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Cook’s ROH TV Review 10.26.20

October 26, 2020 | Posted by Steve Cook
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Cook’s ROH TV Review 10.26.20  

Hey kids! Tonight, we see the finals of Block A & Block B in the ROH Pure Wrestling Tournament! It’s been a long & crazy trip, but we’re almost near the end. Let’s hook em up!

Cook’s ROH TV Review 10.26.20

A video package showcasing the Final 4 in the Pure Wrestling Tournament starts us off.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to Ring of Honor Wrestling and breaks down last week’s action. We get a look at the closing to Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi & some words from Hot Sauce! He puts over Yehi as what pro wrestling should be, and one of the best in the world. They will cross paths again. Jay Lethal didn’t even mention his name, he doesn’t know enough about him to feel any way about him. He has lost sight of the path, and Tracy Williams is breathing down his neck. Now he’s biting his nose off and he’s in his face. We see the closing to Josh Woods vs. PJ Black. Silas Young has some words on behalf of Woods. Woods has no reservations about facing Jonathan Gresham. Woods wants reservations though, since he’s hungry. He also wants a hug. In addition to the semi-finals, we’ll also see Matt Taven vs. Vincent.

Video package featuring Jonathan Gresham & Josh Woods to hype up their match…which is next!

Block B Finals: Josh Woods (w/Silas Young) vs. Jonathan Gresham: Woods has had more takedowns than anybody else in the tournament. Gresham holds a 7-1 advantage over Woods in ROH, including 3-0 in singles matches. No wonder they were asking if Woods had reservations. Gresham takes him time shaking the hand of Woods. Slow start, Woods with an early grappling advantage. Gresham ducks outside one time, back in and Woods still out-grappling Gresham. Woods picks Gresham up, and moves him right towards the ropes, which Gresham grabs for his first rope break of the tournament. Back together, Woods with a gutwrench on Gresham , he slams down Gresham and maintains the grip. They go round & round, Woods dumps Gresham outside as we go to commercial. During that commercial, a suplex to the outside gave both men some pain. Both men favoring an arm. Gresham dragonscrews Woods on the middle rope. Gresham goes up top, Woods is back up, grabs Gresham’s bad wrist, and slams him off the middle rope with that wrist control! Gresham needs to use his second rope break to survive. Woods picks Gresham up and tries to follow up, but Gresham regains his bearings and locks in the octopus stretch. Woods has to go for the ropes, but Gresham has both arms locked! Some shots to the back of the head! Woods fights out and slams Gresham down! Back & forth, Gresham wrenches Woods’ unpadded knee! Woods kicks out of the figure four attempt, but that knee buckles on a leapfrog! Gresham tries to follow up, inside cradle by Woods, they go round & round, Woods gets two. Back up, Gresham surprises Woods with the old sunset flip for three!

Winner: Jonathan Gresham (12:00 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/4

Fun little outing here that didn’t quite get out of first gear to me. Some interesting storytelling via wrestling move though, and I suspect we haven’t seen the last of these two wrestling each other.

Matt Taven vs. Vincent: Well, never mind that, as Vincent attacks from behind during Taven’s entrance. Vincent says he should have stayed home. Rams his head into the barricade, hits a cutter on the floor! Big kicks on the floor, tosses him into the barricade, and looks for something under the ring. It’s a table! Taven put Vincent through a table a couple of weeks ago and Vincent wants to do the same to Taven. He lays Taven on the table & drags a ladder out from under the ring. That’s a tall ladder, at least twelve feet. Taven is beaten and placed on the table, Vincent slowly goes up the ladder…swanton bomb through Taven & the table!

No match.

Video package covering EC3’s arrival in ROH and Shane Taylor’s issue with him. EC3 knows all about Taylor. They fight for the same things. Taylor’s mad because his name wasn’t mentioned? Grow up! Get over it. Taylor responds by saying he had to grow up early on the streets of Cleveland. He fights for his people. EC3 says that Taylor has yet to earn his respect. The Briscoes have earned his respect. Taylor says they’re going to adjust his attitude. EC3 says that Taylor has been warned.

Then a video package on our next match, Jay Lethal vs. Tracy Williams. What’s with everybody in this fed being mad when their name isn’t mentioned?

Block A Finals: Tracy Williams vs. Jay Lethal: Williams has made the most submission attempts in the tournament. Lethal is 2-1 in tag team matches against Williams, no mention of singles matches so I suppose this is the first. Handshake and a commercial prior to the match. Tieup into the corner. Headlock by Lethal, reversal by Williams, into a wristlock by Lethal. Williams gets out and finds a wrist lock of his own on the mat. Pinfalls for each. Single leg takedown by Williams, Lethal re-takes control and locks in the old Indian Deathboard (copyright Caprice Coleman). Williams with a deathlock on the mat, and Lethal has to use his first rope break. Williams with another leg lock, off the ropes, rollup by Tracy two, he tries to lock in the Crossface and now Lethal has to use his second rope break! This has been Williams’ M.O. this whole tournameent. Now Lethal on the offensive, locks in a half crab, Williams rolls out and gets a leglock of his own. O’Connor roll by Lethal, then the figure four! Williams goes to the ropes right away as we go to commercial. We return, and Williams has a “urekarome” locked in? Ian might know how to spell that but I sure don’t. Lethal works it into a pinfall attempt. Lethal had the edge during the commercial, but Williams is back on top now. He teases the punch, but uses the elbow instead. Exchange of strikes goes in Williams’ favor as we hit the 10 minute mark. Cravate! They go outside, evade each other but Williams hits the front dropkick. Williams seems to have tweaked his weak shoulder on the landing. Todd Sinclair checks on Williams, then starts the twenty count. Williams stares at the Pure Championship belt, and rolls back in the ring. He needs that belt! Williams talks some smack, and Lethal dropkicks that injured shoulder. Stomping away on it now. He shows some hesitance in doing so, but he wants to win this thing. Shoulderbreaker gets two, and Williams has to use his second rope break while in the Fujiwara armbar. Lethal still working that shoulder. Williams fights back, they exchange strikes, Lethal enziguris Williams shoulder to regain the advantage. Elbow by Williams, he tries to go up top but Lethal chops him. Lethal tries to follow him up, Williams hits the DDT on the turnbuckle! Spinning clothesline by Lethal, then the piledriver! Lethal’s foot is on the ropes! No more rope breaks for Lethal, Williams sets up the crossface! He’s not quite got it in, Lethal gets out, hits a cutter! Lethal Injection! Final rope break for Williams! They both had to do it to stay in it. Sinclair’s count gets to seven. They get up and exchange shots. Lethal targeting that shoulder with double axehandles. Another enziguri to the shoulder. Williams with shots, Lethal arm twists Williams down to the mat and goes up top…Hail to the King! He calls for the Lethal Injection, goes for it and Williams catches him with a rear naked choke! Lethal goes for the ropes, but that doesn’t work! Lethal rolls out of it into a pinfall attempt, but Williams twists around into the crossface! Lethal taps!

Winner: Tracy Williams (17:29 via submission)
Match Rating: ***3/4

A bit of an upset here! Lethal was sure he would meet his buddy Gresham in the final, but only one of them made it! A very good match as you would expect from these two.

Williams vs. Gresham in the finals next week! Happy wrestling!

7.5
The final score: review Good
The 411
Two really solid matches this week to set up what hopefully will be the best match of the tournament next week. That's what you always hope for from a finals, right? Only real issue I had this week was the tease of a Taven vs. Vincent match, they could have set up that beatdown a different way. Minor gripe.
legend

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ROH TV, Steve Cook