They say there’s nothing new under the sun. But PRODUCE is trying a new way to promote pro wrestling. And now we have a card for their first show.
PRODUCE posted a full card for PRODUCE: Volume 1: The Octopus on social media this morning. The card:
Dark Sheik & Emersyn Jayne & Gabby Forza vs. Janai Kai & Jordan Blade & Nixi XS
LaBron Kozone vs. Tracy Williams
Beastman & Mad Dog Connelly vs. Effy & Mance Warner
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Liiza Hall
Erick Stevens vs. Oni King
Jersey City Wrestling Championship match: Charles Mason (c) vs. Amazing Red
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Darian Bengston
Superfight: Jonathan Gresham vs. Fuminori Abe
The main event pits former ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham against Japanese veteran Fuminori Abe. The show is titled after Gresham’s nickname because he’s largely responsible for putting the show together.
“Each edition is co-produced (booked and curated) by an active professional wrestler, who co-headlines and helps construct the undercard to introduce new talent to a broader audience,” according to a statement on the PRODUCE website. “Every show features a musical act or DJ chosen with the input of that edition’s co-producer.”
Jonathan Gresham is in a good place physically as he prepares to step back into the ring.
After more than six months out of action, Gresham will have his return match tonight (January 23) when he faces off against Ryan Clancy for Beyond Wrestling. Gresham went through a scary medical ordeal when he suffered two strokes in 2025, which were believed to be complications from a bad case of COVID-19, but he is now ready to resume his career.
“Everybody already knows I had two strokes,” Gresham told Undisputed ahead of tonight’s match. “They were Covid-related strokes. Now I’m fully ready to go. I’m 100 percent and I’m off to the races.”
Gresham has competed for TNA Wrestling, ROH, and AEW in the past but has been a free agent since early 2025. He told Undisputed that, on the indies, he is looking to give younger wrestlers the opportunity to face someone who is more experienced than them.
“Beyond did so much for me,” said Gresham. “It gave me a platform to show the world what I could do. It’s only fitting to come back and give young individuals the opportunity to wrestle people more experienced than them on a big stage.”
Gresham has also begun taking other indie bookings, including Superpower Slam (presented by Orange Crush & GCW) on February 1 and the Jersey J-Cup (GCW & JCW) on February 6-7.
Arts at the Armory in Somerville, Massachusetts is hosting tonight’s Beyond show. It will be broadcast live on IndependentWrestling.TV.
More details on Jonathan Gresham’s in-ring return.
It was announced on Sunday that Gresham will face Lee Moriarty in his return match on February 1 as part of the upcoming Superpower Slam charity event presented by Orange Crush, JCW, and GCW.
*SUPERPOWER SLAM UPDATE*
The returning
JON GRESHAM
vs
LEE MORIARTY
Melrose Ballroom in NYC Sunday, February 1, 2026 7 PM
Gresham, 37, revealed back in August that he was unable to use the left side of his body and struggled to talk after waking up. He was taken to the hospital where it was revealed he had suffered two strokes. He last wrestled at Josh Barnett’s Bloodspot XIV on August 2, losing to Pete Dunne.
The charity event will raise funds for the Little Oaks Center for Neurodevelopment. The center provides resources, therapies, and services for neurodivergent children and their parents. Billie Starkz, Matt Cardona, Mance Warner, and Joey Janela have been announced, and matches set include Paul Walter Hauser vs. Mad Dog Connelly and Willow Nightingale vs. Mara Sade.
After Superpower Slam, Gresham is also booked for JCW’s 2026 Jersey J-Cup on February 6 & 7 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
In early August, Gresham revealed that he had woken up unable to use the left side of his body and was struggling to talk. He was taken to the hospital, where he was told he had suffered two strokes.
Game Changer Wrestling has announced that Gresham will return to the ring for its Jersey Championship Wrestling show on Sunday, February 1, at the Melrose Ballroom.
“JON GRESHAM makes his return to the ring on February 1st for GCW & @JerseyCW’s SuperPower Slam!”
The show is a charity event and will raise funds for the Little Oaks Center for Neurodevelopment. The center provides resources, services, and therapies for neurodivergent children and their parents. Paul Walter Hauser, Matt Cardona, Mance Warner, Man Like Dereiss, and Effy are also booked for the show.
Gresham will return to the promotion for the 2026 Jersey J-Cup the following weekend on February 6-7 at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Gresham last wrestled at GCW Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIV on August 2 in Rutherford, New Jersey, where he lost to Pete Dunne.
*NYC UPDATE*
Breaking:
JON GRESHAM makes his return to the ring on February 1st for GCW & @JerseyCW's SuperPower Slam!
Plus: Paul Walter Hauser Matt Cardona Mance Warner Man Like Dereiss Effy YDNP
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
In a post shared on social media Thursday night, former Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham revealed a potentially devastating medical situation where he suffered two strokes just days ago.
Gresham wrote that on Tuesday, he woke up and was unable to walk, see, move the left side of his body, and could barely talk.
“It took me 30 minutes to dial 911, but I finally did. I woke up in the hospital, couldn’t remember what had happened. They told me they had done an MRI and I had two strokes. I’ve had a lot of tests run but everything has come back clean. They’re not sure what happened, and the only thing they said was it could have been a possible complication from a bad case of COVID I had a couple of weeks ago. They said we may never know the exact reason,” he wrote.
Gresham said he taking the next two-to-four-weeks off to both recover and be medically cleared. He last wrestled at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIV last Saturday, losing to Pete Dunne.
He also noted that current WWE NXT wrestler and wife Jordynne Grace “saw me get carted off from the house on our Ring doorbell camera and somehow flew from Orlando to Atlanta in time that she was there when I woke up.”
He added that he wasn’t convinced he had suffered a stroke until Grace showed him a picture (seen below) of his face.
“I never thought this would be something for me to worry about at 37 years old,” he said. “I will be back soon.”
WWE wrestler Pete Dunne and free agent Jonathan Gresham are set to meet one-on-one this weekend.
Game Changer Wrestling has confirmed that Dunne vs. Gresham will take place at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIV in New Jersey this Saturday. The show is being held at the Williams Center in Rutherford and will air live on TrillerTV+.
“Two of Pro Wrestling’s most dangerous grapplers are set to clash at Josh Barnett’s: Bloodsport XIV,” he wrote. “Refined in skills and holds but possessing the blunt viciousness needed when skill is not enough. These two are set to tear down the house and one another.”
Dunne — who will be wrestling his first match since May — has a 1-0 Bloodsport record with a victory over Timothy Thatcher from earlier this year.
Gresham is looking for his first Bloodsport win, holding an 0-2 record at the moment with losses to Zack Sabre Jr. and Masashi Takeda.
In addition to Dunne, WWE wrestlers Natalya and Charlie Dempsey will be competing at this Bloodsport indie event. Natalya vs. TNA’s Masha Slamovich is booked for the show. An opponent for Dempsey has not been announced yet.
Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIV (Saturday, August 2) —
Former Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham and AEW/ROH wrestler Nick Comoroto were part of the new additions to the next Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport event.
The 14th edition is set for Saturday, August 2nd in Rutherford, New Jersey, at the Williams Center as part of GCW Summersmash weekend — the same weekend WWE SummerSlam is taking place. The event will stream live on Triller+.
It will be the debut for the 34-year-old Comoroto who recently returned from a lengthy injury absence. He made a brief appearance in a May squash match loss to The Opps and hasn’t been in AEW or ROH since. According to Cagematch records, he competed on the indies five times in May but didn’t wrestle in June.
Gresham will be making his third Bloodsport appearance and is in search of his first win after losses to Masashi Tanaka and Zack Sabre Jr.
Also added to the show were regulars Matt Mako (the former Matt Makowski) and Simon Gotch.
Previously announced talent includes TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich, Janai Kai and Dominic Garrini.
History of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport
The former UFC heavyweight champion took over on the homage to the classic Jean Claude Van Damme film in April 2019 after the first was named for Matt Riddle.
The unique format where matches can only end via knockout or submission on a ring mat with no ropes has featured an influx of talent from across the wrestling world.
Past competitors include Barnett, Natalya, Jon Moxley, Shayna Baszler, Josh Alexander, Eddie Kingston, Charlie Dempsey, Masha Slamovich, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and more.
Jonathan Gresham might currently be a free agent with his TNA Wrestling contract recently expiring.
While appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Jordynne Grace confirmed that her husband’s TNA contract was set to expire this month. Grace said the expiration date on Gresham’s deal was “yesterday,” seemingly meaning the day before the podcast would be released. Her interview was recorded on January 16.
“Umm, good question. I don’t think that either of us know, actually,” Grace responded when asked what’s next for Gresham. “His contract was up yesterday. So I think he has a few conversations to have, and probably by the time this interview comes out everybody will know what’s going on with him too.”
There has been no announcement as to whether Gresham has re-signed with TNA or departed the promotion. His most recent match for TNA took place in December 2024.
As for Grace, her TNA contract expired with her final match for the company happening at Genesis on January 19. Grace has reportedly signed a multi-year deal with WWE. She’s been rumored to appear as a surprise entrant in the women’s Royal Rumble match this weekend.
A pre-show match is the latest addition to the card for TNA Final Resolution 2024.
This Friday, TNA presents its last major event of the year with Final Resolution being held at Center Stage in Atlanta. It was announced today that Jonathan Gresham vs. Frankie Kazarian will take place on Countdown to Final Resolution. The free pre-show streams live on TNA+ and YouTube starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.
An eight-man tag match headlined Impact last week with Gresham and Kazarian on opposite sides. Gresham put Josh Alexander in a submission and appeared to have the match won, but the referee was distracted. Kazarian used the opportunity to strike Gresham with the Call Your Shot trophy. Alexander then pinned Gresham, giving Kazarian, Alexander, Judas Icarus & Travis Williams the victory over Gresham, Steve Maclin, Eric Young & Mike Santana.
Kazarian won the Call Your Shot gauntlet at Bound for Glory this October, earning a future shot at any TNA title of his choosing.
The updated Final Resolution lineup is listed below. The main card has a start time of 8 p.m. Eastern on TNA+.
TNA Final Resolution 2024 (Friday, December 13) —
TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defends against AJ Francis
TNA Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich defends against Tasha Steelz
Tables match: TNA Tag Team Champions The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) defend against The System (Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards)
TNA X-Division Champion Moose defends against KUSHIDA
TNA World title number one contender’s match: Joe Hendry vs. Mike Santana vs. Steve Maclin vs. Josh Alexander
Last Friday’s TNA Under Siege streaming special had some great wrestling, some odd booking, and the debut of Jonathan Gresham as The Octopus: one of the worst gimmicks you’ll see all year.
That show is the focus of this week’s Big Vinny V Show.
Highlights included Mustafa Ali defending his X-Division Title against Ace Austin in a better match bell-to-bell than anything WWE presented at Backlash (albeit with a polar opposite crowd reaction), and Matt Hardy having his best outing in ages in the main event against Moose and The System.
The lows included, as always, the Knockouts tag division as well as the aforementioned mollusk.
Friday’s TNA Under Siege only had three title matches on the card, one of which saw a title change with another one announced due to necessity.
The Knockouts Tag Team Championship is now owned by Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards after their victory over Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat).
It’s the fifth title change for these belts this year alone and Slamovich’s third overall. Her prior two were with Killer Kelly who is currently taking some time off from the promotion. It’s Edwards’ first title reign of any kind in TNA.
The win ends the two-month run for Spitfire who had just one successful title defense in that time.
**********
The other title bouts saw X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali successfully retain his gold by besting former champion Ace Austin, while Digital Media Champion Laredo Kid defeated KC Navarro.
**********
The card saw several matches change from the originally announced lineup.
Alexander Hammerstone was set to face Jake Something, but Hammerstone was “not medically cleared” to wrestle and thus was pulled. It’s unknown what the injury is as both Hammerstone and TNA had posted on social media about the match just hours before the show started.
As a result of that change, Something was then booked against Rich Swann. Swann had been set to face Digital Media Champion Laredo Kid in a non-title match.
Kid then was signed to the aforementioned title defense against KC Navarro who hadn’t been announced for the show.
**********
After an extended absence, a new deal with the company and vignettes heralding his return under unique circumstances, Jonathan Gresham introduced his new look which includes wrestling under a mask in addition to trunks.
Jonathan Gresham has re-upped with TNA Wrestling, announced by the company today.
Per usual, no terms were provided in terms of contract length.
Gresham recently wrapped up a one-year deal that was announced in December 2022, kicked off by him competing at January 2023’s Hard to Kill.
His last in-ring match for TNA was an October 2023 TV bout with then-TNA World Champion Alex Shelley, but has remained active on the U.S. indie scene with promotions like GCW in addition to stops in AJPW and several UK promotions.
TNA announced he will be part of Rebellion weekend in Las Vegas which features the pay-per-view and a TV taping the next day.
Playing off the frustrated character he adopted near the end of 2023, Gresham returned to TNA TV on Thursday with the first vignette of a series. He’s in a group counseling-esque meeting and says if he wants to say something and have people listen, he has to wear a mask. The clip then cuts to someone else saying, “If you want to be honest, you have to live a lie. Jon, we’re done with lies.”
The former Ring of Honor World, Tag Team and Pure Champion has yet to hold a title in TNA which is also home to his wife and current Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace.
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley will defend his championship against Jonathan Gresham on tonight’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
Shelley is gunning for his sixth title defense while Gresham, the former Ring of Honor World Champion, is searching for his first Impact title of any kind.
A feud that has built for weeks will finally come to fruition as Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer will defend against Crazzy Steve who earned the shot by grabbing a Feast or Fired briefcase at October’s Bound for Glory.
Two former Impact World Champions and rivals will square off as Eric Young takes on Eddie Edwards.
In a clash of former Knockouts Champions, Deonna Purrazzo battles Tasha Steelz. The two teamed up at Bound for Glory and were unsuccessful in defeating MK Ultra for the Knockouts Tag Team titles.
Two former Digital Media Champions will reignite their feud as Joe Hendry takes on Brian Myers.
**********
After last week’s sojourn to the October UK tour, Impact returns to Chicago for the post-Bound for Glory TV taping for this week’s episode.
Following an extensive look at last week’s show, we kick off with a battle of former Knockouts Champions who recently failed to in their effort to win the Knockouts Tag Team titles. Thus, they resume action against each other.
Tasha Steelz defeated Deonna Purrazzo
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt really drilled home that these two have been longtime friends, complete with still photos. That’s when you know it’s serious.
Because of their friendship, this was more of a friendly competition than a heated match. However, it did include twerking from both competitors so there’s that.
Things kicked up late when Steelz thought Purrazzo was trying to break her arm and fired up. After two straight cutters, Steelz got the pin and no doubt win. We’ll see about that friendship.
The result here, and in recent weeks, certainly won’t quell any rumors that Purrazzo may be on her way out as her deal is up at the end of the year. But, PCO also was thought to be gone and ended up re-signing so anything’s possible.
– Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) were backstage having a conversation about how they will the TNA tag champs when the named change takes place when Santino Marella walked up to conversate.
That led to Kenny King and Sheldon Jean interrupting because King wants a Digital Media title rematch. ABC didn’t take kindly to it and you’ll never believe this: these two teams will meet next week for the titles.
Crazzy Steve defeated Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer by DQ
As part of the build to this, Steve stabbed Dreamer in the back with a fork, ending their friendship. Steve hasn’t been taken that seriously in Impact as he has lost, well, a lot through the years. He earned the shot here by taking one of the briefcases in last month’s Feast or Fired bout.
This was built around how sadistic Steve was being toward Dreamer, but when you saw some of the stuff Dreamer endured in ECW, getting his eyes raked seems rather tame.
Steve went into the briefcase late in the match and got a fork, saying he had to end Dreamer.
Dreamer stopped him by biting his hand and hitting a cutter, followed by him driving the fork into Steve’s head for the DQ that busted him open. Dreamer then snapped and said, “You wanna feel pain, Steve? Fork you!” and somewhat drove the fork into his head. Yes, this happened.
You can skip this.
– Jonathan Gresham cut his usual intense promo about how he is going to beat Alex Shelley for the title tonight.
Brian Myers defeated Joe Hendry
Hendry is coming off a great run on the UK tour and all the fans in attendance waved their hands and told Hendry, “We believe.” I think I believe too.
Hendry said that the rebrand of TNA will actually begin tonight as Myers will no longer be known as “Edge’s bitch” but now will be known as “Adam’s bitch” which got a laugh from the fans. That was a good line.
This was a meeting of former Digital Media Champions and past opponents. I like Hendry, but there was nothing must-watch here. Even Hannifan and Rehwoldt were cracking jokes about wieners in apparent boredom.
This went on for a lot longer than it needed to, especially on a Thursday when there’s been so much wrestling already this week. Myers poked Hendry’s eyes while the referee was tied up with both men and hit his Roster Cut clothesline for the pin and win. Given Hendry’s popularity, I find that to be a curious decision.
– The hype has begun for Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay has begun as we’ll see that match next week.
Ospreay, with his NJPW UK title somehow completely intact, talked to Gia Scott. The tl;dr: he is ready for Alexander and wants to know if Alexander is ready to face the best.
Eric Young defeated Eddie Edwards (w/ Alisha Edwards)
Much like Hendry vs. Myers, this came out of the Bound for Glory Call Your Shot gauntlet match where Edwards eliminated Young. These two former Impact World Champions also have an extensive history against each other.
Alisha got involved on a few occasions, distracting Young at one point as he went to the top rope. Young eventually battled and hit his elbow drop for a nearfall. Alisha again distracted Young as he was going for his piledriver finisher, leading to an Edwards Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall of his own.
Alisha tossed in a chair to her husband who pulled it away and got distracted. Edwards then held Young for Alisha to nail him with a kendo stick, but Young ducked and Edwards got nailed. Young hit the piledriver and got the pin as Hannifan drove home the fact TNA is returning in January. Did you hear that yet?
This was a house show opener that was neither good nor bad. It just was.
– Brian Myers was wondering why Moose wasn’t out there to back him up earlier and Moose said it seemed like Myers was all set. As they started to grumble a bit, Heath walked in and challenged Moose to a match. Moose accepted, asked Myers, “How’s that for loyalty?” and walked away.
– Sonny Kiss caught up with Gia Miller. If you remember, Kiss made his surprise debut in the Call Your Shot gauntlet which feels like it was a year ago at this point. Knockouts Champion Trinity walked up and was thrilled to see Kiss, saying she would talk to management to see if they could do a match next week. Well, that was quick.
This was a rare squash match on Impact and one that featured Prudius (the former Koslov in WWE) wrestling in his first match in 12 years. Dango joined the commentary team, essentially turning this into a handicap match.
After Prudius beat up both men, Dango jumped back on the apron, got a tag, hit a reverse DDT to get the win.
– Jordynne Grace, owner of the Call Your Shot gauntlet trophy, said she will make history at Hard to Kill and got interrupted by Bully Ray who wanted a handshake. KiLynn King then walked into the frame and said it was pure luck Grace won. Ray, who trained King, told her to “back it down a notch.” These two exchanged words and then Steve Maclin walked in and called Ray soft. Ray told him off, King walked away, and that was that.
– The Rascalz cut a backstage promo after losing the Impact Tag Team titles and they weren’t too upset about losing them. Why? Because they now have former MLW Middleweight Champion Myron Reed in the group.
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defeated Jonathan Gresham to retain the title
If you’re a time traveler, you would have to suspend your belief for the timeline on how this came to be. You see, this was taped the day after Bound for Glory and then, the crew headed to the UK for a tour. There, Shelley injured his calf in a tag team bout and had to pull out of the remaining matches so he could recover. However, that match aired before this one did. Got all that?
Gresham upped his latest heel mannerism, using his wrist tape to distract the referee so he could attack Shelley. He also decided to hold on a figure four for a few seconds longer even though Shelley grabbed the bottom rope because he was stuck. What a heel!
These two have shared the ring a lot through the years, both as opponents and as teammates. This was their sixth singles bout against each other and the first in Impact.
The story was Gresham working over Shelley’s knee with Shelley managing to do just enough to evade him temporarily before getting attacked again. In turn, Shelley focused on Gresham’s arm to set up for the Motor City Stretch.
As expected, this was very good. Gresham was fantastic as a heel with all these little shortcuts he would take out of nowhere to drive the fans crazy. The nearfalls were really good as well, especially a dizzying series of pin attempts in the closing minutes.
Shelley eventually got the pin after hitting a superkick and Shellshock for the win. This is worth going out of your way to see and honestly could have been a main event on one of their monthly specials.
