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Jonathan Gresham is one of the biggest stars on the independents circuit and he will be one half of the main event on Monday when he takes on Fuminori Abe.
Gresham and Abe will join a new wrestling series presented by Orange Crush. The event is called “PRODUCE Volume 1: The Octopus.” It takes place at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, New York at 8 p.m. ET.
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Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a match during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best Of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 23, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
The show, backed by Adam Abdalla, will also feature a musical performance by Abel Ferrara.
“The one thing I think — attention to detail and consistency over time,” Gresham told Pakinomist Digital when asked what fans can expect from the event. “I think that’s something that’s missing in modern wrestling, and it’s something that Adam and I talk about quite a bit.”
Gresham said his idea of what pro wrestling can be in the grand scheme of things ultimately drew him to the event.
“I think mostly that some time ago I started flirting with the idea of what pro wrestling could be, and I think at the same time so many people around the world are starting to flirt with that same idea. I think we’re probably the first duo to take advantage of that thought process and present it to an audience,” he told Pakinomist Digital. “So I don’t know, maybe six years ago now, it was definitely before the pandemic, the pandemic really brought it home for me to really start exploring this idea more and more deeply.”
He said fans should expect to see two competitors who truly love professional wrestling.
“It’s not me trying to sound braggart. I feel like there are numerous athletes across the pro wrestling field who feel the way I do about their work. I believe these individuals exist, but I want to talk about myself right now and Abe. I think on Monday you’re going to see two people who are in love with pro wrestling perform for you,” he said. “I am convinced that there are two sides of the coin here.
“There’s one side where there are individuals who love the idea of being a professional wrestler. They love the fame, being on television, the moves, the fans clapping for them and all that. I’m in love with pro wrestling. I understand pro wrestling on a different level, on a more visceral level than most people, and I feel like Abe feels the same way about his main event on Monday and watching the other event. I’m in love with pro wrestling wrestling and performing for you.”
Gresham expressed an admirable passion for pro wrestling.
Jonathan Gresham, right, performs in a Ring of Honor match. (Provided to Pakinomist Digital)
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He described the current state of the sport as being on a “spectrum” and a concern that pro wrestlers are being properly trained.
“Right now, modern wrestling, I look at it on a spectrum, it’s gotten so far to one end where on a weekly basis, on TV, on most of the indie shows that we go to, we see these young athletes, people who have never made it to TV, and frankly just starting their lives, just starting their careers, taking these big risks,” he said. “And these promoters are perpetuating this thought process by rewarding people who continually risk their bodies. I see people diving off balconies, missing tables, just doing some of the most ridiculous things, and this way of thinking has left the independents and is now happening on national television, and I just don’t think it’s sustainable for the wrestling community going forward.”
He said that when he started coming up through the business, there were three “platforms” a professional wrestler could develop into – Lucha Libre, deathmatches or pure wrestling. He said that a wrestler first starting out might subscribe to a certain style. He said that now wrestlers are “walking around aimlessly” trying to figure it out for themselves.
Gresham is trying to change the structure.
“I hear a lot of older veterans talk about the evolution of wrestling, and I think it’s just the idea of, yeah, social media and the misunderstanding of different genres and styles of wrestling, and that misunderstanding came from different regions of the world, and we’ve taken those misunderstandings and built this new homogenized style that has no real reason outside of reaching right here, Fox, he now told Digital News. what changed in the business. “There’s very little attention or care to build on things that I like will say that our predecessors did. I think it’s something like that. The biggest problem is the promoters who, for lack of a better word, don’t really understand what their job is, who perpetuate the problem by rewarding the young men and women who go out of their way to do these crazy things, and they understand every move. psychology that understands character that cut the promos before the broadcasts, these people go unrewarded.
“Meanwhile, the people who show up and do the craziest moves and do the five-star matches on every show get pressured. But then when those people get the opportunity to go on television and get the opportunity to go on TNA, AEW, WWE, those opportunities are usually eight-minute matches that right out of the gate, when you’re about to walk out, turn into four-minute matches.”
Gresham lamented indie wrestlers who went from the 15-minute classic matches of an independent promotion to finally getting TV time, who more often than not see their potential in having an eight-minute match trimmed down to four minutes.
“So that’s when you get this super homogenous style that everybody’s trying to replicate over and over again. Because, I mean, at one point it worked, it was new, everybody was chasing it,” he said. “It started around 2006 or so, and then it just got crazier and crazier as time went on, and now we’re kind of at the forefront of it, and I really fear that we’re going to see people on national television seriously maimed and injured because of this style, and the promoters are continuing this problem.”
Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a match during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best Of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 23, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
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Gresham will continue to hone his own wrestling style when the first PRODUCE event takes place later this month.
Joey Janela, Effy, LaBron Kozone, Mance Warner, Man Like Dereiss, “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Mad Dog Connelly are expected to be on the show. Gresham is listed as co-producer and Abdalla is listed as creative director.
