Wheeler Yuta To Defend ROH Pure Title Against Timothy Thatcher And Clark Connors
The first tapings for the return of Ring Of Honor took place this weekend in Orlando, Florida with a variety of matches featuring top talents from ROH, AEW, and the independent scene as the company begins to get off the ground. Wheeler Yuta was heavily involved in those tapings and ended up getting two new challengers for his ROH Pure Championship during the events according to the "Wrestling Observer Radio" as Timothy Thatcher and Clark Connors stepped up to him.
During the tapings — which will air on Honor Club over the next few weeks — Yuta ended up being interviewed by Ian Riccaboni, which led to former WWE Superstar Thatcher turning up. He made it clear he wasn't one for talking, but he did challenge the Blackpool Combat Club member to a title match that took place later on in the tapings. It is unknown at this stage what the long-term plans for Thatcher are, but he did recently appear on AEW television as well, competing against Bryan Danielson as part of his series of matches to earn an AEW World Championship shot at AEW Revolution next weekend.
However, Yuta had to deal with another challenger during these tapings as he also competed against Connors after Yuta took a shot at people who have been training with Katsuyori Shibata. The 29-year-old wasn't the only wrestler to pop up from New Japan Pro-Wrestling though as Zack Sabre Jr. was also at the tapings, showcasing that Tony Khan's partnership with the company will also continue in ROH.
The next major ROH PPV will be taking place during WrestleMania weekend with ROH's Supercard Of Honor set to happen at March 31, although no match for the ROH Pure title has been announced at this point.