Getting behind a John Morrison singles run

John Morrison broke into professional wrestling via a reality show and now all these years later, there are those out there that would love to see the superstar have a successful singles run of his own. He could, but he doesn’t even necessarily need to break free from The Miz in order to have a shot at the Raw Championship.

There is another portion of the audience that feels that stars that won reality shows to get into the business of professional wrestling don’t necessarily belong in the squared circle, but that is neither here nor there. All the years that have passed and all the wrestlers that have risen to prominence, and deservedly so, prove that the aforementioned belief is a thing of the past, and one we don’t mind getting rid of.

The Miz, for one, has earned all he has accomplished, as has Dolph Ziggler and so did Ryback. Maven was another story, but we won’t go there.

Johnny Drip Drip

Sure…laugh if you want, but bear with us if you will…. There can be a future, a bright and very wet future, in which members of the live audience, adorned with Morrison T-Shirts and their very own drip sticks…. Can you see it? We sure hope so.

But aside from the antics…aside from the glitz and glamour, what lies beneath the shimmery surface? What lays deep? In the end, it’s the raw talent and the hours of work put in, and John Morrison definitely has put in the work.

Look at how long he’s been at this, folks. That should tell you something, and if you still don’t see it, then maybe a look back is necessary…

The dawn of Tough Enough

Tough Enough launched in 2000 after WWE made a deal with MTV. The first three seasons of the show aired on that network, the show losing a little bit of steam with every passing season. The show was picked up by UPN in 2004, ultimately landing on the USA Network for its remaining seasons.

John Morrison, then known as John Hennigan, competed in Season 3 after not making the cut for season 2, and ended up winning the whole deal with a co-winner, Matt Cappotelli, now deceased (2018). The co-win garnered him a spot on the developmental roster which landed him in the now-coveted Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory. Notable graduates of OVW are of course John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Batista, Shelton Benjamin, and the list goes on from there.

From Hennigan to Drip Drip

Before Tough Enough, he studied the art of wrestling only after graduating from the University of California, Davis. There he obtained degrees in both Film and yes, even Geology. So yes, there are indeed brains under all that brawn. Yet another stereotype bites the proverbial dust. Don’t you love it when that happens?

It was in 2002 that he started his wrestling career studying at Supreme Pro Wrestling in Sacramento. It was after his run on Tough Enough and in Ohio that he really got that momentum going, though.

His first gimmick on the main roster was as Johnny Blaze, and he debuted on Raw in 2004. He went through a few more name changes after that point finally settling on Johnny Nitro. After being relegated back to OVW, he was united with Melina and Joey Mercury and they formed MNM, ultimately leading to tag team glory on the main roster on SmackDown. They won 3 tag team championships together.

Now, this was the point where he did enter the singles portion of his career a little more dominantly, even gunning for the heralded Intercontinental Championship. He won 2 of those and even had a run as ECW champ early on in his singles run. This didn’t last and he was paired up with The Miz eventually, and any hopes of seeing Morrison with a major WWE title were extinguished.

Miz and Morrison

Talk about chemistry. Perhaps not enough can be said about the two. They’ve been reunited all these years later, so obviously, uniting them, to begin with in 2007 was a stroke of genius. They eventually teamed to star in The Dirt Sheet a WWE.com program, which did well amongst fans.

But the early incarnation of the duo would come to end sooner rather than later and they went their separate ways after feuding.

Morrison had another run and title reign for the Intercontinental Championship and subsequently left WWE in 2011, citing that he wanted more control over his schedule and that he had a nagging neck injury he needed to heal.

Indy circuit and the emergence of Johnny Impact

It would be in 2012 that he would return to wrestling but on the independent circuit. He would subsequently wrestle for Lucha Underground as well as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. He would ultimately land at Impact, where he finally had a run as World Champion for that company. He faced opponents such as Eli Drake (LA Knight) and Killer Kross (Karrion Kross) and even current AEW star Brian Cage.

And just like that, Morrison returned to the WWE after 10 years, and like two brothers reuniting, he and Miz resumed their antics, seemingly as if they’d never been separated, picking up right where they’d left off.

A legend’s thoughts

Booker T made some statements a little while back, on The Bump to promote his A&E biography. According to WrestlingInc’s transcription of the episode, Booker said: “John Morrison, you know, is very talented. He’s a great athlete as well. I give him a ’10,’ as far as the Spinaroonie goes…On another note, I’ve gotta give John Morrison and The Miz the ultimate ’10,’ as far as going out and being able to general that match and create something special….”

He obviously thinks very highly of both men. If you can’t listen to a legend like Booker T, there’s no help to be had, friends.

A run for Morrison would be exceptional to see—and not only a singles run that goes nowhere, as we’ve seen that before. He more than deserves it, and more than that he could pull it off. In the comedic department, he’s definitely there, and we believe he can also pull off the more serious aspects of delivery when it comes to promos. He’s been draped in gold, in WWE, and across many other promotions and territories, but the WWE has been known to elude many epic talents in the past as well.

So what of the WWE Championship? Well, with rumors of John Cena returning, what better way to usher in a new era…the era of Johnny Drip Drip?