Ring of Honor Glory by Honor III, 9/11/04 Nigel McGuiness vs. John Walters

So Walters got to pick Doug Williams as Joe's challenger and Joe was supposed to pick an opponent for Walters but didn't because he didn't think the Pure title was important enough. This of course was after he picked both Jay Briscoe and Homicide to be challengers, but Mark Briscoe got injured so Jay bailed and then Homicide got hurt as well. I think Joe didn't pick a third person because ROH couldn't afford to l ose any more guys.

They work the mat to start. They do some fancy reversals off of a wristlock, some of which are very, very cool. Nigel gets British to get some two counts early on. Nigel puts on a cravat and holds on through a roll through and a bodyslam but Walters forearms out. Walters hits a double underhook suplex for two. Nigel tries to roll out of a wristlock but Walters rolls with him. Awesome. Nigel uses the ropes for leverage to flip out of the wristlock but Referee Sinclair docks his first rope break for it. Nigel hits a head butt to the gut and a big kick for two. Walters catches Nigel with an electric chair drop for two. He hits a piggyback stunner and puts on a surfboard but has to break due to nose chicanery. He hits the chinlock but Nigel comes back with a pin attempt. Walters puts on the leg scissors and Nigel uses his second rope break. Walters puts on a seated Cobra Clutch but Nigel decides not to use his last rope break. Walters puts Nigel down in the hold for a pair of two counts but Nigel escapes and puts on a crossface forcing Walters to use his first rope break. Nigel hits the divorce court, which is a name I hate so I'm calling it separation anxiety, and then puts on his arm submission and Walters uses his second rope break. Nigel does the Artful Dodger to hit a European uppercut and a superkick for two. Walters catches Nigel on the top with a dropkick and hurricanranas Nigel off the top. He hits a huge clothesline for two. He goes up but Nigel catches him and brings him down. Nigel goes up but Walters catches him and hits a superplex for two but misses a splash off the top. Nigel baits him into the top rope neckbreaker with his turnbuckle headstand and gets two. Why do people still fall for that? Walters bails as Nigel goes to the top so Nigel just dives onto him on the floor. He's in it to win it you know. Back inside Walters hits three cross armed lung blowers and keeps the cross arm choke on until Nigel submits.

This was a solid Pure Title match that and was the first one to not really play too much off of the Pure Title rules. The three lung blowers at the end seemed more like Walters getting frustrated with Nigel more than it seemed like him actually worrying that Nigel could beat him.
***1/2.

Credit: 411mania.com