The Decoder defends the ROH Pure Championship!

For the first time on AEW Dark, Wheeler Yuta defends his ROH Pure Championship, against former champion, Josh “The Goods” Woods! Will Yuta still have the goods after tonight?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Max Caster VS Tyler Uriah; Caster wins.
• Marina Shafir VS Layna Lennox; Shafir wins.
• Bear Country VS The Workhorsemen; Bear Country wins.
• Emi Sakura VS Devlyn Macabre; Sakura wins.
• Angelico & Jora Johl VS Baron Black & Anthony Catena; Angelico & Johl win.
• Trent Beretta VS Ryan Nemeth; Trent wins.
• Skye Blue VS Amber Nova; Skye wins.
• 10 Man Tag: QT Marshall, Aaron Solo, Nick Comoroto, Brick Aldridge & Blake Li VS Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks, Yuya Uemura & Kevin Knight; NJPW LADOJO wins.
• ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta VS Josh Woods; Yuta wins and retains the title.
• Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland VS Chaos Project; Keith & Swerve win.

QUICK NOTES

That 10 Man is basically AEW VS NJPW and looks pretty good. Turns out this is where the advertised Keith & Swerve VS Chaos Project match ended up after it was supposed to be on yesterday’s Elevation, but it’s clear Keith & Swerve win. Bear Country VS Workhorsemen sounds like a fun match. And to parallel the ROH Women’s World Championship being part of Elevation, Yuta and the ROH Pure Championship here is going to be a good match that I’ll probably go ahead and cover. Though, given Yuta has the belt during today’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors contest…

PLAY BY PLAY

ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta VS Josh Woods!

The Decoder won this title at the ROH reunion show back on April 1st, but the former champion is back for his rematch! Will Yuta do the Blackpool Combat Club proud and retain this title? Or will the Technical Beast become a two-time champion in the Dark?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and per Pure Division rules, the Code of Honor is upheld. Each man has only three ropebreaks at their disposal, and there are judges scoring points should this go to the time limit, so this is perhaps the most strategic match type you can have. Who wins in this showdown of strength and skill?

Woods and Yuta circle. They tie up, Woods puts Yuta on the ropes but Yuta chooses to fight out of it rather than use a ropebreak. They still go around, push each other, and end up on ropes again. Woods lets off and offers another handshake, but Yuta slaps it away. Woods and Yuta circle, knuckle lock, and Woods shoots in to get a leg. Woods uses the double leg to roll Yuta for a jackknife bridge, ONE and Yuta waistlocks. Yuta spins Woods to a snapmare, covers, ONE, and Woods facelocks. Woods then floats to a waistlock but Yuta headlocks. Woods throws Yuta over, has the arm, and has a LEG HALF NELSON! Yuta scrambles, and he uses his ROPEBREAK!

Fans applaud the technical exchange and rallies for Yuta as he circles with Woods. They knuckle lock but Yuta pulls an ear to put Woods in a corner! The ref reprimands but Yuta CHOPS and forearms and CHOPS again! Yuta whips corner to corner, Woods reverses but Yuta elbows Woods away. Yuta goes up but Woods grabs him, only for Yuta to make that a TORNADO ARMBAR DDT! Woods writhes and Yuta gets the bad arm to KICK the arm! Yuta wrenches, WRINGS Woods and drops a knee on the arm! Woods endures as Yuta bends his arm around and isolates it to stomp it! Woods gets to ropes but Yuta is right on him!

Yuta and Woods go around as Yuta is after the arm again. Woods endures the grind, fights up, but Yuta wrenches and TWEAKS the arm! Yuta CHOPS Woods, Woods ROCKS Yuta! Yuta ROCKS Woods, gets the arm again, and he grinds Woods down. Woods endures, but Yuta claws the shoulder. Yuta HEADBUTTS the arm, then pulls on it. Woods still endures, even as Yuta isolates and STOMPS the arm! Woods gets to ropes but Yuta brings him up. Yuta whips but Woods holds onto the ropes. Yuta YANKS the arm, then kicks the bad arm! Yuta clamps back onto the arm but Woods arm-drags free!

Woods dodges, runs, and he catches Yuta for a FLAPJACK, to an ANKLE LOCK! Woods SMASHES the leg over and over then stomps in the thigh! Yuta hobbles away while Woods shakes out the bad arm. Woods runs in, blocks the boot and puts the leg in the ropes to fire off forearms and knees! Woods runs side to side to BOOT the leg! Woods then goes corner to corner to KNEE Yuta down! Cover, TWO! Yuta is still in this and Woods grows a bit frustrated. The judges seem very intrigued, and Woods drives a knee into Yuta’s leg. Woods then drops an elbow and has a deep toehold! Fans rally while Yuta endures.

Yuta tries to fight back with elbows but Woods pulls on the leg. Woods then stands up to YANK the leg back! Woods pushes Yuta down, has the leg, steps through, but Yuta turns that into a cradle, ONE!! They roll and roll and roll and roll and roll and roll and roll, and it ends with Yuta on top! TWO! Both men stagger up, Woods kicks a leg out, KNEES Yuta in the head, and falls on the cover! ONE!!! Woods is shocked but that was the count. Woods looms over Yuta, brings him up, and scuffs him with a boot. Yuta snarls but Woods scuffs him again. Yuta growls, throws body shots, but Woods DECKS him!

Fans rally up, Woods brings Yuta up and scoops, but Yuta slips off. Both men are slowed by their beat-up limbs, Woods’ arm and Yuta’s leg, but Woods rushes in. Yuta ROCKS Woods with a closed fist, that is a warning! Fans boo but Yuta just fires off RAPID palm strikes, a forearm and an ENZIGURI! Down goes Woods! Fans fire up as Yuta climbs, and he leaps for a DIVING SPLASH! Cover, TWO!! Woods survives but Yuta hurries to get the bad arm! Omoplata and he wants the crossface! Woods moves around, turns and rolls Yuta up, TWO! ANKLE LOCK!! Yuta endures as Woods leans on the hold!

Fans rally, Yuta rolls and he throws Woods out! Yuta DIVES to take out Woods! That’s pretty extreme for a Pure Championship match! Both men are down, and the twenty count begins. Yuta gets up and rushes in but Woods throws him to the stage! Yuta lands on his feet, and DIVES, into a GAMANGIRI! Both men are down and the count is 6 of 20! Fans rally and count along, we’re at 10 of 20! Woods stirs at 13, Yuta follows. They both slowly rise, and get in at 15! Woods crawls after Yuta, they get forehead to forehead, and the forearms start flying! Fans rally as they pick up speed, and Yuta fires up!

Yuta ROCKS Woods, dodges him, but then DOUBLE BOOTS take both men down! Fans fire up again as a standing count begins. Woods crawls over to Yuta, drags him up and reels him in. Woods hoists Yuta up but Yuta fights the suplex! Yuta suplexes Woods into buckles! Yuta roars, fans fire up with him, and Yuta gets Woods up to wrench and OLYMPIC SLAM! Cover, TWO!! Woods survives but Yuta grits his teeth. Fans rally, Yuta waistlocks and deadlifts, but Woods fights the suplex! Woods switches and shoves Yuta to ropes, but Yuta rewinds, only for Woods to drop toehold! ANKLE LOCK!! Yuta endures, reaches out, ROPEBREAK!

Yuta uses his second break, Woods has the tactical advantage as he FLAPJACKS and ANKLE LOCKS again! Yuta uses his third ROPEBREAK! Now Woods can do what he wants to Yuta and there’s no saving him! Woods goes for the leg again, ANKLE LOCK!! Yuta scrambles, grabs the ropes, but it won’t matter now! Yuta keeps crawling, grabs the apron skirt, but Woods drags him back in! Woods waistlocks but Yuta victory rolls! TWO and Woods has it! TWO, and Yuta has the EURO CLUTCH!! YUTA WINS!!

Winner: Wheeler Yuta, by pinfall (still ROH Pure Champion)

Woods is shocked! Yuta’s desperation was motivation, and he reeled the Technical Beast into defeat! The Code of Honor is upheld, but surely Woods respects Yuta’s savvy all the same. Will Woods fight his way back to a third match with Yuta in the future?

Tony Schiavone appears and interviews Yuta in the ring, congratulating him on the win. Yuta used up the ropebreaks, had a bad leg but still came out the winner. Schiavone’s known Yuta even before AEW, he’s seen Yuta’s career grow, and Yuta is now part of the Blackpool Combat Club. That is something else. Yuta says yes, he and Schiavone have known each other awhile. Yuta knows he has grown from a kid skipping class at Villanova to go to shows into a member of the BCC, a member of AEW and THE ROH Pure Champion. Yuta says Woods is one hell of a competitor, but Yuta has been on a hell of a roll.

And guess what? That roll doesn’t stop! It won’t stop in the Best of the Super Juniors in Japan, and it won’t stop in AEW. The real work for the Pure Champion has just begun. Fans applaud, will Yuta prove himself worthy of this title and so much more?

My Thoughts:

The Pure Championship and its rules makes for great storytelling in matches, just like we saw there. Yuta was champion but still a bit of an underdog with Woods being bigger and stronger than him. Yuta gets to show resiliency as well as savvy in that finish, and that’s great for a young guy like him. But sad news from “the future” since this was prerecorded a couple weeks ago, Yuta’s opening round match in BOSJ 29 doesn’t go his way. He can still rebound in the second round, but as I said in that article, Yuta being ROH Pure Champion, signed to AEW and part of a faction like the BCC, he probably just becomes a solid middle-of-the-pack wrestler. But he’ll become a great Pure Champion so not winning the block is no big deal.