Close Our Eyes To The Octopus Ride

Jonathan Gresham VS Matt Tremont - Beyond Wrestling 11/28/2015

CJD: I mentioned I don't want my #GWE26 viewing to dominate PIF and of course it's all we've talked about since here or when you and I have chatted wrestling. Well here's another modern (although retired... for now) wrestler who I nominated, definitely a bit of a dream match for me, in what seems like the opener (crazy to think about between these two), in Gresham's second match in a row we've featured VS a deathmatch wrestler. And you know what? If this match isn't as good as the Takeda classic, it's damn close. Like that match both guys try to play in the other's wheelhouse. Unlike that match this has more of a traditional structure and build but man these two are really two of the best of their generation. They make this one count. I love the momentum shifts. I even love Doom Patrol on commentary cracking wise. And I especially love the finishing sequence. This is a match that takes two completely different talents you're high on, throws them together on a whim, and leaves you on an even higher note. Still not sure if either guy will make my top 100 all-time by 2026, but I feel more optimistic about their cases after this one.

JJZ: Going into this match I had an idea of what it would look like. And I was totally wrong. Not in a bad way though. The easy road psychology would've been a 70/30 match in favor of Tremont using his size and strength for the advantage while Gresham uses his speed and submission abilities to grab quick holds so he can level the field. What we got was a 50/50 match that I couldn't see where it was going. I couldn't predict much of anything and I found myself on the edge of my seat to see what was next. I totally agree that the finishing sequence was fantasic. Great pick sweet cheeks.

Crazy Insane Kid, Or Insane Crazy Kid

 

Jonathan Gresham VS Masashi Takeda - Bloodsport 4/4/2019

JJZ: I know I've seen this match before, I don't know if you have though. Either way it is 100 percent worth a second watch. To put it simply, this match is wonderful. Technical, stiff, raw, aggressive, brilliant. Takeda impressed me so much with what he did. And on the flip side Johnny G impressed me with his striking. This is a 10 minute masterpiece. If I was there live for this I don't know what could've topped it because it was so much more than I thought it was gonna be. And I had high expectations, especially the second time around. Curious if either of these wrestlers will make your greatest wrestler project you're currently doing?

CJD: I have seen this before, I was there the night our good buddy Shaun "the Jawn" played us this gem! But make no mistake, I'll gladly rewatch this match any day of the week. It was one of my favorites of 2019 and you know that was a year loaded with wrestling I enjoyed. In fact, this very show was so stacked that one of the only matches that topped it for me happened later that night! And it wasn't the main event which most people had as match of the night!! It's funny to me that for a Bloodsport event the commentators are totally ignorant of Takeda's 11-4-1 MMA record and just want to play up his deathmatch background. I get pushing the styles clash but come on. I actually did nominate Gresham for #GWE26 but whether or not he gets my vote really depends on his next few years. Takeda I'd be surprised but if I can find more matches like this one then maybe! I think he's a very good, not great deathmatch wrestler, but I love him in matches where he brings that unpredictable edge to a different setting. As for this match you nailed everything great about it. So many wonderful transitions I totally forgot about. I love how it escalated. I love the finish. I love this match!

Forever Forward Friday

Lio Rush VS Jonathan Gresham - Legacy Wrestling Dangerous Encounters 12/5/2015

JJZ: Going into this match I thought it would be Gresham trying to ground Lio with Lio using his speed and flippy dips to gain offense. Instead we got a tit for tat kinda thing. I love love love the independent nature of this venue. Oversized gym with random people coming and going from a yoga class. I have no clue who else was on this show but I wouldn't have wanted to follow this. Both wrestlers showed more of their unnoticed talents and abilities. It's always a nice surprise when you expect one thing but get another and are still as satisfied as you were hoping you would be.

CJD: What I wouldn't give to see these guys go at it now. There's little touches that Rush would learn that give some of his spectacular offense more room to breathe. And Gresham is great here but as we know is almost without peer now. Still I'll gladly take what we get here, both men tell a story before the bell even rings walking to the ring just with their body language. The weird multilevel venue set up reminded me of the old video game Elevator Action. This was a standout match for certain, no downtime and a great finish. Very nice find, I doubt you and I would ever have known about it without Forever Forward Fridays.

Forever Forward Friday

Jonathan Gresham VS Karen Q - Beyond Wrestling VS WWR 4/5/2018

CJD: Ton of respect to Karen Q for hanging hold for hold with Gresham here. She might not be quite on his level but she didn't look out of place at all and the Octopus was really digging deep into his bag of tricks having a smaller (?) opponent for once. This crowd is pretty dead, I'm not sure if this is a WWN supershow preshow or something, but the commentators do a great job elevating the action and the talent regardless. I could have watched these two go at it twice as long but I really enjoyed what they packed into this one.

JJZ: This is one interesting match. Tiny ass crowd, intergender, probably enjoyed must by people who just love wrestling. Great hold for hold wrestling. The only thing I didn't like about the match was that it was only 10 minutes. And to be honest it only felt like 5. I could have watched this all day. I felt like Jon was very giving in this match. A lot of intergender matches just forcus the strength and size difference but not this match. They felt very equal. The finishing minutes were excellent and really had me guessing.

Ikuto Matata

https://rutube.ru/video/170cba1e56b314b7a1b357977bb509af/

Ikuto Hidaka VS Jonathan Gresham - Zero1 Tenkaichi Finals 9/17/2012

CJD: You played right into my trap! When I mentioned Sekimoto was on the short list of guys I wanted to put the title on early you had to know Hidaka was right up there as well. I'm sure you were unaware of Gresham's time in Zero1 as was the rest of the internet apparently based on the video & audio quality of this upload. But we're from the VHS tape trading generation where anything we don't have to watch through a layer of tracking snow and with the volume at 100 (I feel like TVs didn't even go to 100 back then) is gravy to us. With Gresham's amateur background and Hidaka's love of catch wrestling, this is as tricked out with chain wrestling and wacky pinning counters as you'd hope for. I actually don't love when it gets to more traditional juniors action later on but when I found this one I knew unless it was a total disappointment it'd be my pick for the week. And it's definitely not a disappointment.

JJZ: If I could sum up this match in one word it would be smooth. Even with the video quality being poor everything they did looked seamless. I haven't watched a lot of Hidaka recently so this was a treat. Jon looked great in this match. I wasn't aware he was this skilled in 2012. The finish caught me off guard in the best possible way. The Zero1 crowd was okay even though there wasn't a lot of asses in seats for this show. Hidaka is a true legend in my eyes. I know he won't get a lot of talk like this but whenever I get to watch a match of his it just makes me happy.

Ruthless Aggresham

Timothy Thatcher VS Jonathan Gresham - Beyond Wrestling 8/31/2014

JJZ: This match is from 2014 when Gresham was just starting to develop his rep as an elite technician. I wanted to play a match with Thatcher that showcased his strengths. In this match his mat wrestling is excellent and the psychology is on point. A lot of times in indy wrestling the wrestlers ignore a size or strength difference but in this match it is a feature. Beyond Wrestling at this point is at the level of PWG anymore with the quality of matches they produce.

CJD: Back to back Beyond! I agree that they have become one of the must watch indy promotions in the past few years so that makes me happy. I've actually seen more matches from Gresham as Hieracon in CHIKARA than I have as himself so this was interesting to me. At 5'4" he has to be super aware of how hard he has to work to make his work look believable and to his credit he absolutely does in this match. He plays up what a small target he is, how he has to build momentum to do things that are relatively simple for anyone bigger than him, and that if he tried to fight Thatcher toe to toe it simply wouldn't work. The finish was one of those refreshing moments where when it happens you think "there's actually no way out of that" and then there legitimately isn't. Great performances from both guys in this one.