Pro wrestling star Jonathan Gresham talks first PRODUCE event, expresses love and concern for the sport

Jonathan Gresham is one of the biggest stars on the independents circuit and he will be one half of the headlining event on Monday when he goes up against Fuminori Abe.

Gresham and Abe will participate 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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The show, backed by Adam Abdalla, will also feature a musical performance by Abel Ferrara.

"The one thing I think – attention to detail and consistency over time," Gresham told Fox News Digital when asked what fans can expect from the event. "I think that’s something that is missing in modern wrestling and that’s something that’s something Adam and I talk about quite a bit."

Gresham said that his idea of what pro wrestling can be in the grand scheme ultimately drew him to the event.

"I think for the most part some time ago I started to flirt with the idea about what pro wrestling can be and I think at the same time so many people around the world start to flirt with the same idea. I think we are probably the first duo to take advantage of that thought process and put it on display for an audience," he told Fox News Digital. "So, I don’t know, maybe six years ago now, it was definitely before the pandemic, the pandemic really brought it home for me to really start exploring this idea more and more deeply."

He said fans should expect to see two competitors who truly love professional wrestling.

"This is not me trying to sound braggadocios. I feel like there’s several athletes across the pro wrestling space that feel the way that I do about their work. I believe that these individuals exist, but I’m going to talk about myself right now and Abe. I think on Monday you’re going to see two people who are in love with pro wrestling perform for you," he said. "I’m a firm believer in there’s two sides of the coin here.

"There’s one side where there’s individuals that love the idea of being a professional wrestler. They love the fame, being on television, the moves, the fans clapping for them and all that stuff. I am in love with pro 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 craft. So, on Monday, you’re gonna see two people in the main event that are in love with pro wrestling and perform for you."

Gresham expressed an admirable passion for pro wrestling.

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He described the current state of the sport as being on a "spectrum" and a concern about pro wrestlers being properly trained.

"Currently, modern wrestling, I look at it on a spectrum, it’s gotten so far to one end to where, on a weekly basis, on television, at most indie shows that we go to, we see these young athletes, people that have never made it to television, and quite 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 the people continuously risking their bodies. I see people diving from balconies, missing tables, just doing some of the most ridiculous things and this way of thinking has left the independents and is now taking place on national television and I just don’t think it is sustainable for the wrestling community going forward."

He said when he started to come up through the business, there were three "platforms" in which a pro wrestler could evolve into – Lucha Libre, deathmatches or pure wrestling. He said a wrestler first starting out could subscribe to a certain style. He said, now, wrestlers are "walking around aimlessly" trying to figure it out for themselves.

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, well, yes, social media, and the misunderstanding of different genres and styles of wrestling and that misunderstanding came from different regions of the world and we have taken those misunderstandings and built this new homogenistic style that has no real reason outside of right here, right now, getting what I want, instant gratification," he told Fox News Digital of what changed in the business. "There is very little attention or care to build to things like I would like to say our predecessors did. I think that’s kind of it. The biggest issue is the promoters that, for lack of a better word, don’t really understand what their job is, who are perpetuating the issue by rewarding the young men and women that are going out of their way to do these crazy things – jumping off of balconies, crazy moves every match. And the individuals that understand psychology, that understand character, that cut the promos before the shows, these people are going unrewarded.

"Meanwhile, the people that show up and do the craziest moves and do the five-star matches every show are getting pushed. But then when those individuals get the opportunities to go on television and get an opportunity to go on TNA, AEW, WWE, normally those opportunities are eight-minute matches that, right out of the gate, when you’re about to go out, turn into four-minute matches."

Gresham lamented indie wrestlers going from the 15-minute classic matches on an independent promotion to finally getting TV time, which more often than not, sees their potential of having an eight-minute match get trimmed down to four minutes.

"So, that’s when you get this super homogenistic style that everybody is trying to replicate over and over again. Because, I mean, at one point, it was working, it was new, everybody was chasing it," he said. "It started around 2006 or so and then it just got progressively crazier as time went on and now we’re like in the thick of it and I really fear that we’re gonna see people on national television seriously get maimed and injured because of this style and the promoters are perpetuating this issue."

Gresham will continue to hone in on his own style of wrestling when the first PRODUCE event occurs 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 be featured on the show. Gresham is listed as a co-producer and Abdalla is listed as the creative director.