[2021-03-26-ROH-19th Anniversary Show] Jonathan Gresham vs Dak Draper

[Tenese Sarwieh]

They did a great job of using the construction of the David vs Goliath match. Gresham attacked the legs of Draper to slow the larger man down while Draper opposed that by aggressively working over the ribs of Gresham using his strength as an advantage. Like other Pure championship matches this year they've used the rope breaks while even taking one away from Draper when he landed a closed fist. The false finishes were done perfectly giving you the belief of Gresham being in danger of losing his title leading to one of the best finishes this year. Gresham was his usual great self and this was my first exposure to Draper and I was impressed by his performance. Excellent pure title match. 

[EnviousStupid]

I consider this to be the most ambitious Pure Rules match to have ever happened. Maybe not the best (depending on whether we consider Bryan/Nigel at Unified worked under Pure Rules), but one that utilizes the stipulation better than everything that came before it, while still maintaining a classic David vs Goliath story at the heart of it all.

Draper stands at over a foot taller and has the clear size advantage. Despite the gap in experience, Gresham isn't able to take him down early and work from above. His best shot is to keep the action constantly moving and create whatever few opportunities may arise against the big man. To clarify, he's doing the "theory of perpetual motion" shtick that was brought up in the old Fair for Flair psychology episode, just far more accurately than Nature Boy ever did. Unfortunately for Gresham, that means getting beaten down by a larger, stronger man and quickly feeling the effects. There's a slight variation to the Bearhug that Draper applies here compared to prior matches: rather than swinging them around in the air, here the hold is regularly brought down to the mat, grinding Gresham down with a greater sense of urgency than ever before. 

It leads to Draper draining all of Gresham's rope breaks early, with the challenger having not wasted a single one of his own. I appreciate the level of commitment these two put into making Draper look so dominant. No one would've thought Draper were the favourite to beat Gresham, but now he stands with an overwhelming advantage for the rest of the match that organically brings into question whether Gresham can overcome the obstacle in front of him. However, Gresham had been slowly chipping away at the legs of Draper ever since they first locked up and that work starts to pay off. It becomes a target that Gresham hones in on and can take the big man off his feet, but more importantly, it slows Draper down when trying to take back control. Initially, Gresham was the one taking the brunt of the offense. Now it's around 50/50, with signs of Draper on the defensive as the champion is cutting him down to size. What's lost by working a slower pace is made up for in aggression from the champ, finally making a breakthrough that forces Draper to use his rope breaks.

It's around this point in the match where the specific rules of the stipulation become a thing of beauty to watch unfold. At the cost of a warning, Draper uses a closed-fist punch to regain momentum - the same punch that has cost Gresham title matches as recently as that same year. It's treated as a potential knockout blow, with Gresham lying motionless as the referee reaches a count of 8. Just before he can count to 10, Gresham manages to roll his body underneath the ropes and, according to the rules, renders him as outside of the ring, forcing the referee to start a new count. This is something I have never seen happen before in any match and absolutely warrants the look of disbelief from Draper, who clearly would've been declared the new Pure champion then and there. Draper follows up with some big power moves and reversal pins that only amount to near falls. Draper tries for a submission, but his leg gives out and in turn, gives Gresham the biggest opportunity of the match. He hits a Suicide Dive and doesn't let go, transitioning into a Sleeper Hold on the outside nearly 20 minutes in as the referee starts the count. Commentary points out that in the event of a double count out, Gresham would retain his championship. Draper can't shake him off his back, and once he manages to climb back into the ring, he's already run out of rope breaks and reluctantly taps out.

It's one of the best matches of the year. Maybe even THE best match of 2021, and almost certainly the best one that didn't really gain traction after it happened. It was worked in front of no crowd, yet that never hindered just how engaging the storytelling was. I would consider it in the same vein as a Flair-Luger '88 or Hart-Diesel '95 in that while it's not a carry job, it's just about the best possible match you could expect from the better wrestler leading the way. He played specifically towards Draper's strengths, made him out to be an insurmountable figure, before barely scraping away with a victory.