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By Kevin Eck
The return of Pure wrestling has been such an overwhelming success that ROH officials have decided to add a new wrinkle to it.
At the Final Battle pay-per-view on Dec. 18, ROH will present the first-ever Pure Rules tag-team match. The competitors in the bout will be announced next week.
In addition to the standard rules for Pure singles matches, the following rules will be in effect for Pure tag-team contests:
* A legal tag requires the wrestler on the apron to reach over the top rope and tag his partner hand-to-hand while holding the tag rope with his other hand.
* Each wrestler has five seconds to exit the ring after a tag is made.
* Each time a team breaks up a pinfall or submission, that team will lose a rope break. Breaking up a pinfall or submission when a team is out of rope breaks will result in a disqualification.
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In other Pure wrestling news, “The Mercenary” Flip Gordon announced this week that he will be competing in the division.
Gordon, who has a background in MMA and amateur wrestling, is determined to prove that he’s more than a high flyer.
I’m coming to the Pure Division#TheMercenary @ringofhonor pic.twitter.com/cCqwzxO9wl
— The Mercenary (@TheFlipGordon) December 1, 2020
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ROH host and backstage correspondent Quinn McKay was my guest on the latest episode of the “ROHStrong Podcast,” which drops on Monday morning on ROHWrestling.com and most podcast platforms.
In a revealing discussion, McKay talked about being physically attacked by The Allure’s Angelina Love and Mandy Leon on the “ROH Week By Week” set; why she challenged Love to a match and whether she thinks she can actually defeat her; training to be a wrestler at the ROH Dojo before she became a member of the broadcast team; and her days playing roller derby and working as an on-air personality at a radio station.
She also took issue with my opinion that someone with her limited amount of wrestling training has no business being in the ring with a seven-time world champion and 20-year veteran such as Love.
When I asked the 5-foot McKay if perhaps she has a Napoleon Complex, she replied: “Whenever you say things like this and you use that snarky tone in your articles, you’re undercutting who I am. Because you make jokes of it, it allows other people to think that I’m a joke, and I’m not. You haven’t seen what I’m capable of. Angelina Love hasn’t seen what I’m capable of.”
McKay went on to say that she wants to wrestle Love not only to stand up for herself after being assaulted, but also to stand up to The Allure on behalf of the entire women’s locker room.
“All [Angelina Love] does is sew mistrust and misunderstanding and discontent and toxicity in every locker room she goes to,” McKay said. “And she will not do it at the company I love.”
As much as I admire McKay’s courage, I still think she’s getting in over her head. And, no, that’s not a joke about McKay’s height. I know she’s sensitive about that.
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Some exciting news regarding the Final Battle broadcast will be made early next week.
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I’m excited about the four-way match signed for Final Battle between Tony Deppen, Dak Draper, LSG and Josh Woods in which the winner receives a title shot with ROH World Television Champion Dragon Lee in the show.
Defeating a wrestler as talented as Lee will be extremely difficult, but one of these four rising stars will get an opportunity to have a career-making night.
In case anyone is wondering why Deppen, who is not under contract with ROH, is in the match, it’s because a large number of fans have been vocal about wanting to see more of him after his strong showing in the Pure Title Tournament, and ROH officials listened.
Another great opportunity… im coming https://t.co/8WgadxmkxH
— Tony Deppen (@Tony_Deppen) December 3, 2020
In my opinion, Woods is the favorite to win the four-way. He just scored the biggest victory of his career by defeating two-time former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal on last weekend’s episode of “Ring of Honor Wrestling. Prior to that, Woods made it all the way to the final four in the Pure Title Tournament.
With Woods having so much success as a singles wrestler, I wonder what it means for the future of 2 Guys 1 Tag, the team formed by Woods and his mentor, Silas Young.
. @woodsisthegoods picks up a HUGE victory on ROH TV in a Pure Rules match against @thelethaljay. Watch the match in full for free here: https://t.co/dHbbDWIOib#WatchROH pic.twitter.com/rFCGbZwH9D
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 1, 2020
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Rhett Titus, who was recently revealed as a member of The Foundation, has issued a challenge to Delirious. Titus, who engaged in a bitter rivalry with Delirious more than a decade ago, said he is on a mission to rewrite chapters of his career.
The Foundation. @TheLethalJay @TheJonGresham @RhettTitusANX @sauce_williams https://t.co/kW0vcyPyr4 pic.twitter.com/tMnOQhVxO8
— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 3, 2020
I reached out to Delirious via email for a comment regarding Titus’ challenge.
Here’s his reply:
“!/>&%?#*^^<+*$]@??&xx\\+=^!!!!!!!”
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It’s the holiday season, and you know what that means. Yes, the always fun and festive Christmas Surprise 10-man tag match will take place on “Ring of Honor Wrestling” on Christmas weekend.
Designated team captains will select their team members at random, which means rivals could become partners, and allies could become opponents.
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Until next time, keep safe and stay #ROHStrong!
Kevin Eck is a veteran pro wrestling journalist who has worked for The Baltimore Sun, WWE and WCW before joining ROHWrestling.com. Eck’s Files appears every Friday.
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