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Jonathan Gresham is one of the biggest stars on the independent circuit and he will be one half of the headlining event on Monday when he takes on Fuminori Abe.
Gresham and Abe will compete in a new wrestling series presented by Orange Crush. The event is called “PRODUCE Volume 1: The Octopus”. It will take place at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, New York at 8 p.m. ET.
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Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask face off in a fight at New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best Of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 23, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
The show, supported by Adam Abdalla, will also include a musical performance by Abel Ferrara.
“The only thing I think about — attention to detail and consistency over time,” Gresham told PK Press Club 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 a lot.”
Gresham said his idea of what pro wrestling could be in the big picture ultimately drew him to the event.
“I think for the most part, a while ago, I started flirting with the idea of what professional wrestling can be and I think at the same time, so many people around the world are starting to flirt with the same idea. I think we’re probably the first duo to take that thought process and bring it to the public,” he told PK Press Club Digital. “So, I don’t know, maybe six years ago now, it was definitely before the pandemic, the pandemic really led me to really start exploring this idea deeper and deeper.”
He said fans should expect to see two competitors who truly love professional wrestling.
“This isn’t me trying to sound boastful. I feel like there are several athletes in the world of professional wrestling who feel the same way I do about their job. I believe those individuals exist, but I’m going to talk about myself now and Abe. I think on Monday you’ll see two people who love professional wrestling performing for you,” he said. “I firmly believe there are two sides of the coin here.
“There’s a side where there are individuals who love the idea of being a professional wrestler. They love the fame, being on TV, the moves, the fans cheering for them and all that. I’m in love with professional wrestling. I understand professional wrestling on a different level, on a more visceral level than most people and I feel like Abe feels the same way about his profession. So on Monday you’ll see two people in the main event who are in love with professional wrestling. and play for you.
Gresham expressed an admirable passion for professional wrestling.
Jonathan Gresham, right, appears in a Ring of Honor match. (Provided to PK Press Club Digital)
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He described the current state of the sport as being on a “spectrum” and a concern over the proper training of professional wrestlers.
“Currently, modern wrestling, I look at it on a spectrum, it’s gone to an extreme where on a weekly basis, on television, on most of the independent shows that we go to, we see these young athletes, people who have never made it to television and who, frankly, are just starting their lives, their careers, taking big risks,” he said. “And these promoters perpetuate that thought process by rewarding people who continually risk their bodies. I see people diving off balconies, missing tables, doing some of the most ridiculous things and that way of thinking has left the independents and is now on national television and I just don’t think it’s sustainable for the wrestling community going forward.”
He said that when he first started getting into the industry, there were three “platforms” that a professional wrestler could compete in: Lucha Libre, deathmatches or pure wrestling. He said a beginner wrestler can subscribe to a certain style. He said that now wrestlers are “walking around aimlessly” trying to figure it out on their own.
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 social media, and the misunderstanding of different genres and styles of wrestling and that misunderstanding came from different parts of the world and we took those misunderstandings and built this new homogeneous style that has no real reason outside of here, now, to get what I want, instant gratification,” he told PK Press Club Digital about this. who has changed in the company. “There’s very little thought or care given to things in the way I would like to say our predecessors did. I think that’s a little bit of it. The biggest problem is promoters who, for lack of a better word, don’t really understand what their job is, who perpetuate the problem by rewarding young men and women who go out of their way to do these crazy things – jump off the balcony, do crazy moves every match. And individuals who understand psychology, who understand the character, who cut the promos before the match shows, these people are not rewarded.
“Meanwhile, the people who show up and do the craziest moves and do the five-star matches on every show are pushed. But when those individuals get the opportunity to go on television and have the opportunity to go to TNA, to AEW, to WWE, normally those opportunities are eight-minute matches that, right off the bat, when you’re about to come out, turn into four-minute matches.”
Gresham lamented that independent wrestlers have gone from classic 15-minute matches on an independent promotion to finally getting television time, which, more often than not, sees their potential to have an eight-minute match reduced to four minutes.
“That’s when you get this super homogeneous style that everyone is trying to replicate over and over again. Because, I mean, at one point it was working, it was new, everyone 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 like in the thick of it and I’m really afraid that we’re going to see people on national television being seriously maimed and injured because of this style and the promoters are perpetuating this problem.”
Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask face off in a fight at 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 style of wrestling when the first PRODUCE event takes place at the end of this month.
Joey Janela, Effy, LaBron Kozone, Mance Warner, Man Like Dereiss, “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Mad Dog Connelly are expected to appear on the show. Gresham is listed as co-producer and Abdalla is listed as creative director.
