Morrison's Done Nothing

[NinoBrown]

...to be at the top.

Watching the Morrison/Ziggler match this past week on SD!, I got to thinking where does Morrison rank in SD!'s main roster and he's pretty much in the top 5 but I began to think, how he got there?

And then I came across The Wrestling Daily's Top 50 wrestlers in the world and Morrison ranked a surprising 33. And the more I read, the more I agreed.

Here's Morrison's piece.

33. John Morrison (World Wrestling Entertainment)

Jason Le Blanc on John Morrison: For all intents and purposes, this man should be a hell of a lot higher on this list than he actually is. The big question here, is why he isn’t.

Morrison has been producing good to great matches at a ridiculous rate since he split from his partner, The Miz, shortly after them lost a Tag Team Championship unification match to Primo and Carlito Colon. Morrison has turned in stellar efforts working with Evan Bourne, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Shelton Benjamin, C.M. Punk, and Jeff Hardy during 2009.

The only problem? Morrison has been passive while doing it.

What do I mean? Think about it. The Miz turned on Morrison. Jericho slapped Morrison in the fact to get the ball moving on Morrison’s face turn. Morrison captured the Intercontinental Championship when Rey Mysterio was suspended. All of this has nothing to do with what Morrison is actively doing. All of this just sort of happened to him.

It’s often the little things that can be huge factors; minute details can make a great film, a fact that legendary film maker Akira Kurosawa knew. Attention to detail is what made Kurosawa a great director, and attention to detail is imperative in the development of a given character.

The WWE’s booking of John Morrison and their lack of attention to detail has been a hindrance to his development. Hell, the tiny detail of Miz turning on Morrison has created a situation where some fans are actually saying that Miz has a higher ceiling in the business than Morrison does. Remember when people referred to The Miz as the Marty Jannetty of the “Greatest Tag Team in the 21st Century?”

Many compare Morrison to Shawn Michaels, but Shawn Michaels threw Jannetty through a barber shop window. Shawn Michaels formed D-Generation X. Shawn Michaels actively participated in the Montreal Screwjob, and the fans knew all of this. Everyone knew that the Heartbreak Kid, as Michaels once so greatly put it, “lays down for absolutely nobody.”

What has John Morrison actually done himself?

Morrison comes off as being passive, and passive doesn’t get over. Who the hell is John Morrison at this point in his career, other than a man who resembles Jim Morrison and acts like comedy actor Ryan Reynolds? I’m not so sure yet, and I don’t think either the WWE or Morrison know themselves.

On in ring performance and accomplishments alone, Morrison deserves a spot in this year’s 50, but make no mistake: 2010 is a big year for Mr. Morrison. Will Morrison find his edge, or continuing having the edge of a bowling ball?

Morrison doesn't cut promos, all he really does is flashy moves that get him the pin, with no real story behind it.

Thoughts?

P.S. Check out the rest of the list. Think we can agree on #1.

 

[noumenon]

Interesting... some of it makes sense. But WWE is obsessed with these goody goody perfect faces these days that I wouldn't expect him to do much else but wrestle his matches and go with the flow.
Miz got the easy push coming off their split with the momentum of a lot of heat behind his back. All Morrison got was sympathy love and the ooh's and aah's of his flashy move set.
I think it also lies in the fact that we have seen a very obvious progression of Miz, but Morrison is just kind of....being Morrison. True he hasn't done much to be at a main event level but when he does reach that level (for whatever he does) I'm not gonna dispute that he'll probably deserve to be there.

And has WWE pointed out at tonights PPV... their current favorite up and comers are Miz, Morrison, Drew, Sheamus and Kofi.

 

[xtremebadass]

I have started to go sour on Morrison for these reasons...

1. Failed to keep singles competition going after losing ECW Championship (formed team with Miz).

2. He was on ECW for quite sometime after losing the ECW Championship and never won it back.

3. Wrestles on SD! with the IC strap due to Rey Mysterio being on steroids when he should be main eventing.

4. His mic skills absolutely suck.

5. He doesn't have as big of fan following as you would think.

6. He is at the same position or worse as he was in 2006 being IC Champ on Raw, atleast then people recognized him because he associated himself with K-Fed.

7. He only fights Dolph Ziggler despite beating him every single time. Find new opponents to switch things up. Fans these days get bored quickly if the rivalry isn't flat out awesome, which JoMo vs. Dolph sure as hell isn't.

 

[Kizza]

It's his face turn. Poorly executed, it was just generic face turn #12334342313. He never does anything bad anymore, he's all for the forces of good. Being alone has really shown how he needs to rely on someone like a Miz, who is completely opposing in styles, to keep him interesting. Without the ground and pound type of Miz, JoMo is just another flashy wrestler who needs spots to keep the crowd interested. Plus, unless he's insulting someone, he can't cut a decent promo to save his life.

@ XBA, to be fair, all of them besides 4 and 5 are booking problems. It's not his fault he had no competition on ECW. it's not his fault WWE chose him over Ziggler to get the IC title off dopeboy. And again, it's WWE's fault that they did not capitalize on the break up, and WWE need to be making sure that they keep their feuds fresh, when a pair of wrestlers can only do so much after 5-6 matches against each other. Hell, to get a 2/3 falls match shows that the feud needs to end SOON.

 

[Great One]

Meh. Christian should be higher. I already summed up my thoughts on Morrison in a long ass post in that Morrison is next Michaels thread. Wasting what could be the greatest character since The Rock because he sucks and hasn't come to finding himself yet. And oh we certainly agree on who is #1. Much fucking deserved and at least someone recognizes the best at what he does.

 

[The Rated R CMStar]

OK, first this:

3. Wrestles on SD! with the IC strap due to Rey Mysterio being on steroids when he should be main eventing

But then you say:

4. His mic skills absolutely suck.

5. He doesn't have as big of fan following as you would think

Then can somebody explain to me why on Earth should he be main eventing?

 

[Kizza]

Just clicked the link, number 1 is win. Absolute win.

 

[Beer Money Army]

I don't Mind Morrison, He has nice in-ring ability, His in-ring ability is a Cross of an HBK/RVD/Mysterio, He is invented inside the ring. His Look is similiar to a 2000/2010's Version of a Rick Rude.

But Morrison Character shouldn't really be a face, But Morrison lacks Promo Skills. His Promos with Miz were probably his best work all this Year, but they weren't that great. Promos with Ziggler, Mr Ziggles Gosh that thing was horrible.

1st on that List, is Very Very Very True. No One is better than that #1 on the site.

 

[JMay187]

Great Site. Chris Jericho is on the top of wrestling.

Love the fact that John Cena is no where on the list.

 

[JurassicBonez]

I've grown more and more sower on the guy since his split from Miz. As I said in the Miz thread, I thought that win they broke-up, Morrison would rise and Miz would just get lost. But Morrison's been nothing but boring. His in-ring work is over-rated.

 

[Rated RJC]

I am a fan of John Morrison and I do feel his face turn and character haven't been very well done. He is a really bad promo but looking back at the infamous Nitro/Melina press conference he has improved so much from then and I believe with more mic experience he'll turn out just fine.

The problem is his more than stellar in ring work is much more developed than his mic skills. Most of the greats in this business have had the perfect mix on ring and mic skills. The Rock, Austin, Michaels, HHH, and many more have mastered both sides of the card in pro wrestling. Morrison's improving every week and I say that in about two years he will be nearing a level of a main eventer.

I don't see Morrison as 'white Shelton Benjamin' in terms of hype and internet love only to be a disappointment because I see so much more potential in Morrison. The biggest mistake by the WWE, and I mentioned this in another thread, is not putting the newly face Morrison before summer in a mini feud with Jericho. If a wrestler interacts with Jericho and goes against him, the guy will be cheered. There's all this talk of CM Punk trying to put over R-Truth as a main eventer which is a great idea considering the heat he has but why not do this with Jericho and Morrison when they had the chance or even better, have Morrison drop the IC strap to Ziggler and feud with Punk.

At this point in time Jericho and Punk are the two guys in the company that can get just about any face over if booked right. They are generating so much heat for themselves it's not right for the creative team not to capitalize on it by making a star.

Morrison just needs a good, solid feud with a heel that can get him over. Let's face it, Morrison doesn't have the mic work but working on it with guys like Jericho and Punk will help him out. And another thing, Morrison's heel mic work was amazing during the beginnings of the John Morrison character. Maybe it's Morrison's inability to translate that to a face persona, he's just a flashy personality in the ring, why not turn that into his character. He does all these crazy X-Division type moves, is one hell of an athlete, why not incorporate that into his face character and persona. IMO it's a simple fix to get Morrison into a bigger star, all they need to do is give him a real chance to shine in a feud with somebody who can help him out.

 

[Great One]

One thing I just can't grasp about this list is how Kurt fucking Angle isn't in it AT ALL. WTF?

 

[LKP]

Why is undertaker number 12?

 

[noumenon]

They're in on the CPP.

 

[LKP]

Lmao i knew the next guy to post would going to say that haha.