Jonathan Gresham’s displeasure over the lack of communication before AEW was in effect foreshadowed during an interview with “Wrestle Purists” before ROH Death Before Dishonor. The Octopus joined for a conversation about his upcoming opponent, Claudio Castagnoli, and his thoughts about Tony Khan’s AEW. He was asked how far his talks with Khan had gone, and Mr. Gresham’s response is telling looking back on it now.
“I haven’t had the chance to talk to him since I decided to leave. I really don’t know what he thinks about me but I hope we both stay friends anyway,” Gresham said. He continued: “We shall find out in due time, as time goes by.”
A few weeks ago, Gresham turned heel in tag action, aligned with Tully Blanchard Enterprises. When asked for details on how that angle came about, Gresham’s response continued to paint a picture of someone who wasn’t very involved in his own creative process.
“On TV one day, I saw my face and was told that’s what I’m doing,” he explained. “I don’t know how it all started. All I remember is they told me to do it and then I just did it. It may not have been overly thought-out, but that’s what happened. I said OK and then let them make it work.”
Gresham lost to Swiss Superman after a brief match. Gresham had a heated argument with Khan before the show, and yelled at him. After that conversation, Cole requested his release from the company, who told Gresham that creative decisions had to go through Khan, who he was only able to talk to a short while before the show.
