Report: Jonathan Gresham Asks For ROH/AEW Release
Former ROH World Champion made request before Death Before Dishonor PPV.
Less than 24 hours after losing his Ring of Honor World Championship to Claudio Castagnoli, news has surfaced that Jonathan Gresham has requested his release from ROH.
Gresham battled Claudio in the opening match of the Death Before Dishonor PPV Saturday night, losing a 10-plus minute bout that saw his 224-day reign end. The title win was Castagnoli's first world title victory.
Fightful Select reports that Gresham had asked for his release earlier in the day before the PPV, with the outlet told that there was "a lack of communication" between ROH and the former world champion leading up to the show, which led to him feeling disrespected. The short run time for the world title match reportedly was a "tipping point" too.
Fightful indicated that Gresham had a meeting with Tony Khan prior to the show, which included the wrestler "cussing out" the head honcho, with several talent confirming the encounter. However, it has not been confirmed whether Gresham's request for a release has been granted. He reportedly left right after his match.
Gresham is "done with wrestling for the foreseeable future after this month," according to Fightful after reaching out to the former champ and Khan for responses. Reportedly, Gresham came out for his match without his usual gear (mask, jacket and flag) because he "wanted to be himself and see everything clearly for what would possibly be his last match."
Fightful has not received a response from Tony Khan or ROH.
It's worth noting that Gresham's Twitter account has been deactivated.