Someone Bring Back the Pure Title

[Thriller Ant]

The ROH Pure Championship used to be their number 2 belt. The rules (as listed on Wiki) are as follows:

Matches for the ROH Pure Championship were conducted under Pure Wrestling Rules. The three Pure Wrestling Rules are:

1. Each wrestler has three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls during the match. After a wrestler exhausts his rope breaks, submission and pin attempts under the ropes by the opponent are considered legal.
2. There are no closed-fist punches to the face allowed in a Pure match, only open-handed slaps or chops to the face are allowed. Punches to other parts of the body (save for low-blows) are permitted. The first use of a closed fist will get a warning, and the second will cause the wrestler to be penalized a rope break. If he is already out of rope breaks, he will be disqualified.
3. A wrestler is subject to a twenty count by the referee if the wrestler goes to the floor.

While not a rule itself, it is worth noting that unlike other championships, the ROH Pure Championship could have changed hands on a disqualification or count out.

This belt was unified with the ROH World Title in August of '06 in a very good match between Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson and hasn't been in existence since.

After watching the unification match and learning more about the rules, I love the concept of the Pure Title. Sure, there are the added rules, that gives so much more opportunity for creative booking with the rope breaks and the title changing hands on a DQ or countout.

So the question I ask in this thread is would you like to see some kind of championship contested under these Pure rules in WWE, TNA, or even return to ROH? I'll come back and chime in later.

 

[CH David]

I would enjoy seeing that sort of belt brought into the WWE or TNA. It is one that adds an element of intrigue into how the match is going to go. What if John Cena locks in the STF, and then his opponent uses his second rope break, what will they do to keep out of the STF. Or not being able to punch in the face, otherwise you lose a rope break. I would be all for it to make an appearance in WWE, TNA, or even back in ROH.

To see it come to the WWE would definitely bring some interesting scenarios. Granted they don't need more titles, but that is a topic for other threads. But if they were to bring it in, imagine some of the matchups. A wrestler like Randy Orton or CM Punk wouldn't be able to cheat their way out of the match and keep the title. They would lose it due to disqualification, which is one of those rules that I enjoy having. Triple H wouldn't be able to punch someone in the face, although I am sure he would have no problem with the open hand slap or some sort of chop. Plus it could possibly be one of those titles John Cena would fit perfect with. He is seen as a pure champion by a lot of people, who plays by the rules. I would think he would be the champ if it were brought on board.

 

[The Hiphopapotamus]

I loved the idea of the Pure title in ROH. There were so many different things that happened because of the rules. The best man almost left every night with the title, because if someone cheats or gets counted out, then they lose the title. This meant if someone was having trouble, they couldn't punch the ref or run away, because they'd lose. People wouldn't dare with outside interference, well in theory, because you're severely risking your title.

Another thing I liked was the rope breaks. Nigel McGuinness used this rule brilliantly. He locked in submissions just for the purpose of getting them to waste their rope breaks, before locking a submission (such as the London Dungeon) in anywhere he wanted, because they literally couldn't get out. They had no rope breaks, no escape. how many times do you see someone getting out of a submission without using the ropes? This stipulation meant that so many great strategies could be adopted to fit the match and the unique set of rules.

The Rules were designed to help technical wrestlers, with the rope breaks, no closed fists, and the changing hands on a DQ. These sort of things suit mat based technical wrestler. They especially didn't suit the brawler style. So the title suited technical wrestling, pure wrestling. Something we don't see a huge amount of in WWE, and a little more in TNA. The pure title would suit ROH, no doubt. It's the other 2.

They don't care as much for the wrestling side, as they do for the whole entertainment side. You can say that the stipulations will mean a lot more clean finishes, thus ruining heel tactics. Yeah, there will be more clean finishes, but if you think of what uproar there will be if a heel manages to cheat to get the victory. The crowd will go crazy. Just because the heel shouldn't cheat because of the stipulation doesn't mean they won't.

I for one would love the title in TNA, because I'm a fan of technical wrestling, the matches the title is based on. And while I might like it, others may not. They'll claim that entertainment works better for business. And they're probably right. But do I care. No. I'd rather be entertained. And I think that the pure title could do that for me.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

I think in a U.S federation the Pure Title should be used sparingly. I saw a match between Joe and Daniels for that title and that was the match of the night... it was also the main event. I digress however. That title was unique to Ring of Honor because it showcased the best workers the promotion had to offer. I don't think it would work with the WWE though.

It COULD work with TNA. Let me explain. You have Kurt Angle, Christopher Daniels, Homicide, Sting, AJ Styles just to name a few. They are some of the best the promotion has to offer. The title should be showcased at a Pay-Per View. Take away the Global title and you could possibly have the MOTPPV (Match of the PPV).

 

[Alex]

I love the concept. This sounds like an excellent style of match that a title could be defended on and be historic. The idea of a set amount of rope breaks makes it isntantly interesting as someone like Kurt Angle would try and lock in their submission move as often as they could prompting their opponent to try and counter them, the closed fist rule sounds like a great rule for a heel to break (punching their opponent when the ref isn't looking) The idea of the title changing hands on a DQ is also great as it makes the champ have to work to hold onto their title.

 

[Thriller Ant]

This title would have been perfect in a pre-Hogan TNA. There were more solidified storylines than those in ROH, but the focus was on the wrestling. Now that Hogan is coming in, it seems as though the focus will be more on the stories with the wrestling, that I'm sure will still be great, taking a backseat.

As much as I love the idea of a Pure title, it would be almost impossible to make it happen in WWE where heels are often booked to get DQ'd or counted out to keep their titles. The only real heelish move that someone can make under these rules is what Hippo mentioned with Nigel purposely getting his opponents to use up their rope breaks, which isn't even as much a heel move as good strategy.

This is a great concept that I may use if I do another Book This, but it pains me to say that I don't think it is something we will ever see in one of the Big 2 promotions.

 

[Super Crazy]

Wow, Thriller , you and I think a like. I had a thread similar to this a few months back asking the same question. It is when I think X started to like me, but who knows.

Anyway, I would love for a belt like this to be in any company, as it gives guys with more athleticism then charisma something to do that doesn't involve much promo work. I suggested it be for guys like Shelton Benjamin, who cannot quite get over with the crowd through promos. Why not give a guy like him a championship where he can really put his skills to the test?

Plus it'd be interesting to see heel wrestlers in matches for this type of title, as there'd be no way they could cheat their way through the match or out of it. It'd be great for technical wrestlers though, and it'd be interesting to see if a title like this ever comes around again.

 

[Razor]

I don't see why not. That "title change under DQ" rule would really make it unique for the WWE, and offer some really creative use of Heel tactics. You know, forcing your opponent to use rope breaks, sneaking a punch to the face, forcing your opponent to punch your face, something like that.

I don't know where it should be on the title structure, though. Maybe the main Superstar title? Or, perhaps, we can just incorporate those rules into the ECW World title? Make ECW into our "Only the rookies who really know how to wrestle will reach the top" company. It even implies that everyone who is above ECW, as in Raw and Smackdown, already know how to wrestle.

That could really work. Not only give a new title dynamic to the WWE, but also imply the superiority of your other superstars at the same time? Hell yeah.

 

[Mr. TM]

It has no place in WWE for me, and as a former Pure Champion, once according to WrestleZone... I think Sidious is now a Pure Champion... I think that if it is nor brought back in ROH, then it should not be in any league. Its a midcard belt in my opinion that is unique. TNA has the X division, and WWE is too simple to have a unique title. ROH offers that "pure" style if you might call it that, but as I feel ROH moves away from it, it has no place.

 

[aRush]

It would be kind of cool to see something like this be used in TNA...Even the Global Title could've been set up to fill such a role. All it would have taken was Eric Young coming out and saying how American wrestlers are just a bunch of brawlers who don't have the skill to match the world in pure wrestling, and putting in the Pure Rules for the title as a way to ensure only an 'elite' wrestler would hold the belt.

He could've gotten more over as a heel by cheating behind the ref's back when a competitor out-wrestles him, and whoever won it from him would come out looking strong for having won it under such rules.