Jonathan Gresham successfully defended his Ring of Honor World Championship at AEW’s Battle of Belts II on Saturday night, but he reportedly didn’t leave the match unscathed. “The Octopus” was reportedly checked for a concussion following the taping of his match with Dalton Castle on Friday night and it was later announced he had been pulled from upcoming PROGRESS events in the UK (he’s world champion over there too) due to injury.
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“Regrettably, due to injury, Jonathan Gresham is not medically cleared to make the trip to the UK this weekend. Replacements will be named shortly for both #AtlasWeekend events. Our champion WILL be back in action at Chapter 134 on Sunday May 15th,” the promotion’s Twitter account wrote.
Gresham added in a video message — “Hello, everyone. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it to London this weekend for the Sunday and Monday events due to an injury,” Gresham says. “I have not been cleared to compete. So, I do want to apologize to Progress and the fans for not being able to make it this weekend. I really wanted to but my health comes first and I have to just take a little time off. Once I’m cleared, I’ll definitely be back and I really look forward to being back and working with Progress and performing for you guys. So, please keep me in your prayers. I’d really appreciate it. I’ll see you all next time, and thank you for understanding.”
Fightful Select reported that the injury occurred early in the match. Gresham was then attacked by Jay Lethal, Sonjya Dutt and Satnam Singh after the bout.
Gresham initially won the ROH title at Final Battle last December and defended it in promotions like GCW, Impact Wrestling, Terminus, Defy and PROGRESS before unifying it with Bandido’s world championship at Supercard of Honor on April 1. He is now being positioned as the top star in the promotion, which Tony Khan purchased earlier this year. Friday’s taping marked Gresham’s first time on AEW programming.
Khan was asked during the Supercard of Honor press conference about any updates on the future of the ROH promotion — namely its TV deal, future tapings and pay-per-views. He was unable to give any updates at the time. Stay tuned for more updates on both the promotion and Gresham’s status!
