courtesy : wwe.com
I may be in the minority, but I believe that John Morrison has gotten worse in 2011. Regardless of how good he is, Morrison will never satisfy the expectations placed on him.
On occasion the WWE and fans alike will refer to Morrison as "the Shawn Michaels of this era."
This is simply false.
Shawn Michaels is (in my opinion) the greatest to ever step foot in the ring. He is able to make anyone look good, and with a decent opponent can wrestle classic matches. Unlike so many others, Shawn had charisma. He found his niche with his role as the Heartbreak Kid.
So where does this comparison stem from? On the surface, it could be trivial similarities such as the long hair, the tights, the (somewhat) similar high-flying ability.
Delve deeper and you will find that Morrison's in-ring ability is compared to that of Shawn Michaels.
From a general perspective I can see the reasoning. Both superstars' move sets comprise of high-flying attacks, and every now and then they will do something that is simply awesome. Whether it be Shawn's now famous "skinning the cat," or John Morrison's parkour display at the 2011 Royal Rumble.
However if you truly analyse the in-ring work of both Morrison and Michaels, you will find that they are actually quite different.
For Morrison, i'll admit it. He's slowly becoming a spot monkey. Many Morrison critics in the past have used this term to describe him. While I never before thought it truly applied to him, watching his matches over the past six months it is apparent that the impressive aspects of his matches are only his spots.
I believe Morrison's in-ring work is slowly degrading. I point the finger at this "parkour" gimmick the WWE are pushing. The gimmick has forced Morrison to move away from great all-around worked matches into matches where all the focus is on his spots. His spinning planchas, the springboards, the flips.
Yes, they are all very impressive, but unless it is backed with great technical wrestling, then it becomes the workings of a spot monkey, and I don't enjoy calling him that.
Shawn Michaels on the other hand created classic matches through the combination of high flying moves and technical wrestling. Chris Jericho says it best (from the conclusion of the Heartbreak and Triumph DVD) when he says "moves that I've seen before and moves I've seen every day."
Moving away from the in-ring, and looking at Morrison's most criticised trait—charisma. For me, this is the most shocking aspect of this comparison.
As I said before, I see where some of the negligible comparisons come from, however Morrison and Michaels are on different planets when it comes to charisma.
The truth of pro wrestling is that you can't make it to the top if you can't cut a promo. I'm sure you could find me some exceptions, however this is the general truth.
Morrison is underwhelming and unconvincing when he cuts a promo. Look at his promo from this week's RAW if you don't believe me. He doesn't appear to have great comedic timing either. Perhaps he would develop on the mic of the WWE let him write his own promos, so that he can feel comfortable.
There's not much to say about Shawn Michael's charisma. He's the Heartbreak Kid, he can exude intensity and make you laugh, but no matter what, Shawn is convincing on the mic.
Perhaps the most similar aspect of both Morrison and Michaels are their well documented backstage problems.
Shawn Michael's story is a well known one by now. In the mid 1990s Shawn was on top of the wrestling world, however he had a terrible attitude backstage that eventually led his life to spiral out of control.
John Morrison's troubles are not nearly as dramatic. Throughout 2011, reports have surfaced of Morrison's bad attitude backstage. Most notably giving Trish Stratus the cold shoulder at WrestleMania 27.
The issues worsened for Morrison, enough to convince many critics within the IWC that he would be fired from the company.
Don't misconstrue the message of this article. This is not a John Morrison hater/Shawn Michaels mark article. I have become disillusioned with the comparisons between the two.
In reality Morrison and Michaels are two very different wrestlers, with few similar aspects. If anything this is to help Morrison. Being compared to one of the greatest of all time brings a hefty amount of pressure, considering it is an unfair comparison.
Morrison will never reach his potential if the comparisons continue, as he will most likely never be on the same level as Michaels, nor will many other superstars.
This is only my view of John Morrison as a whole. I know many of you are Morrison fans. This article is not hating on him. He is extremely talented, and with hard work and considerable improvement on the mic, Morrison could achieve the world champion potential he possesses.
source : bleacherreport.com
