathan Gresham submitted Tracy Williams to win the Ring Of Honor Pure Championship (14:36)
Williams wore a cast on his left shoulder, selling the injuries from last week’s match with Jay Lethal. Both men adhered to the Code Of Honor. Gresham and Williams exchanged holds and twists early, which resulted in both men rolling out of the ring. Gresham hit an arm drag on Williams on the hard ringside floor. Williams recovered rather quickly and gawked down Gresham. Gresham and Williams mutually agreed to get back in the ring. As Gresham worked on Williams’ ankle, we went to break.
Back from break. Gresham sprung off the rope and kicked Williams bare arm. Gresham got Williams on the ropes, which cost Williams his first rope break. Williams takes advantage and begins to work on the neck of Gresham. Williams worked Gresham down to the mat for a series of near falls. Gresham used his first rope break. Gresham and Williams made their way back to their feet, where Williams began to work on the neck of Gresham again. Williams applied a front face lock to Gresham, but Gresham countered with a brainbuster.
Williams popped back up very fast and chopped Gresham in the chest, which dropped him to the mat. Gresham made his way back to his feet quickly, and pounced on Williams, nailing his shoulder with an Engurazi. He followed it up with a bridging German suplex, which warranted him a two count. Both men got up fast, to which Williams stiffly clotheslined Gresham for a two count.
Back from break and Williams and Gresham are laying on the ringside floor from a body scissors maneuver that took both men out of the ring. Williams was the first one back in. Gresham tried to spring through the middle rope, but Williams caught him and planted him with a brainbuster. Williams immediately followed it up with a crossface. After being in the submission for 25 seconds, Gresham used his second rope break.
Gresham sprung up as quickly as possible and hit a series of running forearms onto a grounded Williams. Williams fought through the pain and spiked Gresham with his signature piledriver, which got him a two count after Gresham used his third and final rope break. Williams, clearly frustrated, brought Gresham to his feet. Gresham blocked a chop from Williams, spun him around, and locked in The Octopus for the win.
Jonathan Gresham is the new ROH Pure Champion!
Jay Lethal makes his way to the ring to celebrate with Gresham after the match. Williams shook hands with Gresham and exited the ring. Lethal straps the title on Gresham and exits the ring as well.
Final Thoughts:
ROH rolls on with another great show. The six-man tag match was excellent. Shane Taylor has improved SO much over his tenure in Ring Of Honor, He’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. It was refreshing to see The Briscoes back in action as well. Also impressed by Kaun and Moses, they have the potential to be a great tag team.
I honestly expected the finals of the Pure Championship tournament to be a longer match, considering the time limit being 60 minutes. The story was excellent though, and the odds on favorite of the whole tournament, Jonathan Gresham, won. He deserves it, he’s worked his ass off to become one of the best in the world.
A rivalry that has been building for months on Impact Wrestling will finally hit a crescendo as Impact Wrestling announced Friday that EC3 and Moose will face each other Bound For Glory at an undisclosed location.
It’s likely that means it will be an attempt at a cinematic match as none of their other match announcements have included that disclaimer.
The rivalry began when EC3 surprised Moose after a TNA Heavyweight title match on a late-July edition of Impact, dropping him and walking away. A month later, he did the same thing at Emergence and stole the TNA belt as he said he wanted to leave behind his past by destroying the title. In subsequent weeks, EC3 harassed Moose by giving out his cell phone number and tricking him into confrontations only to appear on video instead.
After being released during the WWE pandemic cuts, EC3’s return to Impact was announced during July’s Slammiversary. He also is working for Ring of Honor.
Bound for Glory is set for Saturday, October 24th and will feature World Champion Eric Young vs. Rich Swann, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kylie Rae, and Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns vs. Good Brothers vs. The North vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton in a four-way.
The company tonight posted a video, which can be seen below, showing a group of hooded figures walking down railroad tracks, wearing hoodies with “III” on the back. The phrase ‘control your narrative’ was also seen, which is a phrase of EC3’s since returning to the independent scene.
EC3 has mostly been seen in Impact since following his release from WWE. He has been feuding with Moose over the TNA World title that Moose has been claiming as his own in recent months. He was released by WWE as part of wide-ranging cutbacks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Since returning, ROH has focused on their Pure Tournament, where the winner will win the reactivated ROH Pure title. Thus far Jay Lethal, David Finlay, Fred Yehi, Tracy Williams, Jonathan Gresham, Matt Sydal, Josh Woods, and PJ Black are still in the tournament.
