New ROH world champion Jonathan Gresham recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about his huge triumph at this past weekend’s Final Battle pay per view, stating that it is now his mission to keep the spirit of ROH alive as they promotion plans to go on hiatus. Highlights are below.
Says Final Battle felt like a full circle moment for him:
Final Battle was a night that was full circle for me. I spent a lot of time with the fans at ringside. There were so many people there I knew—from the independents, from seminars, fans from smaller independent shows, like NOVA Pro [in Virginia], guys that stayed on my couch during our travels—and everyone kept telling me they had to see me win the Ring of Honor title. I have enjoyed this entire ride, so all of that meant the world to me.
Says it is up to him to keep the spirit of ROH alive as world champion:
As champion, it is up to me to keep the spirit and the essence of Ring of Honor alive. I will preserve and protect Pure wrestling as Ring of Honor world champion. I am going to make this championship the best wrestling title in the world. In order to do that, I need to wrestle two men who helped make the Ring of Honor title the best in the world: Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. At one time, being the Ring of Honor champion meant that you were the world’s best professional wrestler. But that moniker was taken away, and my mission is to restore honor to the title. I need to step in the ring with those two men. Until then, I’ll take on all challengers for the Ring of Honor title. I plan on defending the title, but I will only defend it under Pure professional wrestling rules, which is the way it always should have been.