For the first time in 14 years, Ring of Honor has crowned a new pure champion.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Tracy Williams in the championship round of a 16-person tournament, restoring the belt—at one time worn by the likes of A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan—and reintroducing a style of technical wrestling that once defined Ring of Honor.
“I always gravitated to Ring of Honor because of its style and presentation, but over the years it moved away from what it was,” Gresham says. “Stylistically, everything changed, and the main guys in the company changed. I decided to stick with it.