Ring of Honor Review - November 2, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Shane Taylor Promotions def. EC3 and The Briscoes

I loved the video package that preceded this match, as it not only recapped EC3's backstage interaction with Shane Taylor from a few weeks ago but also included additional comments from both men. That made EC3's in-ring debut for Ring of Honor here feel more special. I also like the pairing of Taylor with Soldiers of Savagery, as they were completely directionless before they linked up with him. This was a fun six-man tag team affair where everyone had a chance to shine. The heels winning was a bit shocking just because I didn't expect EC3 to lose in his first match for the company, but it makes sense as it will mean more when EC3 eventually beats Taylor one-on-one.

ROH World Tag Team Champion Jonathan Gresham def. Tracy Williams to Win the ROH Pure Championship

Based on the style both of these guys tend to wrestle, I had no doubt they would kill against each other and that's exactly what they did. It started out slow, mind you, but I expected that to be the case with it being a tournament all about pure wrestling. The final stretch was especially excellent and Gresham emerging victorious genuinely surprised me considering he's one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions with Jay Lethal currently. Don't get me wrong, he perfectly encapsulates what that title stands for, but Williams had a ton of momentum and I was hoping he would win it instead. Then again, it's always possible he chases it and beats Gresham for the belt eventually. Either way, this was a hell of a tourney and ROH should be proud of how they handled it over the month and a half.

Overall Show

Needless to say, the two notable, very well-wrestled matches along with the accompanying video packages made this was a strong show. ROH TV has been a blast to follow since its return in mid-September and I can't praise the promotion enough for its execution of the ROH Pure Championship Tournament. The action was outstanding, the character profiles were put together tremendously well, and I was satisfied with the ultimate winner. Now the question is if they can keep it up with the resurrected Pure Championship going forward. Meanwhile, I'm interested to see what this show will look like now that the tourney is over. There's obviously feuds brewing between Matt Taven and Vincent as well as Shane Taylor and EC3, but what about everyone else? Fingers crossed ROH can continue to produce high-quality shows as this is the most I've enjoyed and have been engaged in the weekly product in years.