{"id":105914,"date":"2020-10-07T15:37:23","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T20:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=105914"},"modified":"2020-10-07T15:37:23","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T20:37:23","slug":"heydorns-take-rohs-pure-championship-tournament-not-just-a-palette-cleanser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/10\/07\/heydorns-take-rohs-pure-championship-tournament-not-just-a-palette-cleanser\/","title":{"rendered":"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: ROH\u2019s Pure Championship tournament not just a palette cleanser"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3564612452\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>If you\u2019re able to confine yourself to just a pro wrestling bubble, it would appear to you that the COVID-19 pandemic was over. I\u2019m talking you, in a room, with a television, all the necessary streaming log-ins, and a proper amount of food and drink. If that was your world, then, what pandemic?<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-102397 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As the rest of the world\u2019s entertainment halts and slows to a snail\u2019s pace, the wrestling world is booming. Just in October, we have WWE\u2019s three weekly shows in Raw, Smackdown, and NXT, WWE\u2019s satellite shows 205 Live and Main Event, AEW\u2019s Dynamite and Dark, the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 tournament, Impact Wrestling\u2019s weekly television, GCW\u2019s The Collective on FiteTV, PPV events that include WWE\u2019s Hell In A Cell and Impact Wrestling\u2019s Bound For Glory, and Ring Of Honor\u2019s Pure Championship tournament. I\u2019m probably forgetting something and I\u2019m also now sweating thinking about all of this content. Plus, again, what pandemic?<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve sacrificed adult responsibilities or parental duties to consume this glorious madness, props to you and expect a call from me seeking time management tips. If you\u2019re picking and choosing, well, pick the ROH Pure Championship tournament. It\u2019s more than just a palette cleanser.<\/p>\n<p>ROH was one of the last companies to the table in terms of putting on a pandemic-era product. The result is not only a responsible product, in which they are instituting health recommendations from the Maryland Athletic Commission, but it\u2019s also an entertaining one that features a drastically different style and presentation than any other company running.<\/p>\n<p>The in-ring action is where it all starts. If you\u2019re looking for flips, dives, or high-risk maneuvers, this tournament will recalibrate that expectation instantly. If you\u2019re looking for pro wrestling that looks and presents like an authentic sporting endeavor, this delivers and then some.<\/p>\n<p>When ROH calls this the Pure Wrestling Tournament, they mean it \u2013 so much so that wrestlers aren\u2019t allowed to use close-fisted strikes within their offensive repertoire. The offense is rooted in holds, kicks, pins, and other standard wrestling tropes that send the viewer back to 1950\u2019s wrestling in a time machine. Added excitement and drama are built into each match with usage of time limits as well as an allotted number of rope breaks that allow the participants to use the ropes to break a hold in an effort to stay alive in the match.<\/p>\n<p>Just like in real sports, rules are important here. Not only are they clearly defined, but they are emphasized in an impactful way with visual displays of the time clock along with the available rope breaks per competitor hovering like lingering timeouts in an NFL game. It\u2019s pure competition in the truest sense.<\/p>\n<p>The in-ring action is set up and dramatically framed with in-depth video promos that highlight the competitors in the ring prior to their match. Not only are these wonderfully shot from an artistic perspective, but they give historical perspective on the wrestlers. The \u201cwhy\u201d is highlighted for each competitor in terms of what makes them tick, the history they may or may not have with an opponent, and why they need to win.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2005212587\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>These videos are smart for ROH in that it defines their stars immediately ahead of an important match, but also begins to cultivate long-term audience investment into their characters at a time when wrestling characters are running amuck like the dreaded Ewoks from Star Wars. Most importantly, these videos articulate the goal of each competitor \u2013 winning. Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham don\u2019t beat around the bush. They want to win. They say their goal out loud, providing clear stakes and a rooting interest for fans out of the gate.<\/p>\n<p>As a company, ROH needed a win like this. Critical acclaim hasn\u2019t come easy for them since Cody and the Elite left to form AEW. This gives them some. It also gives them an opportunity to reintroduce themselves to the wrestling market. They have been showcasing their nuanced differences, but also defining their talent and narrative structure in a way that is believable and fresh.<\/p>\n<p>The Ring Of Honor Pure Championship tournament is drastically different than the other wrestling out there. The \u201cpure\u201d nature plays well without fans, as the focus is on winning a match, not entertaining. The production and vibe mirrors that effort. To that end, because of its uniqueness, it does serve as a palette cleanser in the wild, wild west of pro wrestling\u2019s pandemic era.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just different, though.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s good, too. Really good. Like the title of the tournament, it\u2019s wrestling in its purest form. Stars, stakes, and story &#8211; what more do you need?<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>NOW CHECK OUT HEYDORN&#8217;S PREVIOUS TAKE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/09\/23\/heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-clash-of-champions-2020\/\">HEYDORN\u2019S TAKE: Don\u2019t hold me to this \u2013 WWE Clash Of Champions 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-4043908946\"><div id=\"pwtor-1047990641\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>If you\u2019re able to confine yourself to just a pro wrestling bubble, it would appear to you that the COVID-19 pandemic was over. I\u2019m talking you, in a room, with a television, all the necessary <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2020\/10\/07\/heydorns-take-rohs-pure-championship-tournament-not-just-a-palette-cleanser\/\" title=\"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: ROH\u2019s Pure Championship tournament not just a palette cleanser\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":91717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,6454,53],"tags":[6457,166,167],"class_list":["post-105914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-heydorns-take","category-opinion_stafftakes","tag-pure-championship","tag-ring-of-honor","tag-roh"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/01\/ROH_Logo_2020_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105916,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105914\/revisions\/105916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}