John Morrison – His Own Worst Enemy
By Peter Dawson
It’s pretty hard to argue that John Morrison isn’t a good ring technician, especially given that at both the 2011 Royal Rumble and 2011 Elimination Chamber he easily had some of the top spots of the night. Hell, his title match with The Miz on the very first Monday Night Raw of 2011 was incredible and really sold both men as being capable wrestlers. The stunned look Miz had when he tried to pin Morrison after the guy went through a table and was still able to kick out was great television. It was a Pay-Per-View level match and far better than the main event of Wrestlemania XXVII.
So with Morrison so popular in the ring why is R-Truth the one in the Triple Threat at Extreme Rules? His microphone skills are arguably mixed, though that’s never stopped worse wrestlers (sorry, entertainers) from getting a push. As many are reporting, Morrison is in the dog house because he was very unprofessional when working with Trish Stratus for the previously-mentioned Wrestlemania XXVII. Yes, Morrison didn’t give the cold shoulder to Snooki, who wasn’t even a WWE Diva, but to the greatly-respected Canadian legend that is Trish Stratus. A woman who was quite possibly the best female ring performer since the Fabulous Moolah and John Morrison treated her like dirt, refusing to go over her part of the match prior to the event. After the victory Morrison also left the ring pretty quick, though he did raise Snooki’s arm when she won it.
Now, some people can argue that Morrison should still have gotten the push for Extreme Rules given how hot he is (in terms of marketability, though that is a pretty amazing hair and beard combo) regardless of his conduct, especially over R-Truth. The problem is Morrison made two big mistakes, one worse than the other, both of which signal to the top brass that he is undeserving. The thing holding back John Morrison is his own attitude.
Supposedly Melina was supposed to be in the Wrestlemania match and that’s hard to buy, given Melina was turned heel prior to the Royal Rumble, before Trish Stratus even returned. Still some have argued really any current Diva was owed a spot and the fact is its Wrestlemania and they need their top draws. Trish Stratus still easily draws more of a pop than pretty much any Diva that’s a face right now, including the champion at the time Eve Torres. Really if anyone should be pissed its Kelly Kelly since from a storyline stand-point it made sense for her to get tied into all that. Morrison’s mistake was throwing a passive-aggressive tantrum because something that made no sense from a booking stand-point didn’t happen. People have been fired for less (See Fit Finlay).
The second mistake is probably what really hurt Morrison, and that’s refusing to go over the match with Trish. That is just idiotic, especially given its freaking Wrestlemania. People get hurt in matches, with better odds of it happening if they’re improvising, so not knowing the plan can increase the risk of injury. Yes Morrison did still go over the match, just not with one of his partners, but that still could have had dire consequences as well as just plain-old timing issues. It flat-out tells management Morrison would rather be petty than make sure the show being put on is both good and safe, and knowing that, would you give him a main event shot?
