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Jonathan Gresham is one of the biggest stars on the independent circuit and will be one half of Monday’s main event when he takes on Fuminori Abe.
Gresham and Abe will participate in a new wrestling series presented by Orange Crush. The event is called “PRODUCE Volume 1: El Pulpo”. It will take place at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, New York, at 8 pm ET.
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Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a match during 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 Adán Abdalla, will also feature a musical performance by Abel Ferrara.
“The only thing I think about is attention to detail and consistency over time,” Gresham told Pak Gazette 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 professional wrestling can be on a grand scale ultimately drew him to the event.
“I think a while ago I started flirting with the idea of what professional wrestling can be and I think at the same time a lot of 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 put it on display for an audience,” he told Pak Gazette Digital. “So, I don’t know, maybe six years ago, it was definitely before the pandemic, the pandemic really made me understand how to start exploring this idea deeper and deeper.”
He said fans should expect to see two competitors who really love professional wrestling.
“I’m not the one trying to sound boastful. I feel like there are several athletes in the professional wrestling space who feel the same way I do about their work. I believe these individuals exist, but I’m going to talk about myself right now and Abe. I think on Monday you’ll see two people in love with professional wrestling perform for you,” he said. “I firmly believe that there are two sides of the coin here.
“There’s a side where there are people who love the idea of being a professional wrestler. They love the fame, being on television, the moves, the fans applauding 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 art. So on Monday, you’ll see two people in the main event who are in love with professional wrestling and perform for you.”
Gresham expressed an admirable passion for professional wrestling.
Jonathan Gresham, right, appears in a Ring of Honor match. (Provided to Pak Gazette Digital)
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He described the current state of the sport as a “spectrum” and a concern about professional wrestlers being properly trained.
“Nowadays, modern wrestling, I see it on a spectrum, has come so far that, on a weekly basis, on television, on most of the independent shows that we go on, we see these young athletes, people who have never made it to television and, frankly, just starting their life, just starting their career, take these big risks,” he said. “And these promoters are perpetuating this thought process by rewarding people who continually put their bodies on the line. I see people jumping off balconies, jumping over tables, just doing some of the most ridiculous things and this way of thinking has abandoned 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 moving up in the business, there were three “platforms” that a professional wrestler could evolve on: wrestling, deathmatches, or pure wrestling. He said a wrestler starting out for the first time may subscribe to a certain style. He said that now the fighters are “walking around aimlessly” trying to figure it out for themselves.
Gresham is trying to change the structure.
“I hear a lot of veterans talk about the evolution of wrestling and I think it’s just the idea of, well, 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 homogeneous style that has no real reason outside of here and now, getting what I want, instant gratification,” he told Pak Gazette Digital about what’s changed in the business. “There’s very little thought or care put into things like I’d like to say our predecessors did. I think that’s it. The biggest problem is the promoters who, for lack of a better word, don’t really understand what their job is, who are perpetuating the problem by rewarding young men and women who go out of their way to do these crazy things: jumping off balconies, crazy moves at every match. And the people who understand psychology, who understand character, who cut promos before shows, these people are leaving without reward.
“Meanwhile, the people who show up and do the craziest moves and do the five-star matches on every show are being pushed. But then when those individuals get the opportunity to appear on television and have the opportunity to go to TNA, AEW, WWE, typically those opportunities are eight-minute matches that, right from the start, when you’re about to go out, turn into four-minute matches.”
Gresham lamented that independent wrestlers go from classic 15-minute matches in an independent promotion to finally getting time on television, which in most cases sees its potential of having an eight-minute match reduced to four minutes.
“That’s when you get this super homogeneous style that everyone tries 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 and then it got crazier and crazier as time went on and now we are in the thick of it and I really fear that we will see people on national television seriously maimed and injured because of this style and the promoters are perpetuating this problem.”
Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a match during 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 later 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.
