LogFAQs > #944960260

Bidoof's Match Recommendation (Week 3)
Samoa Joe (c) vs. James Gibson for the ROH Pure Championship
Ring of Honor, New Frontiers - April 5, 2005
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av82676795/

Now that we're back to no themes, I can recommend a match I was originally considering for the second week of this great experiment. And with ROH bringing back the Pure Championship with their return to running shows, it feels like a good time to showcase one of the best matches in the original run of the belt.

For those unfamiliar with the Pure Championship, it was the original secondary singles title of the promotion. Unlike the IC or the US title in WWE, this belt had a specific set of rules all matches were contested under.

• The Code of Honor must be upheld. Each match started with a handshake between the opponents. Not really a rule unique to this belt as that was supposed to be how all Ring of Honor matches started but still worth mentioning.
• Wrestlers had three rope breaks in a match. After that, you could no longer break your opponent's submissions or pins on the ropes.
• Closed-fist punches to the face are not allowed, only slaps or chops. Should you haul off and punch your opponent in the face, you are deducted a rope break as a penalty. If you are out of rope breaks, you're disqualified.
• Title could change hands on a count out.

The idea is that these rules would allow the wrestlers to work a different style of match and give them new tools to work into the structure. In my opinion, it was kind of a mixed bag (especially when they started having Nigel McGuinness exploit the rules for cheap finishes) but I appreciated the attempt at making something different. We'll see what happens with it this time around.

Anywho, as I said before, this match is one of the strongest contests for the belt. Samoa Joe had just won the belt and was looking to establish it as equal to the world title. James Gibson joined ROH in February and was eager to show everyone that he was greater than his push in WWE. On paper, the match is already a good one but the Pure rules added another layer to their match while also not really taking anything away from it. You didn't feel like their hands were tied by the stips like what we've gotten from so many gimmick matches these days. I look forward to seeing what everyone else thinks, particularly if you've seen some of the other Pure matches from ROH.