Since officially becoming a member of AEW by way of Ring of Honor, Jonathan Gresham has been nothing but a babyface.

Now granted, it's hard to tell if you only watch AEW television, as Gresh had rarely appeared on either Dynamite or Rampage until very recently, but over those fleeting appearances, his spot on Supercard of Honor, and his run on the indies, Gresham has largely maintained a positive yet stoic persona dedicated to preaching the merits of wrestling with honor and showcasing his technically proficient grappling to anyone who dares to enter the same ring.

This was the vibe Gresham brought to his first appearance on AEW Dynamite in a backstage segment that also featured Lee Moriarty, Tully Blanchard, and his new team, the Gates of Agony. Though Moriarty wanted to test his mettle against the current ROH champion, Gresham opted to instead team up with the young native of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in the hopes of accepting another match offered his way by the former Four Horseman member/manager of FTR.

And yet, the way Gresham entered the ring, walking right past Moriarty while decked out in his octopus mask and The Foundation attire, was only the start of his evening a very unusual night for the MF Doom-masked performer who was making his return to Rampage for his first match since April, where he teamed with Brock Anderson and Dante Martin in a losing effort to The Blackpool Combat Club. No Gresham apathy towards Moriarty extended to tagging into the match too, as the ROH champion twice ignored his extended hand – once subtly, once not even close to subtly – before leaving the ring entirely to embrace with Blanchard while his teammate secured both of them a loss on their permanent AEW records.

But why? Had Gresham lost his mind? Did he forget which team he was on for a second? Does he have some long-standing rivalry with the proponent of Taiga Style?

None of the above; no, Gresham has instead decided to team up with Tully and company because AEW has been fully ignored him save a single match at Battle of the Belts II despite being the Ring of Honor World Champion. If he isn't going to be taken seriously in AEW, why play by their rules and elevate the promotion's talent when his are being hidden away not even on Dark or Dark Elevation but instead on the indies?

A Jonathan Gresham heel turn has major implications for AEW and ROH.

When a performer jumps from one promotion to another, especially when they are still appearing for the original promotion too, it's easy to make them entitled heels who feel they aren't receiving the proper respect that they deserve in their new homes. It happened with Dolph Zigler when he moved down to NXT, when Kenny Omega wrestled in Impact during his “Belt Collector” gimmick, and with the nWo both when they jumped ship from WWF to WCW and again when they again jumped back from WCW to WWF.

Fortunately, you can now add Jonathan Gresham to that list, as the ROH champion's decision to antagonize the invading Tony Khan from running his new, second promotion as he desires is shaping up to be an angle that few saw coming but should inspire many an interesting angle if done correctly.

Week 1 of this new decision? Yeah, a resounding success indeed.

When news broke all the way back in April that Gresham wouldn't be long for Impact Wrestling – where his wife, Jordynne Grace, also wrestles – because of the re-launch of Ring of Honor, fans expected to see the 5-foot-4 submission specialist appear on their television screens – and at Pay-Per-Views cards – far more often than once per calendar season. Mercedes Martinez was defending her ROH belt on AEW programming, as was Wheeler Yuta, and when Samoa Joe was healthy, he would seldom come to an AEW ring without his ROH Television Title. While the exclusion of Gresham at the time felt like a bit of an oversight, if the decision was instead intentional in the hopes of drumming up some rage inside “The Octopus,” well, then that's just some good old-fashioned long-term storytelling right there; no wonder Khan won Booker of the Year in 2021.

Will it work? Will Jonathan Gresham be in the ring long-term as the new heelish face of Ring of Honor wrestling, or will this turn prove short-lived and end with someone like Bryan Danielson winning the ROH World Championship for the first time since 2006? Frankly, it's probably the latter, but that doesn't mean Gresham can't get himself over with a new, cocky persona in the process.