Yuji Nagata announced for ROH Pure title tournament

An NJPW legend is the latest addition to ROH’s Pure title tournament.

ROH announced today that former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata will take part in the Pure title tournament. He’s the 10th entrant confirmed for it, joining Doug Williams, Jonathan Gresham, Alex Shelley, Rocky Romero, Mark Haskins, Slex, Tracy Williams, Marty Scurll, and Fred Yehi.

The Pure title tournament will feature 16 entrants in total. It will begin with first round matches taking place at Pure Excellence night one in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, April 10 and Pure Excellence night two in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Saturday, April 11.

The quarterfinals for the tournament will be held at ROH Battlestarr 2020 in New York City on Thursday, April 23.

ROH announced at the end of January that — after having been out of use since 2006 — the Pure title is returning. Pure title matches featured rules where “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.”