Matt Morgan Talks Why ‘Wrestling Matters,’ Leaving WWE, Vince Russo & More

Matt Morgan was on Busted Open with hosts Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca. The show airs Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-4 PM ET on Sirius 92 and XM 207. Here are some excerpts from the interview:

On the change to Impact Wrestling: “Other companies… if they want to shy away from the word wrestling, I guess I understand because that’s their agenda, that’s what they want to do, that’s their business. We have the best wrestling roster on the planet. It’s not even debatable. I’m talking from the bottom of the roster all the way to the top, to our champion. So I think it’s very intelligent that we go out there and we put that over to fans….to be able to go into people’s offices, to be able to sell the product for ads on television and things like that.”

What he thinks of when he thinks of a wrestling show: “I think of in the ring, pro wrestling. I think of guys coming out and over the top characters… larger than life persona’s, characters that can reach through the television screen and some little six year old at home watching it, elbowing his mom and dad and going ‘Mom and Dad, I want to be like him when I grow up.’ Or ‘Mom and Dad, I hate that guy, why is he doing that?’

“When I was that six year old kid sitting there Indian style with my 5 older brothers and my dad watching Andre the Giant getting his hair cut in the middle of the ring, they weren’t wrestling. He was getting his hair cut off, and I remember crying. I was flipping out as a kid and it was the very first time I ever got emotionally invested in anything like that on television, let alone just pro wrestling.

“However, I did watch the show to watch pro wrestling, let’s not get that twisted. I watch the show to watch what happens in between those ropes. But the storyline of what happens before and after that match, in my opinion, are just as important.”

His time on WWE Tough Enough and if he watched this past season: “My time there was very well spent. I loved every second that I was on Tough Enough. It was very similar to the new Tough Enough. You have the kids, have them all living in the same house and you see the drama that maybe happens in that house… that kind of thing I think wets everybody’s appetite and you get more fans as opposed to wrestling fans just watching the show.

“Unfortunately, I tore my MCL and ACL on the show and I had to go home. I didn’t know what to expect. I do remember as I was leaving and the cameras didn’t pick this up, but Bob Holly was just getting to the practice as I left the show. I’m leaving to go in the car and I see Bob Holly pulling in so I get out of the car to go shake his hand and say thank you for helping me, and he was like ‘I’ll tell you what, if this is something you really want to do Matt, you got to get on that phone when you get home and call that office because I’d be surprised and shocked if they didn’t call you first. This might be something for you if this is really in your heart.’ And that really helped me.”

Why his run with the WWE didn’t work out: “I was taken back and shocked when it (his release) happened. I was involved with an angle in Big Show when it happened. I have no clue why it happened.

“I just do know the stuttering character… John Laurinaitis thought it wasn’t working, I remember him calling me when they released me. In the back of my head, its like ‘You know what, that’s what I get for saying yes to a character that I knew from jump street wouldn’t work.’ And that was something, I was very green at the time. I was not confident enough to sit there and tell Vince McMahon of all people ‘No, I’m sorry Mr. McMahon, the stuttering character wouldn’t work.’ That’s not who I was, I wouldn’t do that back then. I would have worried about the repercussions if I had said no. Would that have made me had to go down to OVW another year longer? Am I going to be the 7 foot Doink?