Those in the industry who know him have declared he’s one of the most underrated performers and show stealers on the indie circuit. Fans who have seen him live (or on broadcast events) are aware of the skills that he possesses. But for many, the name Jonathan Gresham is still somewhat of an unknown. But the man known as “Rocksteady” and “The Octopus” for his solid technical gifts continues to have match of the night time and time again and as his momentum only continues, 2019 could become the breakout year for the 30-year old (and 13-year veteran).
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Jonathan Gresham joined the World Wrestling Alliance 4 (WWA4) Wrestling School in his home town in 2005, where he was trained by former WWE and WCW Superstar Curtis (Mr.) Hughes and Jay Fury. His first match, at only 16 years old, was against another WWA4 student named Heath Miller (who is now better known as WWE Superstar Heath Slater). In 2006, he began working for one of the Georgian National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) promotions, Pro Wrestling Evolution (PWE), and then with other Southern promotions like Alabama’s Great Championship Wrestling (GCW), Georgia’s Anarchy Wrestling and Alternative Pro Wrestling (APW) and many more. He was also an early member of Booker T‘s Reality of Wrestling in Houston, Texas (although when he started, it was still called Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA), and he wrestled as Tiger Hero), and spent some time with IWA Mid South as well.
He got some major breaks in 2010, starting a regular stint with Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), where he would face other emerging stars like AR Fox, Drew Gulak, Gran Akuma, and Adam Cole. He also began working with CHIKARA, joining Ophidian and Amasis in the Osirian Portal stable as the masked Hieracon. By 2011, Jonathan Gresham was making his debuts in other major indies like Ohio’s Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) and Massachusetts’ Beyond Wrestling, as well as breaking into Europe – he made his UK debuts with Fight Club: PRO (where the original Calamari Catch Kings team of he and Chris Brookes debuted) and IPW, mainland Europe debut with Germany’s Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), and Japan debut with Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) Pro. He would also make his Ring of Honor debut, as a part of the 2011 Top Prospect Tournament, losing out in the first round to Kyle O’Reilly.
For the next five years, Gresham would became a regular star with wXw in Germany, even capturing wXw Tag Team gold with Jay Skillet, as well as working with ZERO1 (winning the ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight title in 2013) and Big Japan in Japan, and continuing to expand in the emerging UK indie scene. He remained loyal to Fight Club: PRO and IPW, but also branched out to work with the likes of Southside Wrestling Entertainment (SWE), Scottish Wrestling Alliance (SWA) and Preston City Wrestling (PCW). Back in the US, he continued to emerge as one of CZW’s top emerging stars, even capturing the CZW World Heavyweight Championship in 2016, as well as strengthening his spot with Beyond Wrestling, and adding in work with the likes of Full Impact Pro, All American Wrestling (AAW) and Mexico’s Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU), winning the DTU Impacto Championship in 2015.
Despite taking part in ROH’s Top Prospect tournament in 2011, it wouldn’t be until 2015 that he would become a regular for the company, where he would engage in early feuds with the likes of Cedric Alexander, Lio Rush, Dalton Castle, Marty Scurll and even the man who defeated him back in 2011, Kyle O’Reilly. While he was rarely put into top storylines, his matches slowly became highlight reel exhibitions and the larger audience of Ring of Honor began to become more aware of this budding star who had been tearing it up in smaller indies for the nearly a decade prior. While his star was shining brightly in the UK, Germany and Japan, he was only now starting to get the widespread recognition in his home country.
Since then, he’s become one of the most underrated unsung indie stars of the past few years, putting on clinic after clinic, wrestling with the best of them. In the past year he’s faced the likes of Cody Rhodes, KUSHIDA, Nick Gage, Timothy Thatcher, Tracey Williams, Joey Janela, Flip Gordon, Puma King, and even defended the Powerbomb.tv Independent Championship against Mike Quackenbush. But it was his feud in Ring of Honor against ROH World Champion Jay Lethal – particularly the 30 Minute Iron Man Match on ROH TV this past July – that won over a whole new legion of Gresham fans. And rightfully so. And now that’s he’s expanding further into the UK scene, working with RevPro and PROGRESS (on their US tour), and working with companies like International Wrestling Cartel (IWC), NOVA Pro and Black Label Pro, Gresham’s star is finally getting the attention in the US that’s been sorely lacking.
But now that the fans are now paying attention, the ball is now firmly in Jonathan Gresham’s court. But with 13 years under his belt, Gresham has seen it all and knows exactly what he needs to do to get to the next level – and that’s continue to steal the show, night in, and night out, like he has his entire career. And with 2019 just around the corner, and with so many of the top indie stars moving on to NXT, there’s opportunities opening, the time for Jonathan Gresham’s ascension to the top of the heap on the indies is no longer and question of if but when. And it’s closer than you think.
