10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ring Of Honor
7. ROH Had A 'Pure' Title That Daniel Bryan Retired
Currently, Ring Of Honor promote a trio of titles. The ROH World Title, Tag-Team Titles and Television Titles are all still valid, but they were once joined by another, more traditional belt.
Long before the TV Title was formed in 2010, the company promoted the ROH Pure Title, one with its own set of rules.
Starting in February, 2004, the ROH Pure Title was originally held by AJ Styles. Defeating CM Punk in a tournament final, Styles was expected to uphold the virtues of the new championship.
Only 3 rope breaks per wrestler were allowed, 20 instead of 10 counts were used outside the ring, and closed-hand punches to the face were banned from bouts.
In addition, the title could change hands on a disqualification or count out, which set it apart from the other belts. The title only lasted up until 2006, when Daniel Bryan defeated Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, England for the strap.
Then the reigning World Champ, Bryan unified the Pure Title with his own, meaning the Pure Title was discontinued.