John Morrison : Good Wrestler Or Talentless Spot Monkey?

[The Future Rises]

This is something I've noticed in the IWC. When it comes to John Morrison it's like a 50% situation. Some of them absolutely love JoMo and think he's amazing. But others seem to hate on him a lot for being a "human spot monkey".

Now for me I think his spots are what make a lot of people say "Morrison is amazing. Why isn't he main eventing?". Now to be honest I don't know what to think about Morrison. He shows some good moves every now and then(corkscrew neckbreaker, wheelbarrow facebuster, sto backbreaker, etc..) and other moves he used during his Johnny Nitro days but I think Morrison limits his moveset to match his high flying rockstar character so he just doesn't use those moves often anymore. His flashy character and high spots make him the popular superstar he is today. Some fans like it.. Some fans don't. His best match was against Dolph Ziggler at the 2009 Hell in a Cell pay per view. But looking back it was Ziggler who made that match an amazing classic.

Now What Do You Think About John Morrison, Talented Superstar With Great Potential, Or Just A Talentless Spot Monkey?

 

[Bender]

I think Morrison is extremely talented with his athletic abilities and great movement. I think this whole "Spot Monkey" is actually because of his character. He perfects that character greatly, he has great potential. I don't think his character is right for being a main eventer though.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I don't like Morrison. He's bland, has been pushed before and came of nothing, people seem to live of these ideas that the guy is entertaining because he can stretch his legs a lot and do the odd thing others surrounding him can't. Simple fact is as a professional wrestler he isn't that talented in any field maybe asides a good look. I've never seen him cut a decent promo, never seen him have a meaningful feud even though someone will mention his rivalries over the IC Championship. But what do we actually know about him?

He's John Morrison. He does Parkour. He is somewhat thrilling with the odd thing he does and he has been a multi-time WWE Intercontinental Champion. And what else? Nothing really that you could extract from what he does on television. But we also know why WWE have a certain amount of ignorance towards what he does because for one he's a legitimate coward and two his nose is firmly up Melina's rear-end probably in more ways than one.

Don't like him. Don't think he's talentless but what he does gets nothing from me. I'd prefer to watch half the guys who get runs on Superstars than I would a John Morrison match. And that is being honest. He's just not my cup of tea really.

 

[Kizzani]

This is a bad question to ask the forums because what I have noticed is people can't find the difference between personal feelings and actual facts. Most people on these forums spend time typing up so stupid comments that don't even come close to the topic at hand, my question is why do you waste your time?

Now to the question:
John Morrison is a good wrestler, he is a decent high flyer but not a true flyer. it isn't his wrestling skills that make him the guy people dislike it is him ability to control the microphone, this is leading him to go into match and become a spot monkey. When Morrison goes in to a legit match he put on a great show taking the match back and forth, he can easily carry the match. He his lack of ability to cut a decent promo is the problem. I believe this is the reason Miz and Morrsion were such a great team. John Morrison has been good twice once with MNM and once with Miz/Morrison. Morrison needs to get put back on a tag team and go back to rocking the division.
Look at some of the great tag teams usually one is great wrestler and the other is a mic guy. Road Warriors, Demolition, Bushwhackers, New Age outlaws, Animal, Crush, Butch, Gunn, Those guys were the wrestlers of the team where Hawk, Axe, Dogg and Luke where the promo guys.

 

[The Future Rises]

This is a bad question to ask the forums because what I have noticed is people can't find the difference between personal feelings and actual facts. Most people on these forums spend time typing up so stupid comments that don't even come close to the topic at hand, my question is why do you waste your time?

You could have asked any other OP in any other thread this question. I'm asking this to finally see what the majority of the people on the forum think about Morrison. I've seen a lot of different opinions on him. But this is finally the right place and the right time to discuss it. If I'm wasting my time by starting a thread and asking a question then why did you even bother to answer it? You totally confused me.

 

[mkman613]

john morrison is a talented performer. not a great talker, but he has a great move set, but its probably only 60 percent consistent.

His biggest problem is that he has no sense of timing or performing for a live audience. he is way too fast and doesnt 'milk' or take advantage of an exciting moment. he tries a lil before starship pain, but it doesnt work. he could use some work on his timing.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

He does pretty flips, so apparently he should be world champion.

Acting like this means Jack Evans should be in WWE and be world champion as well.

Charisma has always been the number one thing you need. As well as that "it" factor or whatever.

Another thing I've only seen about 2 or 3 matches of his that were really good that were not gimmick matches of any kind.

 

[Miz_Mark]

John Morrison is absolutely not a main event caliber competitor. He has a great look and can produce good spots, but in every other facet of being a professional wrestler, he is lacking. His charisma is nonexistent, his mic skills ditto. In the ring, take away the spots, and he is nothing. His transitions suck, his timing is abysmal, his psychology nonexistent, and his clotheslines may be the worst thing I've seen in a ring. He needs to go back to training and learn the fundamentals of being a wrestler, instead of being an excellent gymnast who happens to perform in a wrestling ring. If he did that, maybe he could be a true talent. Until he does, the spot he occupies on the card is already higher than it should be.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Talented Wrestler all in all ... yes his relies on spots to get pops but then its not diffrent from lets say a big guy doing a slam on another big guy to get a reaction.

Indication if he's a good wrestler is by looking at his matches ... he's had matches with Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Sheamus, and The Miz. All those matches have been good and gets a good crowd reaction. So overall I would say he has good inring skills.

 

[frostbite2819]

somewhere in between the two.
i personally like the guy. i cant call him a spot monkey completely because he has had some fantastic matches (vs. miz, misterio, ziggler) that DID NOT rely heavily on spots throughout, and had good back and forth wrestling.
so yeah, a good wrestler, who happens to be a good choreographer of some amazing eye-opening moments in wwe history.

 

[Okay Fabian]

Let's see how JoMo stacks up using Bret Hart's criteria:

1) Physical appearance

He definitely has "The Look" of a Main-Event player. The hair, the shades, the jackets, the abs, the tan, the slow-motion arm raise, etc. It's a solid combo.

2) Charisma / Mic skills

Physically, Morrison is very charismatic. He exudes the rock star attitude. Unfortunately, as a face, he hasn't been able to play off the Shaman of Sexy, Guru of Greatness, Palace of Wisdom stuff that made him a decent mic worker in his ECW feud with CM Punk. He was also very passable on the mic when he did the Dirt Sheet with The Miz. In general, I think being a heel makes it a hell of a lot easier to get over on the mic. Without that edge, he's mediocre. Morrison just isn't being put in the right situations to succeed in promos.

(The same thing happened with Kofi Kingston. He had an edge to him in his feud with Randy Orton. He was intense. He was less happy-go-lucky, and it was awesome to watch. But ever since then, he has gone back to his Bubblegum "Boom, Boom, Boom" self. It's not that Kofi and JoMo aren't decent mic workers. They just aren't put in the right circumstances.)

3) In-ring ability

JoMo is a mixed bag. His spots are fun to watch, and he definitely gets the crowd to pop, which is incredibly important. He certainly has a stacked resume of memorable moments (The Spiderman on the barricade at Royal Rumble, The drop off the Chamber onto Sheamus, the Moonsault with the Ladder at Wrestlemania, etc). But when you think about other great performers (like Hogan, Cena, Rock, Austin, Taker, HHH, HBK, etc) do you remember them for spots, or their overall body of work?

There is no denying that he has A TON of physical talent. He just lacks a little bit in the psychology department. He has the in-ring goods to pull off a great match. And he has put on some clinics. But I think he is going to be stuck in the IC Champion category (see: Mr. Perfect, Ricky Steamboat, Owen Hart, Rick Rude) for awhile until he steps up his game in other areas.

 

[frostbite2819]

This is from Mick Foley's book 'Have a Nice Day', and it is originally quoted to Ole Anderson:

"There is a guy walking around a war-torn country, and he comes across a girl who has been killed by a bomb. The guy drops to his knees and goddamn, it is the worst thing he has ever seen. Well the guy gets up, he walks a few steps and sees five kids who have also beed killed and burned by a bomb. 'Oh god, this is really bad' he thinks, but he gets up and walks on until he sees ten girls who have been killed and says, 'what a shame' as he walks on by. By the time he gets to a hundred children who have been bombed and killed, he does not even slow down to look. He just doesnt care anymore."

I think Ole was origionally making the point that if you see enough of anything it gets old. He was saying big spots dont even belong in wrestling.
However times have changed, but you can still use the story as an example of how to hone your craft to the point that when you do something big and mind boggling, space it out so it still seems amazing. And i think John Morrison has perfected this art. He had a huge spot that was actually simple to the eyes at the rumble this year, and a great spot at EC this year. But we dont see him doing this stuff on RAW every week.
That is why it resonates for his character, he does not (despite what people on these forums think) CONSTANTLY RELY on these spots, but if he has them in his arsenal to pull out in big situations because of his athleticism, then why not use them if the angle or match permits?

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Anyone who thinks that Morrison is just a spot monkey is either an ignorant mark or a complete idiot. When someone on this forum created a thread about Punk's best matches no one had a list of more than 3 matches but the one match that everyone had was Punk vs. Morrison for the ECW title at whatever ppv it was in 2007. His in-ring style is more than just silly spots, he's a fantastic storyteller and can always put on a show that gets the fans into the action. Watch his matches against Punk, Rey, and Jeff Hardy in 2009 on SD and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. If you could only watch one, watch his match vs. Jeff Hard for the WHC on SD it was amazing, had great spots, but there was a lot of mat wrestling too.

 

[THE AWESOME MIZFIT]

Talentless spot monkey.

I used to be a huge JoMo mark but then I realized he sucks. At least as a face he is. The guy can't cut a promo for shit and he has Shows no emotion and is just another high flier. He has this whole parkour thing going for him and that's it. I do believe he was better as a heel but I still don't think he's main event level nor will he ever be. He's gonna achieve a lot of mid card success and that's all I see him doing. There is no way in hell he is going to be able to go back and forth on the mic with guys like Punk, Cena, Del Rio, Orton etc. He's just not good enough to be in a main event program and like I said I don't think he will ever be.

 

[Dynamitekid2012]

I always think of it like this. If he were in TNA, he'd just be an X-Division guy. With that said, I don't think he's talentless, I just think he's a dime a dozen in today's business. Every time I watch his matches they feel so choerographed (yes I know it often is anyway) that I have a hard time suspending my disbelief and buying into it. I see some value in having him on the roster in WWE where he stands out a little, but once he's gone, he will be easily replaced by any X-division like gymnast guy on the indies who can do a couple "cool" moves.

Anyway, thats my two cents. Not really my cup of tea either.

 

[Dusty Roids]

I don´t think he is talentless at all. He pretty good in the highflying but still need to work on other things. He relies on spots too much. its almost like he needs those spots to be entertaining. He needs to focus on getting thew crowd behind him without doing the spot. And I don´t think he is world championship material, but that has more to do with charisma than his wrestling ability.

 

[Spartanwar]

I think that John Morrison is a good wrestler and I can remember back when tough enough was being aired on Mtv (I think he was in the second season) and on one of the episodes there near the finale he had another competitor laying on their back in the ring and he did a standing shooting star press. That had not been seen at the time and as far as I know never been tried either.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Morrison is an extremely talented high flying WRESTLER. He is NOT a talentless spot monkey. I am surprised that he is not main eventing yet, and upset that Miz got pushed to a world title before him. Morrison was always the more talented of the two in their tag team, and he is one of the best on Raw right now. The problem for many people is likely his face turn because his promos have not been as good as they were back when he made fun of everyone on The Dirt Sheet. If they combined that style of promos (only mocking heels rather than faces) with his current in-ring style and insane moves like Starship Pain, then you'd easily find the next challenger for Del Rio. People do not give Morrison the credit he deserves, whether that be fans, or the WWE itself.

 

[Blade]

I agree with those who say he's somewhere in between. He can put on good matches, without a doubt. His matches with CM Punk and Jeff Hardy in the summer of 2009 (I think it was 2009) were great matches that would've fit in on any Pay Per View. And his matches with The Miz were always good.

But it has been pointed out that, while he can mesmerise the fans for a few moments, he has never captivated an audience throughout a whole promo or match. That's what makes a real main eventer, when you can make the crowd hang on your every move or word, that kind of presence that is absolutely necessary to make it as a world champion. Morrison just doesn't have that presence or that charisma. Which is a shame because, if this were a time where champions were only judged on matches, I think he'd be quite a decent champion.

 

[Skinsley]

There is a lot of things I could probably call John Morrison if I thought about it, but talentless is certainly not one of them.
His high flying and his parkour are talents in themselves but the problem with JoMo is that he is just plain boring.
I can’t quite put my finger on why his in ring performances do not entertain me. His signature moves such as the chuck kick and the running knee are all great moves aswell as his corkscrew and starship pain.
So what is it that makes him so plain? Granted he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a microphone for the foreseeable future and his babyface gimmick should be absolute GOLD! But it’s not, and I can’t even explain it to myself.

Deep down I want to like him, so it is not like the John Cena syndrome where you just look for the negative constantly. There is genuinely something missing from John Morrison, I am not voting because my answer is neither of the two provided.

 

[arcticfox04]

John Morrison should get back into the Tag Team brackets. He doesn't really appeal to me in singles. He was best with the Miz. Team Morrison team with Alex Riley and have them feud with Miz/Truth after they win the titles.

 

[mikde_]

John Morrison is a WOW! guy. He can deliver a WOW! moment when needed like at Royal Rumble but as a wrestler he is not great. He is awfully sloppy at times and to me seems more like a acrobat than a wrestler. I guess you could say that is a unique style, but he makes too many mistakes to make it credible.

Also, it's been pretty well noted how his mic skills are not to be desired so i wont get into that other than saying that to be a top star in wrestling you need to be capable both on the mic and in the ring and i dont think JoMo is. Maybe over time he will improve but we will have to wait and see.

IMO, he is the Shelton Benjamin of today...The guy to go to for a WOW! moment but nothing more.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I haven't read through all the posts in this thread, so sorry if I rip off someone else's opinion.

I've heard a few people refer to Morrison as a spot monkey but I think it's a term that's wrongly applied, kind of like overrated is on these forums. It's true that Morrison does use a few spots here and there but so does everyone. Kofi Kingston's & CM Punk's springboard clothesline is a high spot, John Cena's leg drop off the top rope is a high spot, Undertaker's "Old School" move is a high spot but none of these guys are spot monkeys.

A spot monkey is someone that relies virtually exclusively on high spots at the expense of everything else. Spot monkeys use very little in-ring psychology, move quickly from one big spot after another, use little storytelling and often undersell to flat out no selling moves just so they can move onto the next spot quickly. Zema Zion, I think that's the guy's name, is a spot monkey, Jack Evans is a spot monkey, the indy scene is filled with them. They have some flashy moves with lots of flips and flops but not too much of anything else to offer.

John Morrison is a talented guy inside the ring. His biggest shortcoming has always been his promo skills. Personally, I think another problem he has is that his character of the ultimate Hollywood metrosexual is tired and stale.

 

[funckygarcon]

1- speaking of wrestling skills, John Morrison isn't a spot monkey,he can actually wrestle, just look at his match with Sheamus at TLC 2010 and tell me that he's a spot monkey.

2- speaking of gimmick, doing spots and stunts is pretty much his gimmick, he is the prince of parkour,so he has to add some of parkour moves into his matches, yet they're still considering him a spot monkey.

3- speaking of mic skills, using only one video to prove that he's bad on the mic makes the haters look pathetic, i actually think he is above average on the mic and he is still improving,just look at this promo where he owned Edge,how many wrestlers can own Edge?
here, have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDBOt3Foxxc
pls look at it first before replying.

4- speaking of charisma,i don't know why haters say he doesn't have charisma,he is one of the most charismatic wrestlers in the WWE and he gets decent pops from the crowd.

Morrison is great and is still improving, the WWE is misusing him very much.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Talentless Spot Monkey

Sorry he's just not a well rounded wrestler, he relies far too much on big spots to get through his matches, and the whole "Prince of Parkour" thing is terrible. Sure he's athletic, and maybe he should have tried out for the gymnastics in the Olympic rather than becoming a wrestler.

all of the information on why hes a worthless spot monkey can be found here http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=188234