John Morrison has put together a highly impressive career during his stints in WWE, Impact Wrestling, AAA and Lucha Underground. The accomplishments from Morrison have seen him thrive in every area of wrestling from tag teams with multiple partners to mid-card title dominance to becoming a main eventer.
Any wrestler to spend as much time as Morrison building his name in the wrestling world is bound to have stories come out from behind the scenes. The career of Morrison featured fascinating moments behind the scenes that have led to fans wanting to learn more. Find out just what caused the potential Hall of Famer to have controversy tied to his name. The following stories will show more insight into Morrison’s time backstage.
10 The Miz Helped Set Up WWE Return
The friendship between John Morrison and The Miz allowed them to remain close during Morrison’s time away from WWE. Most wrestlers fall out of touch when working for different companies, but Morrison and Miz were close enough to be part of each other’s wedding parties.
The return of Morrison was done with Miz playing a huge role in the WWE contract talks. Miz was treading water as a face and wanted to work with Morrison again. WWE brokered the deal with Miz convincing both sides that Morrison returning to the company would be a great move.
9 Talked Miz Into Mocking Bob Holly With Impression
The pranking nature of wrestling will see friends playing jokes on each other. John Morrison almost went too far when convincing The Miz to rib Bob Holly by coming up with an insulting impression during a segment.
The reputation of Holly was for being a backstage bully who would jump all over any young stars he felt were disrespectful. Morrison revealed that Holly threatened to beat up Miz if he ever did anything like that again like expected.
8 Vince Killed His Push After Batista & Melina Rumors
The real-life love triangle between Batista, Melina and John Morrison led to multiple careers being impacted. Batista survived with any negative repercussions since he was already established as a main event act.
Vince McMahon reportedly gave up on Morrison’s push around this time due to losing respect for his role in the scenario. Melina was allegedly seeing Batista while dating Morrison which led to the entire locker room discussing the gossip.
7 Name Change Was Done To Separate Him From Melina
WWE felt the on-screen relationship between Johnny Nitro and Melina needed to end for both to improve as performers. Morrison moved to the ECW brand and was completely revamped under the name of John Morrison.
Melina thrived instantly as a singles star and one of the top wrestlers in the women’s division. Morrison benefited as well by having a persona that was inspired by rock star legend Jim Morrison of The Doors. WWE wanted to make fans forget about the Nitro era as this gave him a new beginning.
6 Filmed The Original Dirt Sheet Segments Without Company Approval
The Miz and John Morrison found success teaming up in ECW for the first time. Both wrestlers had similar senses of humor and tried to showcase that with their weekly segments called The Dirt Sheet on WWE’s website and the occasional television spot.
The Brooklyn Brawler used to help with online content production at the time and would let the wrestlers have freedom. Morrison and Miz came up with the show concept together without WWE approving their ideas before it made the website.
5 Lucha Underground Viewed Him As Their Version Of John Cena
Lucha Underground appeared to be a unique wrestling product with the chance for long-term success in the early years. John Morrison was the biggest name hired ahead of the show’s first season with his image all over the marketing.
Konnan revealed on his podcast that Morrison and Prince Puma aka Ricochet were viewed as the John Cena and Randy Orton of the company from management. Lucha Underground expected Morrison and Puma to be the faces of the brand for many years leading the way for their growth.
4 Felt Disrespected By Austin Aries During Worked Shoot Promos
The last of Austin Aries holding relevance in wrestling came during his most recent Impact Wrestling stint. Aries was involved in a public controversy with his opponent John Morrison when insulting Morrison’s wife Taya Valkyrie on social media about her appearance.
Things got hostile with Impact trying to benefit from the shoot elements by using it in their storyline. However, the end of their blow-off match with Morrison standing tall as Impact World Champion saw Aries standing up after taking the pin and flipping off Don Callis. Morrison revealed he felt disrespected by Aries’ actions and Aries has never returned to Impact since then.
3 His ECW Championship Win Was Planned Minutes Before
WWE did not have main event plans for John Morrison in ECW from the start of his time there even though it played out that way. CM Punk and Chris Benoit was the scheduled match for the vacated ECW Championship during the weekend of the Benoit family tragedy.
Morrison was picked as the last-minute replacement when Benoit was not at the show. WWE did not want Punk to hold the title that quickly and went with the shocking move of Morrison winning the ECW Championship. It started Morrison’s push faster as he feuded with Punk for the belt over the next few months.
2 Biggest Singles Push Came Due To Rey Mysterio’s Suspension
Another unexpected push for John Morrison came when Rey Mysterio received a suspension for violating the wellness policy. Mysterio was forced to drop the Intercontinental Championship in 2009 with Morrison receiving the huge victory.
This started Morrison’s first major push as a babyface after winning the mid-card title in a stellar match. Morrison became a standout talent making the blue brand must-watch television partially due to Rey’s suspension.
1 Trish Stratus Confronted Him About WrestleMania Snub
One of the most controversial moments in John Morrison’s career came after he won a match teaming with Trish Stratus and Snooki at WrestleMania 27. Morrison’s girlfriend Melina was reportedly snubbed from the planned role when Trish decided to come out of retirement for the match.
The post-match celebration saw Morrison refusing to hug Stratus in cold fashion. Stratus revealed that she confronted Morrison and asked about his attitude. Morrison confirmed that he was upset about Melina losing her spot as they agreed to disagree about the situation.