The brackets for the ROH Pure Title Tournament have been revealed.
The tournament, which will commence later this month, will see 16 wrestlers competing to become the next Pure Champion and the first in more than a decade. The 16 wrestlers will be separated into two eight-man blocks under single-elimination.
Below are the first-round matches:
Block A:
* Jay Lethal vs. Dalton Castle
* David Finlay vs. Rocky Romero
* Silas Young vs. Fred Yehi
* Tracy Williams vs. Rust Taylor
Block B:
* Jonathan Gresham vs. Wheeler Yuta
* Delirious vs. Matt Sydal
* Josh Woods vs. Kenny King
* PJ Black vs. Tony Deppen
Here are the rules for the tournament:
-- Every match begins and ends with the Code of Honor handshake.
-- Each wrestler has three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls. After a wrestler exhausts his rope breaks, submission and pin attempts on or under the ropes by his opponent are legal.
-- Closed-fist punches to the face are not permitted; only open-handed slaps or chops to the face are allowed. Punches to other parts of the body are permitted, excluding low blows. The first use of a closed fist will get a warning; the second will be a disqualification.
-- As in standard ROH matches, there will be a 20-count when a wrestler is on the floor.
-- Outside interference will result in automatic termination from the roster for the wrestler that interferes.
-- There will be two blocks, single-elimination format.
-- Round 1 matches have a 15-minute time limit.
-- Block semifinals have a 20-minute time limit.
-- Block finals have a 30-minute time limit.
-- The tournament final has a one-hour time limit.
-- There will be three judges for each match, and time-limit draws will go to a judges’ decision.
There will also be a bracketology special premiering on YouTube on September 11 at noon ET. Dak Draper and Brian Johnson have been named alternates for the tournament.
