John Morrison: What's going on?

[♠Spades â™]

So for the past few weeks, we've witnessed the return of John Morrison, although the crowd's reaction wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting them to start cheering and what not but instead it felt like a sarcastic cheer/applause like they didn't even care that he was back from an injury. After he beat on R-Truth he got a fairly good amount of cheers but nothing compared to before he got injured. That same week on Smackdown he had a match with Christian, the fans barely cheered but Morrison lost the match. The following week on RAW he had a tag team match with Rey against Miz and Truth once again he along with Rey lost. During that same week on Smackdown once again Mr.Morrison now alongside Orton lost again to Truth and Christian. Now I was going to make this thread on Saturday but I wanted to see what would happen on RAW this week so I waited. Once again for the third straight week Morrison has lost and now it's to the person who put him on the shelf, R-Truth. This is the 4th straight lost for Morrison so my questions to everyone is -

What do you think is going on?

Do you think Morrison is being de-pushed?

What should be done to get Morrison relevant again?

 

[closet_fan]

What do you think is going on?
I think he's getting stale. His whole package just isn't interesting to watch anymore. He's not very charismatic and seems to simply go through the motions in the ring without actually telling a story.

Do you think Morrison is being de-pushed?
An emphatic yes. I think Morrison has been in the doghouse for awhile and this was even before the whole Stratus incident.

What should be done to get Morrison relevant again?
He has to light a fire under his ass and start realizing that he has to be more aggressive in the ring. Personally, I think he needs an entire character change from the music, wardrobe to character. But because he will never be more aggressive, he'll continue to fall and end up on Superstars.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Well we know Melina was released and maybe Morrison got vocal about that, this may be the result of that. Morrison is extremely talented and could be a new age Jeff Hardy if pushed correctly but obviously making him lose all 5 televised matches in a 3-week period is not the way to go. There has to be heat on him somewhere, I don't even think he's that stale I think there's just backstage heat on him.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

What do you think is going on?
I think he's getting stale. His whole package just isn't interesting to watch anymore. He's not very charismatic and seems to simply go through the motions in the ring without actually telling a story.

I agree with this to a pretty decent degree. Morrison's character of the ultimate Hollywood metrosexual pretty boy is pretty stale at this point. Morrison does have a good look and he is entertaining to watch inside the ring. There just seems to be no real passion in his character, no real fire. For instance, Truth put JoMo on the shelf for a while and he should be fired up with a desire for vengeance right? But he's not. Just the same old same old kinda laid back kinda style.

Do you think Morrison is being de-pushed?
An emphatic yes. I think Morrison has been in the doghouse for awhile and this was even before the whole Stratus incident.

Morrison has gotten a lot of heat backstage for a lot of reasons. One thing is that he's not really looked at with a lot of respect. After all, it was revealed not too long ago that JoMo just kinda stood by and allowed/put up with Melina engaging in a sexual relationship with Batista while they were still dating. Another problem is that Melina reportedly has a terrible attitude and that's gotten some heat on Morrison in the past. The chick has been his girl off and on for years now so it's natural for him to stand up for his lady, I understand that. However, Melina's attitude hasn't done Morrison any favors. Then, there's the whole Trish Stratus thing. I can understand being pissed because his girlfriend is left off WrestleMania but business is business and Melina just doesn't compare to Trish Stratus.

What should be done to get Morrison relevant again?
He has to light a fire under his ass and start realizing that he has to be more aggressive in the ring. Personally, I think he needs an entire character change from the music, wardrobe to character. But because he will never be more aggressive, he'll continue to fall and end up on Superstars.

Yeah I completely agree with this. Morrison has needed a character overhaul for some time now. It just seems to become more pronounced as the months go along. I will say, however, that he has been more generally aggressive in his matches since his return. At the same time though, he's still held down by essentially the same gimmick that's just not getting any fresher. Ditch the long hair, the fur coat, the jean looking tights, those fur leggings he has over the boots and show some passion.

 

[Miz_Mark]

Morrison is one of the most overrated wrestlers in the last ten years. IMO he doesn't deserve anywhere near the push he's received. Sure, he's got a good look, and he's good at flipping around and doing gymnastics... but that's it. He has no ring psychology, his fundamentals are atrocious, and his charisma virtually nonexistent.

If he's being de-pushed, I welcome it. He was too high up the card as is. I was very glad to see Truth put him away cleanly.

To make him relevant again, he'd need to actually learn how to wrestler rather than just have a few nice spots, and find someone to help him RADICALLY improve his mic skills.

 

[DeathClutch]

Morrison is still "injured" and Truth beating on his injured former friend gets him heat, Morrison isn't being de-pushed, he's getting quality tv time and putting someone over, the same way Sheamus put Morrison over in late 2010.

Morrison will get the win over Truth and when he does it will be that pinnicle of the feud, think of Jeff hardy and the WWE title so many close calls and when he finally won it the fans were besides themselves and Morrison has his fan base and it's strong but Truth needs to be put over and Morrison is the best person to do it on RAW's but when it comes to the PPV matches Morrison will win.

 

[DrewskiBroski]

What do you think is going on?

He's closing a rivalry out before he turns heel. At least, that's what I think., barring any consideration of altering contracts...

Do you think Morrison is being de-pushed?

He's being pushed in a different direction. He's been out of the picture a bit and it will be a couple months before the change is felt. But I think by, say, Royal Rumble time he will have a different outlook.

What should be done to get Morrison relevant again?

Team up with a Vickieless Dolph Ziggler and have them dominate tag titles. Their shtick? New female managers every week and over the top douche-baggery.

 

[hollowpoint]

I think Morrison is being de-pushed right now, but I think it's due multiple reasons:

1. Crowd Reaction: he's supposed to be a legit face, but he gets little reaction from the fans in the arenas even after his return.

2. Relationship: Being with Melina has both helped and hurt his career tremendously. Melina was a cancer in the locker room and a complete bitch. The whole WM27 thing with Trish was the beginning of the end for her and due to Morrison's association and constant defending of her, he's getting de-pushed.

3. R-Truth - he's become one of, if not THE top heel in the company now with his antics and craziness. Once the dust settles with the title picture, Truth is gonna be right there waiting. Morrison's being injured put him in the back of the line.

 

[JaylisJayP]

Morrison will never sell because he has horrible mic skills. They really need to get professional acting coaches in (have no idea if they do this already) for guys who have a great look and good in-ring skills.

Much like Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston, I hope they don't open their mouth when they show up on Raw/Smackdown...and then I likely go to the bathroom.

 

[♠Spades â™]

Yeah I completely agree with this. Morrison has needed a character overhaul for some time now. It just seems to become more pronounced as the months go along. I will say, however, that he has been more generally aggressive in his matches since his return. At the same time though, he's still held down by essentially the same gimmick that's just not getting any fresher. Ditch the long hair, the fur coat, the jean looking tights, those fur leggings he has over the boots and show some passion.

I agree with what you're saying here, personally Morrison is one of my faves so I'm concerned with his whole character and I've been feeling for a while now that he needs to turn heel. He did his best work as a heel. If he the WWE plans on keeping him a face they need to change his look and character, make him more aggressive and get rid of the laid back attitude. It's time to get serious and whoop some ass.

 

[JSpaz]

To make a long post short..... Trish Stratus. Someone who is so respected as her, to the wrestling world, you just don't come out and publicly speak out against. Especially when your point is so wrong.

Be honest would anyone want to see Melina in place of Trish at wrestlemania??? Think about it. If Melina was in the match as opposed to Trish, that would be a "Bathroom Break" match. Vince did not bring Snookie in for a bathroom break match.

Does Mike Knox and Batista tapping Melina have anything to do with it. Probably not.

I am not much more than a fan of the WWE. I don't have any backstage insight, nor do I care about "shooting", "Good writing", or "who gets a push". BUT...... as a fan, I was a JoMo fan hardcore, but lost all respect for him after mania. For me, as just a fan, that does not matter to anyone including him. That's just my opinion.

But there are probably some WWE execs. that feel the same as me, and THEY matter..

 

[Starship Punk]

I agree with what you're saying here, personally Morrison is one of my faves so I'm concerned with his whole character and I've been feeling for a while now that he needs to turn heel. He did his best work as a heel. If he the WWE plans on keeping him a face they need to change his look and character, make him more aggressive and get rid of the laid back attitude. It's time to get serious and whoop some ass.

I agree and me being a big fan of his im concerned also. I think it possible this could lead a heel turn, he could be fustrated with the losing streak and makes the turn and after seeing whats going on with Vickie and Ziggler after last nights RAW why not have Morrison pick her up and get back to winning and be repackaged with her as his manager...i love the guy but he needs something like that big time and i hope it happens.

 

[Pedigree1]

J-Mo needs to be repackaged big time!! His gimmick look everything is just so blah its not interesting at all!! When he was Nitro he was at least cool very cocky and had way more success than his current character!! With Melina gone im sure thats gonna affect him even more!! If hes not careful he might end up on superstars or be future endeavored

 

[♠Spades â™]

I agree and me being a big fan of his im concerned also. I think it possible this could lead a heel turn, he could be fustrated with the losing streak and makes the turn and after seeing whats going on with Vickie and Ziggler after last nights RAW why not have Morrison pick her up and get back to winning and be repackaged with her as his manager...i love the guy but he needs something like that big time and i hope it happens.

He should finish his feud with Truth first before doing anything else and if he loses at SummerSlam(if they finish it there) then he should go on, and it pains me to say this, continue to lose become extremely frustrated and start spazzing out on any and everyone. He wouldn't have to necessarily turn heel, just drop his gimmick and give him a fresh start - just look at R-Truth, he sees more Little Jimmys than I do.

 

[closet_fan]

Morrison will never sell because he has horrible mic skills. They really need to get professional acting coaches in (have no idea if they do this already) for guys who have a great look and good in-ring skills.

Much like Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston, I hope they don't open their mouth when they show up on Raw/Smackdown...and then I likely go to the bathroom.

I read he was taking acting classes while he was gone, but it looks like it hasn't helped that much.

Morrison seems like the type that thinks he is better than he really is. And I did read that McMahon lost a ton of respect for the guy when he knew about the Batista stuff. McMahon likes his guys to "take no prisoners" and "fight for what you want when you want it." When he didn't do it, he killed his value.

Since is Morrison is still such a puss and still hasn't shown a backbone, he'll never succeed. Tweeting that Melina was the greatest ever after she was fired didn't help.

 

[Cebeards]

He came back without a real on air promo to show any emotion, WWE is pushing through this Truth feud, close it out and going from there.

The way to better build a feud is with promos and the only promos are coming from Truth's crazy ass, which for the record his promo last night on raw was fucking aweful...I felt bad for everyone else sitting in the room who aren't big wrestling fans. Those people, who aren't big wrestling fans see that promo and are reaffirmed why they don't watch. Sorry for the little rant but I can't believe he got that much time to say that terrible shit.

Anywho, it feels like they are hurrying past this matchup and Morrison might get squashed for one reason or another, but he won't get shit on for too long. Like I was talking about earlier, those not so big wrestling fans, like Morrison. They make fun of his boots and laugh at his slow mo jo mo entrance, but when he gets in the ring they enjoy it.

And he has been on Both shows, seems like he is doing well even if he is losing.

I see something new coming from Morrison, this just seems like a stripping down period.

 

[cotb16]

If anything, Morrison should become a tweener and add some of the heel tactics he used in ECW to spice up his gimmick. I would ditch the fur jacket (a relic to the Johnny Nitro MNM days) in favor of the buttoned-down white or black shirt that he wore in the days as ECW champion.

 

[KingofOz84]

This is going to sound the exact opposite so first let me say that I am a big fan of Morrison. Is he overrated in the ring? Perhaps, but so are countless others. He does suck on the mic but that's where a great manager would come in; more on that later. He also has a great look.

Do I think his current character needs to change? Absolutely. I believe he is being broken down to be built back up. I do not think that he is being de-pushed overall; just at the moment.

Going back to the comment I made about the manager and I read that a lot of people think he needs to "toughen up" and show some backbone, I think a perfect person for him would be Arn Anderson. He is tough, he can talk, and he can teach Morrison (among others: Tyson Kidd, Gabriel, etc.) how to really work a match and a crowd. I think this would turn his whole character around without even having to go to the extreme and turn him heel.

The guy reminds me a lot of Rob Van Dam. Very talented but once you peel back the layers, certainly not as much glam as you first see. Besides, RVD was not nearly as entertaining without Bill Alfonso being his mouthpiece so you can see where I am going here with the manager concept.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

What do you think is going on?

Some reasons
- Too much going on right now. Punk/Cena is the hottest feud in a long time and on the Smackdown! side we got a pretty hot Christian/Orton rivalry, it seems like there was just not enough room for Morrison return to have the spotlight.

- R-Truth's heat dying. Possibly as a result of Punk/Cena but when Morrison was injured R-Truth was a Championship Contender. Once Morrison return though his Truth returned to the midcard and his heat dyed a bit. If affected Morrison's return since R-Truth wasn't that big of a deal anymore.

- Too soon not enough focus on it? Again related to Cena/Punk but perhaps Morrison returned too soon. I would say he probably should have returned after Summerslam after the dust has settled (another reason why WWE does major debut or returns after WM and not before).

Do you think Morrison is being de-pushed?

If you look at the Summerslam card now you notice only 2 RAW matches are announced one being a diva's match. It just shows creative not putting much of an effort in anything other than Cena/Orton. So the question is he is de-pushed I would say yes but, like Del Rio, Mysterio, Miz, etc., it less to do with him but more on the focus of RAW.

I do think Morrison will get back to a higher spot soon though he just needs a good rivalry. Perhaps one with The Miz?

What should be done to get Morrison relevant again?

Like all midcarders its providing him a program that has a focus and not some random rivalry. Also probably a more aggressive personality. Now that he's back after Truth "injured him" he has to change his personality a bit (I would too if someone tried to break my neck).

 

[Cult of Personality]

Well to start with all the buzz has been around Punk/Cena/HHH. That has dominated the card and that's all the fans want to see. Every wants to see Punks Promos, Cena's Promos, and what HHH has to say about the match. Morrison is put on the back burner for now.

They should wait until after SS to repackage him because it wouldn't be as big of news if it happened around the time of the biggest fued right now. He needs to turn heel. I want to see "The Shaman of Sexy", "The Monday Night Delight", etc. back in his ECW Days.

If he doesn't turn back to the cocky heel I would like to see him ditch the whole "Hollywood" persona and become the more edgy guy who gets it done. His toughness has been a question ever since his first appereance in Tough Enough.

It really isn't his fault since the Punk/Cena/HHH angle no wrestler has really got a huge reaction. Wait till this Cena-Punk Fued is over then judge Morrison

 

[Klown_Karnage]

Well, Morrison is taken out by Truth, returns without a lot of reaction, and ends up on a losing streak. To be honest, I think Morrison is on his way out. He had his chance to be a guy at the forefront and he made some very bad "political" decisions with the whole Trish Stratus thing. You'll also recall, he and Melina had an incident in a club about that time that was considered "embarrassing" for the WWE. The WWE is very concerned about their public image, in and out of the ring. Morrison hasn't exactly done well for the WWE's public image.

My prediction is that Morrison won't be re-pushed. He'll be underbooked out of existence and eventually future endeavored. It'll probably take a while to do this. He might end up in a Jamie Noble position before they finally can him, but unless he does something massively popular for the WWE image, he's gone.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

John Morrison draws me like a really impressive piece of dog crap on a pathway. Its impressive, you have to look at it, but do you like it? No. Does it have any other qualities asides how its an impressive size? Not really.

To break that down for you, John Morrison can do some amazing things, his spots at last years Royal Rumble were both entertaining and impressive, but John Morrison doesn't do anything for me personally. He can't really talk, his promos are usually worded quite weird I find and he just doesn't come across natural. As a wrestler I think he has a very unrealistic move-set and it adds to the aura around him that in Vince's eyes, Morrison isn't someone who can win a fight.

Overall, John Morrison - great things come from him, but those things usually last five seconds and consist of his Parkour techniques, but he isn't someone I see a long-term main event position in. High mid-carder, but even when he was given his chance at The Miz, some think he failed.

 

[RicoLen]

I think Morrison needs a repackage for sure. I don't care about the politics or any BS like that. As a fan, I don't like watching him because he's such an annoying hollywood pretty boy. He could be good, it's not like he can't wrestle, or at least flip around and do acrobatics and look like he can perform in the ring, which in Rey Mysterio's case is all you need to be over, but I just plain don't like his gimmick. And the other problem is, if you take away his gimmick, he appears to have no other personality. Granted I wasn't watching while he was in a tag team with The Miz doing that highlight reel thing, but from the few videos I've seen of it on youtube he looked rather bland in that too.

As far as I'm concerned he needs to change his gimmick, get Vickie Guerrero as a manager and then he'll be a solid mid-card performer again. This plays well to my whole idea of turning heel, teaming with The Miz again, only to turn on him so Miz can turn face. Heh not like that's going to happen, but even still Morrison with Vickie would be a pretty hatable heel, and his in-ring performance is more than good enough to keep him on the show.

That's what I think.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

yeah i noticed this also he hasnt won a match sense his return and i kinda get the loss to truth on raw sense i think there gonna have another match very soon possibly at summerslam so he cant beat him yet if so but even though im a mark for the guy i think he needs a total gimmick change and heres how i would do it...he faces r-truth at summerslam and truth "injures him" and we dont see morrison again until survivor series where he makes his return with a new theme and new enterance to beat r-truth in a gimmick match (maybe a steel cage or ladder match? something along those lines) and he wins with a brand new finishing move...a SUBMISSION finisher! id have him either use a fujiwara armbar like bobby roode uses in IW or an ankle lock (i know swagger uses that but 2 guys can have the same finisher on the same show...how many big guys use the chokeslam for a finisher?) and after his victory the next night on raw he comes out and cuts a promo about having a brand new attitude hes sick of being lost in the shuffle on raw and from now on hes gonna be more aggresive and more violent then before,he issues an open challenge to anybody in the back (doesnt matter who he faces as long as there face) and morrison beats them again with his submission finisher and he takes them out with the move and he starts going on a tear like that as a heel ending up with him moving into the main event full time and if all goes as planned...he could take the wwe title possibly by royal rumble...just my idea

 

[DrewskiBroski]

(borrowed) ...here's my thoughts on Morrison, take 'em or leave 'em and I'll probably be borrowing some of the previous ones around.

In Ring Performance:

-Morrison has the wow factor, an uncanny ability to make me and other say 'Holy crap, how did he just do that?'

-Morrison has worked heavily on his mat skills, something that he needed to do and perhaps could still use some improvement... but in the modern WWE we really don't see too much real mat work (Bryan Danielson/Tyson Kidd match was the best I've seen in a while, and that wasn't -their- best by a long shot).

-Morrison has delivered consistently on his longer matches. Morrison's win v. Rey for the intercontinental championship a while back was top tier.

-Morrison's ability to improvise is in ring is bar none the best in the WWE currently, which is a damn shame due to the WWE's insistence on having their superstars stick to their move sets in matches (Yes, I realize Orton's DDT off the middle rope is cool. But the setup doesn't sell itself every time.)

-Morrison sells opponents well, not quite Orton good (to me, Orton is the best at selling in the biz)

-Morrison is a believable striker, the crowd reactions from his kicks should speak for themselves

-Morrison's primary finisher, Starship Pain, is not a main event finisher. Sure, it's fancy and the first time I saw it I thought 'holy crap!' but it's becoming old hat. The running knee is a solid alternative... but to be honest he needs a mat type finisher, some submission hold or variation of a hold would be the best choice I think. And if Cena and The Undertaker (two fighter type wrestlers) can get one as a finisher, why not Morrison?

Mic Performance

-He doesn't sell as the guy who is supposed to follow the Jericho/Austin/Punk book and not worry about who he's going to tick off and just say what comes to mind... he's too soft. He doesn't promote his speed enough. He doesn't sell the idea that he's not tougher, he's just plain better... I'm not saying he needs to pull the Mr.Perfect caricature back out (Dolph does it already, and he doesn't do it as well as Kurt H.), but maybe break out a manager for a while that's NOT Vickie or a diva. Crap, bring Ricky Steamboat out there. Bret Hart. Arn Anderson.

Potential Match-ups:

-There are very few match-ups that would really benefit Morrison or the fans from Raw. Strangely enough, he belongs on Smackdown...

Morrison/D. Bryan**
Morrison/Kidd
Morrison/Christian**
Morrison/Rhodes
Morrison/Ryder
Morrison/Sin Cara
Morrison/Orton

Raw leaves him with three:
Morrison/Mysterio**
Morrison/Punk**
Morrison/Del Rio

((Off Topic, I think it's important to say not every star should be going for the main title. Many fans are frustrated not because Cena and company are always in the spotlight, but because the subtle connectors like The Intercontinental Championship has lost its luster by becoming a consolation prize. Intercontinental champ used to be #1 contender. Honestly, I think the US Championship needs to go away and leave Heavyweight, WWE, Tag, and Intercontinental... there needs to be a True WWE champ and not just 2 champs of 2 shows. Tag champs and WWE champ should be allowed to cross over brands, etc.))

...and I'm spent. Thanks for hearing my ramblings.