Joshua Modaberi sent along the following:
Former WWE Superstar John Morrison, now wrestling under his real name of John Hennigan, is featured in a new interview with Sportsvibe.co.uk, where he promotes the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) event that he is part of in the Phillippines on February 4th, what it was like winning the ECW Championship, teaming with The Miz, his release from the company, potential interest in TNA Wrestling and much more.
Highlights are below:
Morrison on how he got into wrestling and some of the wrestlers he idolised in the business growing up: “I started as a fan growing up; watching wrestling as a kid is the reason I first went out for wrestling in high school. We use to wrestle in the yard, but I never thought I could actually have a career in wrestling until I saw the first season of Tough Enough. When growing up I always loved watching, Shawn Michaels, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Hulk Hogan.”
Morrison on being part of the WWE Tough Enough experience before it’s revival in 2011: “Tough Enough was a great experience for me, it is very similar to being on the road with WWE in a lot of ways, it’s a high pressure environment where you are expected to progress (perform) consistently at a high level. If you don’t perform well you find yourself on the bubble, and you never know when the bubble will pop.”
Morrison on the MNM Tag Team, becoming ECW Champion and teaming with The Miz: “What I loved about MNM was that it was our idea, us being Melina, Mercury, and myself. We were MNM in OVW (developmental wrestling) for a year before we were brought up to Smackdown. MNM was the first time I really felt at home in wrestling. The “Morrison” character was born in ECW… a child of spite and stardom. I felt like I evolved into a great singles wrestler in ECW because of the opportunities to speak, and wrestle longer matches. Miz & Morrison, “The Greatest Tag Team of the 21st Century,” was fun because Miz and I have great comedic chemistry for backstage segments, and our internet show the Dirt Sheet. Also I felt like more of a leader than when I was with MNM.”
Morrison on his personal highlight of his WWE career and why he chose not to renew his contract with the company: “Some of my favorite moments are my debut match, MNM vs. Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, and beating Sheamus to become the number 1 contender at TLC 2011. To be honest with you thinking about it, some of my favourite moments are from matches that I lost – losing the ECW championship to CM Punk in August 2007 plus Falls count anywhere versus Miz; MNM vs. the Hardy’s, Morrison vs. Ziggler any given night of the last Europe tour; the infamous Limo explosion on Z True Island story. I was starting to accumulate injuries faster than they were healing… neck surgery, and a lot of nagging injuries; shoulder, knee, ankle- I decided that time off is my best option. I’m working on elevating every part of my game during the time I have off, physical in ring stuff and mic work.”
Morrison on what it was like to work for Vince McMahon: “Vince is a perfectionist, a work-a-holic, and a micro-manager. He expects everyone to work as hard as he does, and he really does work like a mad man. He cares very much about his business, and you have to respect that about him. If I had to pick out any one flaw, I’d say that I think it would behoove him to delegate more. Give power to others in the organization for longer periods of time without allowing them to be undermined.”
Morrison on whether a WWE return or TNA debut is going to happen in 2012 and what else this year holds in store: “Depends…I’m going to finish Out Of Your Mind Fitness (finally!), aside from wrestling, I’ve never put so much time & effort into any one project. I’m excited to see what people are going to do with Out of Your Mind Fitness, I wish I had a fitness program like it when I started training.”
The full interview is available at this link.