Jonathan Gresham talks Jay Lethal, ROH, and his own future after Final Battle.
Jonathan Gresham now knows that he will be facing Jay Lethal in the main event of Ring of Honor Final Battle: The End of an Era. Originally, he was supposed to face Bandido and potentially become the Ring of Honor World Champion but now, he is looking ahead to the final Ring of Honor show before the promotion goes on hiatus and is reflecting on Jay Lethal already finding life outside of Ring of Honor in All Elite Wrestling
Speaking with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Gresham said Jay Lethal owed it to himself to find life outside of Ring of Honor before talking about his goals for his own future.
"Jay Lethal owed it to himself to depart from Ring of Honor, regardless of the company’s situation. He accomplished everything. I’m very happy to see him go elsewhere to show the rest of the world what he is capable of. Hopefully, he can become a champion in AEW. [But] Ring of Honor continues to be where the best wrestlers of the world have grown and been impacted by being there. Stylistically, Ring of Honor has influenced wrestling for the last 20 years. I wouldn’t be surprised if more people show up when they return from hiatus."
Speaking of the many names that have said they want to work with him, Gresham said its an honor for him and he's glad his passion shone through.
"I’m taken aback by a lot of it, but I think my passion for Ring of Honor and wrestling and the industry as a whole shines through my matches. I think people who are like-minded and have similar visions are thinking highly of me. It’s great because they are the ones giving back to the industry. They are shining a lot on me with their positive words. I appreciate it and hope one day when I’m in their position I can do the same for another. A lot of people wouldn’t go out of their way to mention me like that. I want to let them know I appreciate it because it has helped my reputation and my career."
He also spoke of the pressure in his career as he moves forward beyond ROH.
"I feel pressure, but I also feel a bit lost. My entire trajectory was always in the back of my mind to be in Ring of Honor and be champion, but I never said that out loud [before]. I always made small goals because my journey to Ring of Honor was difficult. My skin color and height played a huge role in suppressing me from getting a lot of opportunities in the business. I started to feel good about myself, which has led me to be in the main event of an end of an era show. It’s not the ideal situation, but I always wanted to create and have a legacy."
Moving beyond Ring of Honor, Gresham is starting TERMINUS Pro. Recently, he and Baron Black spoke to Sean Ross Sapp about the emerging promotion. You can learn more here.
Jonathan Gresham recently broke down his NJPW STRONG match against Alex Coughlin move-by-move speaking with Jeremy Lambert. You can check that out here.
We will have live coverage of Final Battle 2021 on Saturday, December 11, 2021.
