Ring of Honor Review - November 9, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dak Draper def. Brian Johnson in a Pure Rules Match

Even though the ROH Pure Championship Tournament is over, some matches will continue to be contested under Pure Rules as part of the Pure title division. Speaking of the tourney, Draper and Johnson served as alternates and neither guy had to chance to compete. To be completely honest, I couldn't have cared less about these guys pre-pandemic, yet the character profiles that aired on them before this bout were great in giving me and other viewers more of a reason to want to care about them. Johnson, who's never been the flashiest guy in the ring, especially impressed me with what he had to say and it made their match that much more meaningful as a result. This was terrific stuff and both guys had standout showings. Where the hell was this after Draper won the Top Prospect Tournament last year?

Brody King def. Dalton Castle

The commentators mentioned something about there being ROH World Championship rankings. That was the first I've heard of it, and even if it isn't an official thing, the point of this match was to determine who should be in the running for a shot at the top title. In the pre-match video packages, Castle discussed his loss in the ROH Pure Championship Tournament and talked about how he should be taken seriously, whereas King declared that he's on his own now and that he has his sights set on ROH World Champion Rush. This was another really good, hard-hitting match. Castle is slowly looking like his old self again, which is wonderful, and King has potential as a singles star. This was a big win for King and I'm looking forward to watching his ascent up the card.

Overall Show

I didn't know what to expect from ROH TV once the ROH Pure Championship Tournament ended, but it appears that I'll have nothing to fear because this was an excellent show. Draper vs. Johnson is a match I had no desire to see on paper, but those pre-match video packages featuring sit-down interviews with both men were fantastic. I hope that style sticks because it did wonders for the main event, too. Ring of Honor probably saw that what they were doing with the Pure title tourney stuff worked and now plan on keeping a similar format. If so, I'm thrilled because, as I've said before, this is the most I've enjoyed the weekly ROH product in a long time.