Jonathan Gresham says his current mission is to help rebuild independent wrestling for the next generation of talent. He frames the indie scene as struggling across the board despite a handful of successful companies, with recent closures including Deadlock and Prestige leaving wrestlers searching for a home base as they develop.
Gresham says the path that existed when he started in 2005 no longer applies. He now runs seminars where younger wrestlers repeatedly ask how to advance, and he points to a former Georgia pipeline through NWA Anarchy, FIP, Ring of Honor, IWA Mid-South, CZW, Chikara, and PWG as the kind of structure that has largely disappeared.
He is working with Adam Abdalla to recreate style specific platforms, referencing past indie outlets built around lucha characters, deathmatch wrestling, and pure wrestling. Gresham says those outlets once helped talent gravitate toward the work that fit them before moving up.
After winning the Ring of Honor World Championship around age 28, Gresham says he felt he had accomplished his personal in ring goals and spent years asking what came next.
My goal now is to help create these platforms again for the next generation to stand on to show the world that I am good at this or this or this.
