What's so great about John Morrison?

[roethlisberger78]

First things first, I love the constant fight over JoMo and if he is good or not, I love to see people get mad when you say he is not good enough to be champion. Kinda reminds me of like a fifth grade argument lol.

On to my actual thoughts, I'll be the first person to say it JoMo does some things in the ring that I couldnt even dream of doing, even in my dreams I realize that I cant do this stuff, but man that dont make you great, it does mean your a hell of a athlete though. But to be great in sports entertainment you have to be able to sell the entertainment part which he comes up a bit shy in. If you watch any of those DVD's about greatest stars the one thing they all had in common with each other was their ability to tell and sell a story, Not only on the mic, but inside the ring with out talking. Morrisons first stike is that he cant tell a story on the mic, the guy is down right boring and monotone, and inside the ring he just doesnt deliver on that story telling either. A few people have already said it his offense attacks look weak and in some cases he dont even hit directly most of the time (star ship pain) and he dont sell being hurt all to well either.

The biggest part of this business is story telling, you have to get the story across to be great. Yeah the announcers are out there talking but part of this show is for the wrestlers to get their story across also and he just does not deliver. The man is one hell of an athlete perfect body, I aint a gay man but dude is sexy sorry he has a body i'd dream to have, but he dont pull his own on the story telling. His falls count anywhere match had some nice spots but ya know the miz had to carry the match which aint a good thing because the miz is up and comming but he depends on people to carry his matches to get him over (jerry lawler).

I mean its unavoidable the man will hold one of the two major titles just because kids love him and fans of crazy spots mark out for him but I think if you ask true wrestling long time fans and you'll get the same response he just doesnt have the real gifts of the sport. He cannont get the story out, he cant talk it or show it in the ring.

 

[The Ram]

I like morrison because he's entertaining I mean so what if he's a spot monkey he has great matches and he amazes me. Some people are flashy on the mic and has charisma like cena, hogan, and the rock and some are flashy in the ring. Now I think what makes morrison so bad on the mic is he is a FACE. I never noticed how bad he is on the mic until he turned face. If he was bad on the mic at first he wouldn't have been on the dirtsheet.

 

[Decarow]

This is sports entertainment. He's entertaining. What he did at the Rumble was amazing. That's why people love him.

It seems like everybody that people like are "over rated". 2 years ago this forum was going bat shit over Morrison. 6 months ago people were like that for the Miz. Now they are "over rated"? I remember 6 years ago when people were ape shit over Cena, then he turned "over rated" then "horrible" with "no mic skills" and then "only had 5 moves". Honestly, some people in these forums just seem to be saying shit just to sound smart. Cmon guys.

 

[JoJo The Show]

I will agree with you guys that he really needs to change his finisher, Starship Pain looks more like a trademark move like the Westcoast Pop or that damn Five Knuckle Snuffle. His mic skills are also not the greatest but Benoit, Brock, Khali, Jeff Hardy and plenty others from the past don't have mic skills. Now as for his in ring abilities I want anyone to name 5 guys who can wow in the ring in the WWE better than John, hell name 5 more main eventers in the past 5 years that have better in ring skills

 

[snowjorden]

Now as for his in ring abilities I want anyone to name 5 guys who can wow in the ring in the WWE better than John, hell name 5 more main eventers in the past 5 years that have better in ring skills

Ring abilities aren't usually "wow" things ..unless you just really dig seeing proper selling, psychology, flow, build, execution of moves and such. I can't give you 5 guys who can "wow" better outside of Japan/Mexico, but I can give you 5 guys from the states with better ring abilities. 3/5 are in my signature. If we are talking Japan/Mexico I can give you names of guys who "wow" in the ring better too.

His flaws coupled with the biggest one, not being able to speak as a face. Kill him right now. I think everyone is right ..he was damn good with the Dirt Sheet. Maybe it's the "face" character they've given him. How everyone begs for a Cena heel turn. Maybe it's plaguing Morrison thus making him seem "over rated" now.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Oh my god, yet ANOTHER one of these threads?????? I think these threads are a good indication of just how ridiculous the IWC allows itself to be at times.

It seems that whenever a young star gets a push, whenever a guy with any talent starts to get recognition, here come haters left and right. I'm almost beginning to wonder if it's some sort of rite of passage that any wrestler in the WWE has to go through. Way back in the day, we heard it with Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle among others. More recently, these threads have popped up on Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz & John Morrison. It's fucking ridiculous. At various points when they were really getting big pushes, every single one of those guys that I've just named has been called "overrated". If you were to listen to the rantings and ravings of the IWC, then there's not a single talented wrestler left working today.

John Morrison does have some issues that need to be worked out. His mic work has been a weakness for him. But, he has shown some slight improvement during the times he's been on the mic over the past few months. Nothing earthshattering, but he's no longer making himself look like a blithering idiot. As for why people are into Morrison, well he's athletic, he can perform unique spots of athleticism that are of a different sort than a spot monkey, he can wrestle a straight up match quite well and he's able to keep fans interested in what he's involved in. It's the last one that's the most important overall. It doesn't matter how good you look, how toned your body is, how great of a technician or high flyer you are or how many high spots you hit if you're not able to make fans give a shit about what you're involved in. Getting fans to invest time in you and care about seeing you do your thing is the single most important job of any professional wrestler. And John Morrison is able to do that.

Of course, there are always going to be people that just aren't fans of the guy. That's true with anything in life, not just wrestling. But to try and flat out deny that the man has talent just screams of stubborn bias in my opinion.

 

[jontabs]

Bob Backlund
Andre the Giant - He's a legend, but his mic skills were not good at all.
Ultimate Warrior - he had NO mic skills whatsoever.
Yokozuna - Didn't have any mic skills. He had someone else speak for him.
Jeff Hardy - He was a main eventer for more then six months and he had (and still does) horrible mic skills.
Kane - Had Paul Bearer talking for him for the longest time.
Chris Benoit
Goldberg
Batista - I personally don't agree with this one, but some people continually claim that he had no mic skills.


As I said before, mic skills certainly help a great deal, but you don't have to have them. There's ways around them by booking a champion certain ways, or getting around it by other means (such as a manager/valet). And really, Morrison certainly isn't ATROCIOUS on the mic. Definitely isn't as bad as some of the above mentioned names.

And then if you look at other promotions such as WCW you have Lex Luger, Ron Simmons, and probably a spew of others who weren't exactly good on the mic (or were even horrible), and were still main eventers at one time.
Lex Luger was HORRIBLE on the mic and yet he was a World champion on multiple occassions and a main eventer consistently. He had a GREAT look, though, much like John Morrison.

Good list, which actually helps me prove my point. I wasn't saying Morrison should never be champ, I was going for the possibility that even he did become champ, his lack of mic skills would prevent him from being a consistent headliner. He could conceivably become champ, but would soon be relegated to the midcard soon after his reign (for future reference, i mean midcard to upper mid card) Let's break down your list and see how the past supports my argument.

Bob Backlund - The guy had Above Average mic skills. Became champ, lost it within 3 days or so, back to mid carding

Andre The Giant - He had Bobby Heenan as his manager and talker,one of the greatest managers of all time. Besides, Andre was already a superstar and all time great even before he won the WWF title. Here's a fun fact for you, his WWF title reign lasted 15 seconds.

Ultimate Warrior - He has no mic skills obviously. His promos were rants basically. But they fit in with his character. And his in-ring skills weren't that great. Going back to the point, after he won the title, what happened to him? Back to mid carding, never the same success.

Yokozuna - He had Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji as managers, they did the talking. After a one year dominant run as WWF champ, he lost to Bret Hart at WM X that started the Bret Hart Era. He went back to mid-carding.

Jeff Hardy - I'll be honest, I never followed Hardy's title reign. But from what I gather, he went back to mid carding and is now in TNA nowhere near WWF main event status

Kane - Had Paul Bearer talking for him, that's true. And he held the WWF title for one day when that happened. When he lost Paul Bearer and developed his mic skills, he went his championship reign last year. But after how many years was that? And where is he now? Back to mid card.

Benoit - He had the WM 20 moment. Then what? Lost the title after 5 months, went back to mid card

Goldberg - He had below average mic skills. But at least he was on the mic, which I can't say the same for JoMo who is NEVER on the mic. We can never tell where he would have went as his contract was one year, which was basically a 8 month reign as main eventer plus WM match with Brock.

Batista - The guy was actually decent on the mic, especially as a heel, despite what people say.


The point with Morrison is, history is not on his side. IF HE DOESN'T develop the mic skills, sure he can get a title run, but what happens after? If the JoMo fans out there just want to see him win the title, then don't worry, it's going to happen sooner or later. Just don't be surprised if he's back to the mid card after his reign.

But if the JoMo fans out there want him to succeed and become a consistent main eventer, then they at least have to acknowledge the need for a manager or drastic improvement on the mic.

 

[rkonextphenom]

Ok, I can't take it anymore... I have to know. Why the hell do people praise John Morrison? The guy is without a doubt the biggest spot monkey to ever grace the ring... ok second biggest because Ebassan is always number one, but then again he's cool, so again Morrison's the biggest.

Seriously though, I get that the guy does all of these high risk spots and everything, and he has the best natural physique in the entire WWE, but the guy is NOT WWE or World title material. At best, he's an IC title competitor who gets title shots but never wins. And for people to compare him to Shawn Micheals is a slap in the face to the Showstopper. John Morrison hasn't done anything close to what Shawn Micheals has accomplished... except hold the tag and ic titles...

Unlike Shawn Micheals, John Morrison has absolutely NO mic skills and his ring work has a lot left to be desired. Anyway, maybe the guy's just not my cup of tea, but until I can find one thing that warrants him good enough to be a world champion he'll always be a jobber to the stars.

really sir? not wwe championship material so what just cuz he wont be on tmz and kimmy fallon after he won the title? please jomo is the next hbk and is getting the groom for it. Hasnt done anything to compare to hbk well yeah hes still getting started it took hbk a while to get his ball rolling as does any superstar that earns their way. Saying the hes just a spot monkey??? the guy is tough as nails and has proven his in ring abilites while fighting sheamus and when he tagged with the miz. hes matches against hhh and hbk were very well wrestled and his timing is nearly perfect. if all ggoes well and health stays good morrison well become one of the next greats. hes got the look the ability mic skills are ok but cmon everyone wants the next rock look its not gonna happen
if you just got into wwe or wreslting or have only watched for a few years then i can see what ur complaining at but for guys like me who have watched for over 23 years then morrison is a bright light of the future who reminds me of past wrestlers that made me love wwe in the 1st place. Morrison is the future not the miz as i stated above just becuase morrison isnt the MUSTSEE CHampion (which is complete bullshit) dosnt mean hes not championship material Iwould be proud to call him the face of the wwe i am embarrsed to call the miz that

 

[123NewChamp]

Now I'ma be honest and say this....Morrison is a great wrestler, (Hates it when he's heel.) but he's a great wrestler. And also he has a great moveset, and one of the most athletically and gifted superstars in the ring. He got his due as champion, ECW, IC Champion and Tag Team Champion. And he does deserve a title shot. Does he needs improvement Yes he does. But apparently he has up his game, cause if he didn't him and R-Truth will be teaming more frequently. But having him as a fresh face getting more frequent title shots, and probably winning the belt and holding on to it for a week to a month, might be what can motivate him to be pulled over the top. And plus a big upset over the World Title will really prove that anything can happen in the WWE. So really he's just a wrestler who I can see taking his career to higher heights. Destined to get out the mid card and into the main event slot more in 2011. He's going to become a great wrestler in the next couple of years, but I won't say he's gonna be the next HBK, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, or Bret Hart. But just John Morrison.

 

[JoJo The Show]

Ring abilities aren't usually "wow" things ..unless you just really dig seeing proper selling, psychology, flow, build, execution of moves and such. I can't give you 5 guys who can "wow" better outside of Japan/Mexico, but I can give you 5 guys from the states with better ring abilities. 3/5 are in my signature. If we are talking Japan/Mexico I can give you names of guys who "wow" in the ring better too.

I apologize for not being more specific but I meant on the WWE roster. Hell just a quarter of the guys in Ring of Honor have more talent in the ring than the whole WWE roster with the exception of a few guys.

 

[sTyLnK]

I'm not sure why people make so many threads on wrestlers. People need to get the stick out of their you know whats. Wrestling is just entertainment. People seem to take it to seriously sometimes dissecting every single wrestler and talking negative about them. Morrison is a great wrestler and an entertaining one at that. He doe some pretty incredible stuff. IE what he did at the royal rumble when he jumped on the ledge. He's not good on the mic, but lot's of great wrestlers don't/didn't have that talent. IE Bret Hart. Amazing wrestler, bad on the mic.

Why can't more people be like me and just look past someone who is bad on the mic or not as entertaining. Wrestling is hard on the body and I admire what they do. It takes guts. I just find it funny how people bash a wrestler when they themselves wouldn't last one week in a ring. Look past some of the negatives like the cheesyness of it and just watch. These guys and girls are falling and hurting themselves to entertain you. Don't bitch about it.

 

[Daniel.Wood]

You want to know why Morrison is good, because he isn't just a 'spot monkey' the ladder match with Sheamus he spent most of his time on the ground, getting pounded. Yes there were spots but there are ALWAYS spots with a guy his size. Evan Bourne is nothing more than a guy with a finisher but people think he should be pushed. IMO Morrison is ahead of Evan Bourne in terms of wrestling.

Even if he is just a Spot Monkey , which he isn't. He's a great Spot Monkey. At the Raw and Royal Rumble he could have easily botched any of his spots given. The leap to the guide rail and the subsequent leap back could have gone so wrong. The Spanish Fly on Punk was amazing < --- just a spot monkey?

And at the end of the day, he's over. Childrean and Women etc love him because , like Jeff Hardy he will do anything to get the win. He'll put his body on the line. Except Jon is better than Hardy in most ways and they have him the title twice. No-one in that audience, the LIVE audience is thinking "Well that was great but if only he could do something on the microphone".. Pissing IWC at its best.

IMO Starship pain is fine as well. He has the flying chuck, running knee and starship pain, all three have been used to win matches in combination or on their own. They should maybe phase starship pain out a bit more as he does botch it. But everythings favourite Idol CM Punk has botched his GTS 3 or 4 out of the last 5 times he's used it. Should he get rid of that?

Essentially, what my argument comes down to, is what the hell is wrong with being a spot monkey, and how can you call Morrison one when he's clearly much more than that.

 

[snowjorden]

Literally about 90% of his spots look absolutely sloppy and his finishing move is horrible in the fact that he never properly hits the move. Don't believe me his spots look sloppy? From the minute he entered the 2011 Royal Rumble until he did the barricade cling ..all his moves, nearly every one was botched. Seriously, EVERY one of them.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

One of the main reasons WWE is pushing him now is cos of Tough Enough... What better way to get the new programme over than have 2 alumni in major spots at Wrestlemania, one as champ and one as MITB winner?

Morrison fits the "kiddie" mould of superhero with his agility and the older fans like the Doors/Hendrix references and even the giving of the glasses each match... JoMo is the Randy Savage of WWE right now, not gonna be champ most of the time, but a safe bet when he is.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

I never really liked this guy up until just recently when I watched Raw a little closer. Don't shit on his mic work, its really not that bad, it'll just take a while to evolve his character a little bit. People only prefer his heel work because its easier to be a heel than a face.

 

[Lee 'leax bomb' Uren]

If John Morrison wants to make it big in WWE,he needs to get a new finisher,if he was in a WWE title match and won the WHC with the Star ship pain it would be a joke and it would lose credibility!

 

[Alastor]

Not his biggest fan but I can see his appeal. He does crazy spots that excite the crowd, he has a great physique and also has the rock star appeal. What is so great about him is there is potential for greatness in him. He may not be the next HBK his fans are proclaiming him to be, but he could be the next Jeff Hardy, who was damn well over with lots of fans. For me has has the potential to be even better than Hardy because he is able or willing to do more moves than Hardy. One negative would be he still botches quite a bit but that is no surprise when his moves are of higher risks in nature.

He may not be the next Shawn Michaels but he can be the heartthrob and heartbreak kid for this generation of wrestling fans. (Did I just contradicted myself? )

 

[AxAs]

Do you honestly think people are comparing JoMo and HBK because of both their respective mic skills? Lol.... As others have said it's because of their in ring skills and high spots they both make. And once more, as others have said even when he's not doing those high spots he's still good in the ring in my opinion.

You don't have to be good on the mic to be a champ see: Jeff Hardy, Chris Benoit, Batista before his heel run.. And being good in ring and on the mic doesn't guarentee you main event status, see: Christian.

 

[RedBeardHair]

ok for everyone saying hbk and him not compareable well i will see what u say in about 15 more years. hbk has had 20+ years in the ring. it took him about 8 years to win the wwf title. so jomo is ahead right now. only getting better all the time. u talk week in and week out for 10 years u would get better to.

 

[DanAlmighty]

What the hell is a spot monkey anyway??? Based on the amount of times I hear that term used round here, it seems half the roster could be defined as "spot monkeys". Seriously....Morrison is able to do things in a ring that no one else can do and is damned entertaining doing it. Yes....the HBK comparisons are lazy....but not completly ridiculous. They both appeal to the ladies due to their physiques and natural good looks, both utilise a mixed, varied moveset, both have that rockstar appeal and both of them were very capable of having the best match of the night on any given night.

Good ol' IWC.....it seems like once a star gets to a certain level, it's time to turn against them! I agreed with the poster who said that 6 months ago everyone was riding his bandwagon and now he's reached a certain push, he is considered "over-rated". Hey IWC.....how about Yoshi Tatsu vs Zack Ryder for Wrestlemania 28's main event?? Neither of them are massive stars so surely, the IWC would cream themselves over it!

In response to the OP.....what is so so so good about Morrison is, whether you like him or not, his unique abilities in the ring. After 25 years of watching WWE, Morrison is probably one of the only guys who does moves that I haven't seen before from anyone else....he's no Daniel Bryan or Kurt Angle as a pure wrestler.....but then, nobody is!!! And I don't just mean the "spots".....for example, Sheamus pulled out that wicked looking move on him in 2 matches, where he grabbed his leg and yanked him over his head from a standing position behind him, resulting in Morrison landing on his face in front of Sheamus!! That move was awesome, painful looking and, most of all, unique!! Too many "superstars" are the same generic trunks, hairstyle and limited moveset combination.

On a final note, I don't think i've ever watched and thought to myself...."Damn...that guy is shit on the mic...he's obviously no good!" Makes me wonder why people are watching a wrestling show in the first place....I get that it's Sports Entertainment nowadays...but if talking and dialogue is that important to you, go and watch a Tarantino film! Bret Hart wasn't exactly the rock on the mic, but he was OVER based on his good looks and his ability! Why isn't a wrestlers ability enough nowadays???

 

[Pepsiplunge]

I've read the whole thread (more then less) and I can't belive none of you have mentioned JoMo's selling. I've have never seen anyone sell the moves so darn good as him, except for maybe Evan Bourne. Every match I wonder if he tweakes his knees or ankles for real. And the C4 move he did on this week's RAW... cmon... (I know he has done it before). He is indeed destined for greatness. He makes all his opponite look really strong in every match he is in. And that my friends is the key to success.

 

[WrestlingIsReal]

i do think that morrison is overrated as well, his mic skills are weak. i will give him credit that he does some impressive moves and can put on a fairly exciting match but he botches many moves and i do not think he is championship material.

 

[GeminiJ13]

Your clearly not paying attention to anything John Morrison does. Have you been to youtube lately? The move at the Rumble that he pulled off is known as the best move ever. Big spots make for entertaining and risky wrestling. Its one thing to come up with the idea, quite another to pull it off in front of 20,000 ppl.

I DO compare JoMo to HBK for very simple reasons. First of all he is about the same size, maybe booked at 222lbs, but more like 205, whereas HBK was probably 210 at his biggest and 185 towards the end of his career. Morrison has a better build, is more athletic and maybe even better looking than HBK. Shawn did alot of awesome moves, but in his prime, couldnt do half the moves that JoMo does!! You think HBK could ever do starship pain?? No. The fact that HBK won a world title as a smaller guy paved the way for guys like Mysterio and Morrison. And the fact that you dont see how athletically impressive John Morrison is, is pathetic.

What a stupid headline. John Morrison is so blatantly impressive, that this is like asking "Whats so great about an orgasm?"

 

[Iversen]

Morrison grew on me.....wrestling has become so stale other than guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan that one day it dawned on me, who put on the best match and actually entertained me....answer was John Morrison everytime

See I agree completely with this. Getting away from stupid terms like spot monkey or whatever watching John Morrison's matches are always entertaining. There's moments that you find yourself rewinding just to watch again and again.

I'd like to see Morrison maybe not go fully heel because he's currently very popular but just see him hitting up an almost Anderson like face role. He can be face but still take the piss out of folk basically. His face promos while I don't think they're as horrible as some make out just tend to be a bit bland.

Plus he does need to change his finisher, Starship Pain can be pulled out on occasion but he needs an impact move.

 

[GeminiJ13]

If John Morrison wants to make it big in WWE,he needs to get a new finisher,if he was in a WWE title match and won the WHC with the Star ship pain it would be a joke and it would lose credibility!

Starship Pain is far better than that stupid ass running knee kick he has been using. I think he stole that from Kane. Anyhow, its been done a hundred times and should be used as a setup for the Starship Pain. I like Starship Pain though, remember when RVD used to do the split legged moonsault?? Add 180degrees to that. Its a good move, and has decent credibility as a finisher.

Its far better than all of Nexus's finishers, with the exception of Gabriel. Wasteland is pretty much a lazy reverse samoan drop. Husky's finisher is fucking TERRIBLE, its a shit move and he doesnt even do it well. Mcgillicutty's is just as bad. Anybody can do a neckbreaker, asshole! His dad had a better finisher 20yrs ago (perfect plex). CM Punks GTS used to be cool, but he is nowhere close to their face with his knee anymore, and when he does it to Cena or anyone heavier it looks awful!!!