New Competitor Announced For ROH Pure Title Tournament

Submitted by James Lessman on Mar 9, 2020 - 12:47 pm

Ring of Honor issued the following press release announcing that indie star Tony Deppen will be competing in the upcoming Pure Title tournament that begins on April 10th from Columbus, Ohio. Details, including Deppen's response on Twitterc, can be found below.

The tournament to crown the first Ring of Honor Pure Champion since 2006 begins at Pure Excellence on Friday, April 10 in Columbus and Saturday, April 11 in Pittsburgh. Sixteen entrants representing at least six countries will battle to put their names alongside Jay Lethal, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Nigel McGuinness, Bryan Danielson, and other ROH forefathers who fought by the Pure Rules. The rules gave a distinct flavor to each Pure Rules match: closed-fist punches were illegal and each competitor was allowed three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls during the match; after that, pinfalls and submission holds on or under the ropes would be legal.

ROH has been the breeding ground for talented mat grapplers since its inception. While some, like Josh Woods, are great amateur wrestlers that have limited pro experience but clearly have what it takes to jump into the pro ranks, others are experienced independent stars that have honed their striking and submissions before getting their opportunity to show it on an international stage like former ROH World Champion Kyle O’Reilly and Tracy Williams.

Tony Deppen falls into the latter category. A young man with many years experience, Deppen’s growth accelerated in 2019 and into 2020, competing in top independent organizations like Beyond, Game Changer Wrestling, PWG, and Chikara. Deppen has begun to compete internationally and is an amateur and submission expert.

Deppen’s ROH debut comes in this tournament and is one of the most highly-touted free agents in the world. Deppen could not only capture the Pure Championship but negotiate himself an even bigger money contract should he capture the title!

Join us live in Columbus or Pittsburgh, or streaming for HonorClub, to see history in the making at Pure Excellence!

ROH PRESENTS PURE EXCELLENCE

NIGHT ONE
FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2020
BELL TIME: 7:30pm ET
EXPRESS LIVE!
COLUMBUS, OH

PURCHASE TICKETS

NIGHT TWO
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020
BELL TIME: 7:00pm ET
STAGE AE
PITTSBURGH, PA

PURCHASE TICKETS

ALREADY SIGNED TO COMPETE

DOUG WILLIAMS
JONATHAN GRESHAM
ALEX SHELLEY
ROCKY ROMERO
MARK HASKINS
SLEX
TRACY WILLIAMS
MARTY SCURLL
FRED YEHI
YUJI NAGATA
JOE HENDRY
DALTON CASTLE
REN NARITA
JOSH WOODS
TONY DEPPEN