Josh Woods continues to reach new heights in Ring of Honor.
Woods, the winner of the 2017 Top Prospect Tournament, had a breakout run in the company’s Pure Tournament last fall, and he hasn’t looked back ever since.
In a recent interview with WrestleZone, Woods described how pure wrestling comes naturally to him, and he emphasized that he’s the most comfortable in this environment.
“The pure stuff is so fun for me,” said Woods. “My brain just relaxes and I can just wrestle here and flow and move and react and that’s where I feel the most comfortable. Instinct takes over, right, it’s just things you’re so comfortable with, and it almost feels more natural for me to just kind of be in that pure environment and really just wrestle.”
Woods’ growth as a pure wrestler has encouraged him to drop his previous moniker, “The Goods,” and adopt one that matches his physicality. As “The Tactical Beast,” Woods explains that he’s a “hybrid animal” that stands out from the pack with his multi-faceted skill set.
“People think, ‘Oh, Josh Woods is like a fun guy in the back, can’t turn that switch on,’ but I’m bigger than everyone in the Pure Division, I’m stronger,” said Woods.”It’s so cliched, right? I’m faster, bigger, I wrestle different than everybody else, and I really am, technically, more sound than everyone else.
“Most of our guys are very one-dimensional. They could either, they’re really good at wrestling or they’re violent or they’re lucha guys or they’re high-flyer guys, but we don’t really have many multi-sport athletes or multi-talent athletes. So I think I’m like a hybrid animal and I’m a beast, man. I’m technically different than everybody else. And that’s kinda how I started coming up with it, and my movements are different, and the things I can do are different than everybody else. So it’s just a little less play, a little more serious.”
Woods’ impressive run in the Pure Tournament and the months that followed led many fans to question the future of his tag team with Silas Young, fittingly named 2 Guys, 1 Tag. Young didn’t appear on ROH programming throughout the fall, but he finally returned in March in an effort to reunite with his former partner. But Woods’ refusal to play by Young’s rules convinced “The Last Real Man” to betray him. Young cost Woods his match against Dalton Castle at ROH 19th Anniversary, and the two men have been engaged in a heated rivalry ever since.
In the interview, Woods shared his mindset on his feud with Young and commended the former ROH World Television Champion’s technical abilities. He also expressed his excitement about the storytelling fans will be able to see in this program.
“Aside from what we’re doing, what this story is and what this feud is, man we’re storytelling,” said said Woods. “The story that we’re telling, if you watch these matches consecutively, you’re gonna see the story that we’re telling, and I’m so proud of the work we’re doing.
“And people who don’t look at Silas and think like a real technical [wrestler], which is weird because he’s so good. I think he’s really underrated when it comes to technical wrestling and just pro wrestling in general, I think he’s great. And when you’re with guys like that or with Dalton [Castle] and [Jay] Lethal and [Jonathan] Gresham, you have to elevate your game. There’s no room to slack or to ease off a little bit. You have to go full throttle all the time.”
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