John Morrison needs a new gimmick and look.

[Mouthy Idiot]

In my opinion Morrison is being held back by his current gimmick/look. His whole package he presents isnt any good. Dont forget this whole "morrison" name was a pun on dead rock star Jim Morrison. He was basically trying to be the Jim Morrison of WWE. How lame is that? Palace of wisdom and all that slow motion stuff and that guitar riff music he comes out to. It doesnt work anymore and he mainly used that stuff as a heel but now as a face he needs to be the John Morrison from Tough Enough and go back to a more fresh new age look and attitude. He will always have the in ring flexibility and moveset and of course the dudes ripped and all that but the Hair Needs to go. Seriously he isnt a rock star and didnt shawn michaels kinda play that role up for like 20 years with the long hair and music style coming from the rockers. Oh and remember how Good Ole Jim Ross always compared morrison to michaels. Basically he needs to go with a short hair cut and new ring tights and start acting like a world champion competitor slash athlete and drop the rock star dirty character. Im telling you it would suit him so much and make him a huge star but I guarantee WWE wont change him. He needs to make the change and let WWE creative turn him into a star.

 

[Serious Jones]

Nope.

If he's not turning heel (which he doesn't need), the last thing he needs is a gimmick change. He's over, and the crowd is accustomed to his gimmick. The crowd is very slow to accept change, which we've seen recently with R-Truth's attempted new theme.

If he were to get a new gimmick, he would have to build himself up again as a face, and he's already done a tremendous job of rising through the ranks. He's essentially a top face on Raw. Why throw that away? He has rarely used the rock star gimmick since he turned face, so I don't see the problem there. His gimmick is more focused on parkour and his high-flying in-ring work nowadays. The Morrison is mostly just a name right now. Not to mention, his look gets him a lot of female fans. I'll go far enough to say that he could use some minor tweaks, like showing more aggression, and the tired mic skills argument, but he's working on those, and it's showing.

There's a big misconception here. There's no quick fix to get a guy over. It's a process. Morrison's getting the push of his career right now, and nothing really needs to change.

 

[brighamosity]

I see where your coming from If I had to change anything, it'd be to get rid of some of the "diva" in him. I could probably go without all the glitter and feather boas. If he were still a heel, that'd be fine. But as a face, he kind of comes across as a sissy. It seems like he's slowly moving away from that gimmick though.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

He might not be over with you but that doesn't seem to reflect the way the fans see him. The WWE over the last four or five months have built Morrison up to be this never say die scrapper with tons of unique athleticism. He's shown his toughness and ability in high profile matches and feuds, he gets enthusiastic responses from men, women & children and they care about what he's involved in. Morrison is over with fans so exactly why would the WWE want to change him at this point? Morrison ain't broke right now, so there's no need to try and fix him.

What's held Morrison back for so long hasn't been his look or his overall gimmick, it's been trust issues. Vince McMahon is a control freak and something of a drama queen. He'll sometimes take issues that really are nothing and turn them into big deals. About 2.5 years ago, Morrison was a wrestler named by the Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and other well know publications to have purchased drugs from an online pharmacy. That's a violation of the WWE's Wellness Policy but it also generated some negative press on the WWE. Now, that's not to say that him doing so wasn't something to be concerned about but if you sometimes make a mistake like this, then it takes a long time for you to build back trust in Vince's eyes. After all, what if JoMo had been WWE or World Heavyweight Champion at that time?

 

[JGlass]

John Morrison's look or gimmick is clearly not what's holding him back. Since his feud with Sheamus he has gotten huge pops on a consistent basis and the WWE has been pushing him because of it. The fans love JoMo because of his in-ring ability and his chilled out attitude outside of the ring that quickly changes into that of an aggressive maniac once he steps between the ropes.

His look is also fine. The long hair, glasses, and flamboyant attire all contribute to his persona of a cool, relaxed dude outside of the ring, and the beard helps make him look like a fierce wild-man when he's wrestling.

The only thing I'd change about John Morrison is his music. He's had this song since he's been John Morrison, and I personally think it's time for a change. He should have something that starts out kind of slow and mysterious but quickly turns into a hard, fast paced rock and roll song.

 

[Mustang Sally]

In my opinion Morrison is being held back by his current gimmick/look.

I'll bet there are tons of wrestlers who would like to be "held back" the way Morrison is. He just attained a couple of wins over Sheamus, sandwiched around a shot at the world title. And he's done it the hard way, starting his WWE career as a non-wrestling stooge for Eric Bischoff, then performing in the ring as Johnny Nitro and earning his position with continued hard work. He's worked his way up from low-carder to mid-carder.....and now to the top of the ladder.

But, hey! You're entitled to your opinion and I respect it. However, I look more to the body of work he's accomplished as a wrestler and less to how he dresses and wears his hair. Morrison is a winner.....and he's earned all of it. I would stay with what's working.

 

[hatehabsforever]

John Morrison has had a pretty successful WWE career thus far. Tag team champion with two different partners. IC title. He's been heel and face. He's been solo and he's had arm candy. He's been a solid mid carder, just on the fringe of breaking into the main event. Some have even made the gross understatement of calling him the next Shawn Michaels. And he finally appears to be ready to crack into the main event scene and is a strong candidate to hold some major hardware at some point in 2011.

So what does the OP want to do? Totally re- invent him. Change his look, cut his hair, change his name, shit even lose the slow-mo. Right as he's ready to finally break into the big times, let's give him a 100% overhaul.

Just makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

 

[newc868]

This is just my opinion, but didn't he just undergo a minor gimmick change?

I mean for a while on Smackdown and Raw he was - The Shayman of Sexy, Monday/Friday Night Delight, etc. and while just nicknames, they're usually relevant to the gimmick of the wrestlers.

I didn't think Morrison had that much depth other than being a high-flyer with some tenacity. Now I see a 'never give-up' instinct. I see some sweet, kick-ass parkour related moves and counters. I see a guy who stands up to the bully heel characters in WWE. I see a guy who has evolved into something that the fans can get over with because, especially for the kids, he promotes a lot of things that make him a good face.

The only thing that JoMo needs to make sure of is that he maintains a beard. 'Cause for some reason, a bearded wrestler usually looks more bad-ass + awesome. See Justin Gabriel or Edge for relevant examples.

 

[GideonGodsend]

morrison's gimmick and look are awesome. amazing in fact, he just needs some nicknames and some mic time. he used to have alot of nicknames, idk why they dont use them anymore. guru of greatness, shaman of sexy, monday night delight, he's from the palace of wisdom. and the 15 minutes of fame thing he had goin' on at ECW, i loved that stuff

 

[DethMetal]

Morrison is getting along just fine. His gimmick works for him, although, if you notice, he slowly is breaking away from it. But nothing needs to change about Morrison. He's come a long way in the past few months. Just slap some mic skills on him, and were lookin at our next WWE champ.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

I, like the rest before me, love his gimmick. Its fresh and interstesting. The whole parkour thing is really high-flying and thats what the WWE likes. He did work from the bottom up and has really improved since being Johnny Nitro on smackdown. I believe he should be in the WWE world title picture more often and he really deserves it.

 

[Mouthy Idiot]

You people clearly dont quite understand and are missing the bigger picture here. Yes he is successful and even getting a push right now but my point is that his whole character is not creative and its boring at this point. The parkour stuff doesnt fit in WWE and look at the most successful names in WWE history and most of them were guys who had some sort of company guy mentality. Morrison as his current gimmick will only go so far and im suggesting that if he changed his look and attire he could become a huge company star. Remember again he started out on Tough Enough as a young athletic guy who had short hair and was ripped. He could get women back then because they still found him cute or hot or whatever and now hes doing the dirty rock star / parkour stuff. Trust me Vince doesnt like this gimmick that much because he would have been champ by now. One of the posters mentioned the drug link that morrison was involved in but thats only part of it. If he came out with short spiked hair and some old school wrestling tights and clean shaven , girls would go crazy for this guy. Yeah some girls love the long hair and rocker style but WWE is PG right now and he could be a company guy way better.

 

[MattMorrison]

It's actually not a stupid gimmick at all. He pulls off the rock star look very well and does look a lot like the Lizard King. He is one of the most talented wrestlers in the business today and will be highlighting the main event soon. Mark my words.

 

[Y2JChrisJericho]

No.

Maybe before his push I would have agreed with you, but he's doing well right now and he's over with the crowd and myself from a personal standpoint. He is improving weekly on the mic, and he was better as a heel on the mic, but he'll be overshadowed by the Miz on Raw if he was a heel. His look is great, and his gimmick is great too. The gimmick and look doesn't need to change, he has the look and gimmick of a world champion, he just needs to just prove himself further on the mic though.

 

[sXe_Factor]

If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've just got a problem with guys with long hair who love that rock-star, laid back attitude.

Morrison's look works for him. The fact you stated that the Jim Morrison thing would only work for a heel kind of shows a bit of ignorance on your part. People -love- rock stars. So why would it only work for a heel?

Perhaps you'd prefer him to become JoMo, only wear bling-bling, throwbacks, and pumps.. Wait, we already had -that- John in WWE.

There's no reason to change something that's working. He just needs to be given more freedom to cut promos his way, like he did on the dirt sheet.

 

[DwayneJason]

What he needs is a kick-esque finisher and he'll be a treat at Wrestlemania. Long hair helps bumps. beard looks good, Jim Morrison, John Morrison contrasts attracts old school fans. Maybe change up his music to something a bit better but that's just me and he'll be gold. WM 30: Miz vs Morrison. My god, I can't even believe these guys hosted dirt sheets on ECW.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Uh, well no shit. I have been screaming this for months. What you all dont see apparently, is that his character already has been changed, for a damn long time. When was the last time he did or said anything that had to do with the doors gimmick? Fall 2009?

For some uncomprehensible reason though, they fucking REFUSE to change that garbage goofy assed music. NOTHING he does or says has fucking ANYTHING to do with that stupid ass damn music, but yet, it stays. He is impossible to take seriously with that shit. He can still do his slow motion pose with pyro if he had a modern rock song with an epic chorus.

He will not be able to elevate to the next level until that music changes. He just wont.

 

[RKOx7]

John Morrison has had an amazing career thus far. He arrived on the scene in MNM, which was a major tag team, that even got over as heels after a bit. He is a 5 time Tag Champion and a 3 Time IC Champion, and the ECW Champion.... while there aren't enough titles in the WWE anymore to have a billion accolades, John Morrison is one of the FEW people left in the WWE that has had a very versatile career, going off of tag team and individual runs as a superstar.

His athleticism isn't even something to be criticized, he is a tremendous athlete... and his gimmick hasn't changed much since his start in the WWE. He has worked with his gimmick from the beginning and its not something that should be changed now, He is a flashy superstar, and he, if anyone, should be flashy. When's the last time you saw a superstar as big and ripped as him move like that.

So no, I think his gimmick is fine. But maybe a new entrance song will do.

 

[MizterColemine]

I don't remember which thread, but my post referred to this very issue. What I expressed was that John Morrison was in need of a *SLIGHT* modification to his gimmick. Take into consideration that when a superstar goes from upper mid card to Main Event, in some of the more significant cases, theres a change in music, altered outfit, and upgrade in mic time and catch-phrases. Think of Edge, John Cena, The Rock etc. The music is usually upgraded to something compatible with getting the pop to sync well with a hit in the music and the arrival of the superstar into the arena, and even pyro. A slight change in attitude/ confidence comes with the (pending) championship, which provides for a modification in the gimmick, for example, Triple H's "the game" for an extreme case. Or Cena going from "Thug Life" to the Marine/Superface. This could happen, for a hypothetical example, if Morrison were to win a Money in the bank match at Wrestlemania... he could then make the above noted modifications anywhere from the next night on Raw or the show after he cashes it in after a grueling triple threat match between Orton/Miz/Sheamus. Hypotheticals aside, I think this is the way to build on Morrisons appeal, by giving him an attitude/aggression upgrade and some music that fans will anticipate.

 

[steveh0481]

You people clearly dont quite understand and are missing the bigger picture here. Yes he is successful and even getting a push right now but my point is that his whole character is not creative and its boring at this point. The parkour stuff doesnt fit in WWE and look at the most successful names in WWE history and most of them were guys who had some sort of company guy mentality. Morrison as his current gimmick will only go so far and im suggesting that if he changed his look and attire he could become a huge company star. Remember again he started out on Tough Enough as a young athletic guy who had short hair and was ripped. He could get women back then because they still found him cute or hot or whatever and now hes doing the dirty rock star / parkour stuff. Trust me Vince doesnt like this gimmick that much because he would have been champ by now. One of the posters mentioned the drug link that morrison was involved in but thats only part of it. If he came out with short spiked hair and some old school wrestling tights and clean shaven , girls would go crazy for this guy. Yeah some girls love the long hair and rocker style but WWE is PG right now and he could be a company guy way better.

Ok, so what you are saying is the WWE needs MORE generic wrestlers that have short hair and are company guys? You know why you think the parkour thing doesnt work in the WWE? Because no one has done it like him. I'm tired of generic wrestling. Its really time for the WWE to bring in this innovation, otherwise it gets stale. But, I guess this is a dumb idea to you and Morrison needs an overhaul...

I think Morrison is great as-is. The only thing that I wish the WWE would do is give him some new theme music, but since he is getting over currently, I guess there's no point in changing the formula. Like one person mentioned, he is fitting the role of the guy that stands up to bullies, which is what some kids need to see.

 

[chiefsrulebr2]

Alright, enough comparisons with Shawn Michaels already. Are you guys just hoping for another HBK so much that you're really comparing John Morrison to him? Come on...lets get real for one second. Watch last night's HBK's "HOF" video and then go back and watch the John Morrison vs Shaemus match. It's not even a comparison.

Morrison is just getting tired now. Every match he's in now plays exactly the same and his mic skills are never going to be as great as Shawn Michaels. If you say they are, then you guys are just fooling yourselfs into believing that. If anything, I'd compare John Morrison more to Jeff Hardy then Shawn Michaels. Jeff Hardy was getting over the exact same way that John is now. Plus, he's not even going to win the belt for another 6-8 more months. But they're going to do it the way that they did it with Jeff Hardy.

After having about 5-6 title shots...John Morrison is finally going to pull it off. The only thing wrong with this is, that John Morrison is never going to be a believable champion. Whenever and if he ever gets the championship...he's just only going to hold the belt until somebody with an actual chance of a reign comes along. I know you guys probably think I'm just hating on him and that's fine. In reality though, I'm not stupid...John Morrison is a great athlete and a great wrestler. You need a lot more than that in this business though. You need credibility, you need for the crowd to believe in you as a champion, and you need to be able to pick up a feud when you get matched up with someone that talks worst then you do. So I'm sorry, I don't see John Morrison being the next Shawn Michaels. If you want me to go to an extra stretch...I don't see anybody being the next Shawn Michaels because he is one of a kind. If you guys are true WWE fans...you'll probably have already realized that. You're just too afraid to admit it.

 

[Jackiz Kirey]

I agree. He definitely does need a new look, but his gimmick is perfect. His gimmick is pretty much built for main eventing. His gimmick is what put him over with the fans. The Shaman Of The Sexy gimmick is just fine. He is the next HBK.

What does need to happen is that John Hoboson needs to SHAVE his beard. God damn... I cannot stand people who have hair on their faces. I hate beards, hate mustaches, and hate hair on arm pits. Please just shave your beard. You looked better without a beard. This is the reason why most people without beards held more titles than people with beards. WWE should make a requirement to shave beards and any other hair on their body BESIDES their head hair. They just look ugly if it is on their faces or anywhere other than their head.

 

[onewayleeway69]

Just because you say your bored of Morrisons look doesnt mean we all are so speak for yourself. Morrisons looks awesome he looks like a rock star and his attire is great with the diamonds in the design and everytime he switches the colour up boom it looks fresh again.I'll admit the coats a bit much but who cares.Anyways add the slow mo and pyro and you ve got the next big thing. He looks like a million bucks hes awesome in the ring and his finisher the starship pain is crazy!
He DOES NOT need to be heel he pulls the babyface off really well because of his bright colours and flashy entrance and high flying move set people love him. I would like to see him in Cenas position as face of the company.(probs never happen) But nothing is stale about this guy and i cant wait to see him as World or WWE champion one day! I see him in a Rey Mysterio type position with his moveset and attire. And instead of selling masks he could sell sunglasses with different designs on them. Just an idea coz Rey Rey is a shell of his former self and cant go to much longer surely. Fill his viod with Morrison!

 

[Kosugi19]

Change nothing with Morrison! Just give him more title matches and let him win the rumble cementing him as big card draw. I still think he is the best in ring worker WWE has to offer he is the modern day Shawn Michales.

 

[wushady]

I personally don't think he needs to change his look or his gimmick. In my opinion he has a great original gimmick. His pretty boy look may not be very original but I think it works well with his persona. He's very over with the crowd and I think he's really been proving himself as a main event star lately.

I think he's ready to be a main eventer and a world champion now. However it doesn't seem Vince McMahon agrees. I was surprised that he didn't get his title shot at the Royal Rumble PPV. It doesn't make sense to me that he would win a #1 contenders match on PPV against a former WWE champion. Only to have his title match on Raw and in the first match not the main event.