PHILADELPHIA — Jonathan Gresham went into his ROH Pure Title defense against Josh Woods at Death Before Dishonor Sunday night at the 2300 Arena as the undisputed best Pure wrestler in the sport.
On this night, however, Woods proved to be better than the best.
In a career-defining victory, Woods pinned Gresham in 20:01 to capture the Pure Title and hand Gresham his first-ever loss in a Pure Rules match.
The bout appeared to end in a draw at the 11:46 mark when the referee counted both men’s shoulders down on an inside cradle. However, Gresham said he wasn’t going to allow his record to be tarnished by a draw, and he demanded the match be restarted.
It ended up costing him the title, as Woods went on to score the winning pinfall after landing a wheelbarrow suplex from a tombstone position.
With the victory, “The Technical Beast” added his name to a star-studded list of Pure Champions that includes Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, AJ Styles, Jay Lethal and Nigel McGuinness.
Gresham had been 12-0 in Pure Rules matches, including seven successful title defenses, and hadn’t lost a match of any type since December 2019.
Gresham had held the Pure Title since winning it in a tournament last October.
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