Queen Aminata vs. Taya Valkyrie

[6.0] "This was a decent match that officially kicked off the ROH Women's Pure Title Tournament. It was great to see Queen Aminata back in the United States after her ordeal following Forbidden Door, and she delivered a solid performance against Taya Valkyrie. While Aminata fits into the Pure Rules division well enough, Valkyrie, like Billie Starkz in a previous match, feels less suited to this style, highlighting the limited roster depth for this type of wrestling. Aminata's win was expected, and the match set the stage for the next chapter, with Deonna Purrazzo confronting her, signalling a likely semi-final showdown later in the tournament. **1/2"

[6.0] "A solid Aminata showcase, with Taya being forced to use rope breaks quickly and getting her ass beat for trying to copy Thekla. That said the middle of the match did meander some until Taya used her last rope break which lead to a pretty nice finish. *** Aminata should absolutely win this tournament, and face Sakazaki in the final on the way."

[3.0] "This was a weird Pure Rules match and announce team did talk about that. This felt more like a comedy match than a traditional Ring of Honor style match. Queen Aminata's comeback and chops were pretty weak. They took away the clock for this match, with the time limit being 10 minutes instead of 60. This match wasn't going to go that long anyway. I did like the headbutt Aminata did to finish the match."

[5.0] "The rating does not reflect at what I felt about this match. For a eight minutes match, it is good, Valkyrie did some great spots and her selling at the headbutt in the end was excellet, sold like she fucking passed out, but the match itself does NOT remember you this is a pure rules at all. All the submissions looked forced and felt unnecessary the fact that Valkyrie lost her first and second rope break for absolutelly nothing. Don't help her persona at all and it was bad for the match itself. Anyway, happy that my Aminata won."

[4.0] "A bit disappointing for a pay-per-view match. Taya Valkyrie didn't show much; Aminata's victory seemed like a formality. In-ring quality: 0.75/4. Stakes: 0.75/2. Justification: 1/1. Place on the card: 0.75/1. Suspense: 0.25/1. Bonuses/penalties: none. Total: 4.5/10. Match seen on the ROH YouTube channel."

[5.0] "Got a bit muddled in the middle there. I know Deonna Purrazzo's been a squeaky wheel recently (and she showed up in the post match here to make sure it was clear Trish Adora has no chance their own first round match in this tournament) but she and Taya have been pretty disappointing signs for even the ROH tier of this company's women."

[4.0] "It shouldn't have been on the PPV, maybe on Zero Hour. I get that Queen Aminata, after her multiple appearances in AEW, had to be here, but I don't know. Aminata did really well, Taya... I don't know, in my opinion she's still poor, a good actress and nothing more."

[4.0] "This was fine, but arguably did not need to be on this PPV, Aminata was definitely the highlight and did some really impressive work, but Valkyrie looked a bit sloppy overall. Aminata got the win with a great looking headbutt, and this was just alright, an average TV level match really."

[3.0] "I've not seen Taya in a while but boy is her work rough these days. The match felt completely disconnected from the Pure Rules and never really clicked at all, with Valkyrie's inability to sell or work strikes effectively hurting the times that Aminata did try and change gears."

[5.0] "A slightly frustrating match in that it just didn't quite gel despite good in ring story telling with some technical wrestling on display. Not bad at all but it was just missing something."

[6.0] "Solid match that did what it needed to do. The right person won and it set up the very likely Semi-Final with Aminata & Deonna Purrazzo. Cannot complain about it."

[7.0] "The escalation in this one made so much sense. Aminata gets the advantage so easy by Taya spending two rope breaks in the most pedestrian situations, it makes sense she goes for more showy offense (the chocolate kisses). Valkyrie was irate just by the crowd chanting the Queen's name, so after the humiliation she takes things to the outside and sets up the legs for a submission. When Aminata endures by not having been reckless with her rope breaks, she ups the aggression herself and cuts the bs. No more chocolate kisses, just pure crisp strikes. Taya burns her final rope break, but she thinks her actions have no consequences when he gets off a hold with the help of the ropes. But the consequences immediately show back up in the form of a headbut. Valkyrie was careless and vain and paid for it. Aminata was also vain, but she learnt and adjusted accordingly to get the much deserved win."

[6.0] "It's always amazing to see Queen Aminata wrestling, and the crowd was into it as well. Taya losing two rope breaks in minutes was very funny and gave an interesting dynamic to the remaining of the match. Then Taya decides to lock in and gives Queen a good beating, to the point she loses a rope break and is forced to lock in as well, the consequence to this is a very stiff exchanging between them. They got a little bit lost with the time-limit, which was confusing and kinda off-putting. But either way, Queen Aminata does a fantastic ending sequence and a great headbutt to finish the job. Good match overall."

[6.0] "I was eager to see how this Pure rules bout would play out--Queen Aminata versus Taya Valkyrie had all the makings of a technical showcase, but it kicked off with something more grounded and physical than I expected. From the bell, Aminata went straight into grappling offense, trying to control things with some solid mat work. Taya leaned on her experience, firing off her strikes and using rope breaks strategically--but when she reached her final rope break, it was a subtle reminder that this wasn't just another match. Aminata smartly turned that moment to her advantage, smacking Taya with a headbutt once the break was exhausted, then rolling her up clean for the win. That was the wrap--Aminata's pin was precise, and it kept the win feeling earned. What really caught my attention was the moment after the bell--Aminata was celebrating, and Deonna Purrazzo appeared to confront her. That face-off injected immediate intrigue into Aminata's path forward in the tournament--a great beat to land on. By the time it was over, I was engaged but not blown away. It was clean, it felt smart, and it had that added sizzle with Purrazzo's appearance--but the pace and stakes never surged into must-watch territory for me. It felt purposeful and solid, but not something I'd highlight in recaps down the line. A dependable step forward in the tournament--not memorable, but effective."

[5.0] "Another solid match that just doesn't really fit the Pure Rules for the most part, but Aminata is definitely a star in the making. 2.75 stars"

[4.0] "[2.0*] I think my biggest issue with this match is that besides the really fun bit of Taya using 2 rope breaks at the first few seconds because she wasn't familiar with the rules, this didn't look like a Pure Rules match at all. I mean, the action was solid, but it looked like a normal match. Also, you can't just change the rules during your ending stretch lol. Match had only 2 minutes left and they were "oh, it's actually a 60-min time limit, we're sorry" and them the scoreboard never came back. This is the kind of thing that can't happen in a Pure Rules match in my opinion. Anyways, both women looked solid and Taya actually over delivered."

[6.0] "I really liked this match probably the best match i have ever seen from Taya due to not seeing her in her prime. The match was a diffrent take on the pure rules which i thought made sense as Taya isn't used to the rules so just burned her rope breaks at the start of the match which bit her in the ass in the end. She had some nice offence throughout and some good technical work. Aminata is on a great run in 2025 and it was great to see her so over with the crowd she was definetly the better of the two in the match with her usual great grappling and stiff offence. I do feel it could of been a more pure match as it felt like a normal match at times but it was good so i can't complain. I liked the finish with Taya buring her breaks coming back to haunt her before Aminata KO'D her with a Headbutt for the 3. Overall a really solid match between to strong women who delviered a solid match. (***1/4)"

[7.0] "Taya is obviously slowing down but i still like her in ring work and Aminata is just on a different level this past year. Good match with really fun pure rules spots"

[7.0] "It was pretty good. Aminata was on form here, and Taya's ceiling is just getting progressively lower and lower. Still thought it wasn't bad at all and had a good placement in the card."

[7.0] "Not a bad match at all good work from both of the women here but it felt like a filler a little bit but it was decent match"

[6.0] "A really fun take with the Pure Rules stip. Taya not being suited for the Pure Rules and burning her rope breaks quickly. A simple take on that match that isn't used as much as everyone shouldn't be suited to the Pure Rules matches. Aminata had strong offense as always. A very solid match. **3/4"