John Morrison has commented on his WWE release 10 days after the news became public.
WWE parted ways with Morrison on November 18 as the latest in several rounds of budget cuts; this release marked the end of his return to the company after he signed a contract in October 2019. (WWE confirmed the news in December.) Morrison initally worked for the company from 2002-2011, dating back to his days on “Tough Enough.” WWE brought him back after he starred in various promotions, such as IMPACT Wrestling, for several years.
In an Instagram post on November 28, the six-time tag team champion shared his thoughts on his release; he expressed his gratitude for the fans’ support and described his second run as “nostalgic” before he looked forward to his next chapter.
The message in its entirety is as follows:
“Aquaholics, JoMo-sapiens, John-tourage, Slamtonians, I want you all to know how grateful I am for the support you gave me during this past run with WWE. I also want you to know that I did in fact receive a phone call from John Laurinaitis, during which he told me that my services as a talent were no longer required by WWE. I didn’t even get a, ‘Best of luck in your future endeavors.’ I mean, if you’re gonna let me go, at least hit your catchphrase, right?
“Oh I don’t know, if it’s something that draws people to professional wrestling or something that happens to people when they’ve been in the business for a long enough time, but my mind always races towards ways to pop the crowd, even at my own expense. The whole idea of making yourself look bad to make someone else look good is a strange thing. But for me, it’s such an important part of what I do. And it’s a foreign concept to so many people. I think that’s why this past run with WWE meant so much to me. I saw and spoke to people that I hadn’t seen in 10 years. The chance to reconnect with old friends and make new friends, work with some of the best production people in the business, some of the best professional wrestlers in the business. I mean, just the whole thing was nostalgic. It brought me back to how I felt when I was brand-new to the business.
“I was always so nervous. I just, I wanted to do everything right, you know? So I would do things like, I would get to the arena super early all the time, which actually just gave me more time to be nervous. But there was one time in particular, I remember I was standing there in the ring, hours before doors, looking out at all the empty seats, thinking, in a couple hours, this place is gonna be packed. And there is gonna be a person in every one of those seats all staring at me, expecting me to do stuff. I gotta get better at stuff.
“And I think maybe the most important thing I learned during my first run with WWE is, it’s not the stuff that people go to see wrestling for. It’s the stories. We’re storytellers. Now I happen to be a storyteller who takes a lot of pride in being able to do the flips, the tricks, the kicks, and the hair whips but those are just tools. The moves, the ropes, the ring, the mic, they’re all just tools used by those who practice the art of professional wrestling to tell stories. And the great thing about being a storyteller is, when one chapter ends, another begins.”
To everyone who took part in my journey into the amazing world of Professional Wrestling, thank u for enhancing my life water ??https://t.co/TvchFnNaaL
— John Morrison (@TheRealMorrison) November 28, 2021
Morrison is currently waiting out his non-compete clause, but it’s fair to say that he’ll be one of the most buzzworthy names on the open market once he’s available.
