Jonathan Gresham talks about ROH's impact on his life and its impending hiatus.
Ring of Honor is going on hiatus following the final battle pay-per-view event on Sunday, December 11, 2021. While they are expected to return in April 2022, some talent, such as Jay Lethal, have begun taking the next steps in their career.
Jonathan Gresham will challenge for the Ring of Honor World Championship against Bandido on the event that is being heralded as “the end of an era.” For Jonathan Gresham, Ring of Honor means more than just the promotion that has allowed him to ply his trade. Ring of Honor is his obsession and he says, Ring of Honor changed his life.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, Gresham credited Ring of Honor for having a positive impact on his life as he says before he found Ring of Honor, he was headed down a different path and finding a path that made him work harder, change his life for the better.
"It definitely has been a huge part of my life and it changed my life. I was on a different path and a different road, getting in trouble, and then I found Ring of Honor. I was already wrestling, but I found Ring of Honor and I became obsessed. I truly believe to change someone's direction in life, they have to find something they are obsessed with and that gets them off the bad road. That's what happened with me and Ring of Honor. To be in a position I'm in now is almost full circle. Win or lose, I have accomplished more than my dream. I didn't really know (Final Battle ROH World Title match). The office likes to let you know of the possibilities, but nothing is in stone because that's wrestling. For a while, it was, 'we're thinking of moving int his direction.' 'Great.' The whole Pure Title thing was happening, I dropped the belt at the time, but I was happy with everything I had done and accomplished my goal, which was to bring Pure wrestling back to Ring of Honor. I believed it could save Ring of Honor. That's how it was laid out to me, I had lost the Pure Title, they said, 'this is a possibility,' and I said, 'Great if it happens, great if it doesn't.' I had a really good run at Pure Champion and I was happy with that."
Speaking of Ring of Honor’s impending hiatus, Gresham says he wasn't made aware of anything in advance but he says that with or without a contract, he will remain loyal to Ring of Honor.
"I didn't know. I got a phone call from a close buddy maybe 30 minutes before we had the Zoom call with the whole roster and they said, 'Gresh, I don't think this is going to be a good call.' We had a discussion about that and it ended up being true, it wasn't a good call. I didn't have a heads up besides the one call from my buddy. Everyone who knows anything about me knows that I am on this boat until it sinks. My contract will expire in December, but even with no contract, I am loyal to Ring of Honor until the end."
Starting in January, Jonathan Gresham will embark on a new journey with TERMINUS Pro Wrestling. You can read more about the formation of that promotion at this link.
You can continue to follow along and watch the development and growth of TERMINUS by checking out the promotion on Twitter, @TERMINUSpro. The first event will take place on Sunday, January 16, 2022, and the event will emanate from Atlanta, Georgia.
Fightful will have Ring of Honor Final Battle coverage on December 11, 2021.
Want more Ring of Honor? You can find Fightful's review of ROH Television, plus a watch along of a classic match, every Tuesday at 6 pm ET on the Distraction YouTube channel.
