Jonathan Gresham Believes WWE Decision 'F--ked Up' Pro Wrestling
The customary babyface vs. heel storyline set-up isn't as prevalent in pro wrestling anymore, and Jonathan Gresham, for one, believes WWE is largely to blame.
In a recent interview with WrestlePurists, Gresham was asked why he prefers to wrestle a slower, technical style, and not bust out the aerial moves he has previously used on the indies. In response, Gresham explained why a lot of modern wrestlers and promoters had forgotten the original role of a heel.
"I'm kinda antiquated in the sense I believe a heel and face should exist," Gresham stressed. "I believe if you're a heel, your job is to make sure the face is over, you should never compete with the face for pops. That's in my mind – you know how I would build a heel versus face match, so if I'm wrestling a guy that is not as athletic as me, why would I do moonsaults and shooting star presses? It's just like I'm outshining him now. If you tell me I'm a heel, now I have this mental block saying I can't do these [high-flying] things, but then when I watch wrestling programs, and you have heels doing really cool stuff. Yeah, you know they're not really heels anymore because they're getting pops and 'oohs and aahs.'
"In my mind, the heel's job is to take away what the fans want to see, you know what I mean? So, once the face gets rocking and rolling, the heel does something underhanded to take it away. I believe my decision to use technical wrestling, slowing the pace down [is because I'm a heel]. People don't want to see things slow down, they want to see it sped up. So if I always switch the gears and slow it down, then they're going encourage the face, thus getting him over even more. That's my theory but it's kinda like, are the promoters really listening to the fans? Or are they understanding that this individual understands how to be a heel?"
Gresham continued, "Because now, wrestling has evolved so much – I think it was something WWE said where it's like people aren't always good and aren't always bad. That f—ed up everything. Once that happened, things changed. That [form of storytelling] can be done with a couple of people, but there need to be people that are bad and good. If you watch any successful Disney movie, there's always a villain and a good guy. Now, most wrestling is face vs. face, and everything is pop, pop, pop."
As noted earlier, Gresham has not been seen backstage at AEW shows since he demanded his release from AEW/ROH at last Saturday's Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. According to Fightful Select, Jonathan Gresham is not factored into any AEW/ROH plans going forward after he reportedly got in a heated conversation with AEW/ROH Owner Tony Khan.