Matt Morgan
Encyclopedia
Matthew Thomas Morgan is an American professional wrestler
, currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
as "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan. He is currently in his second reign as one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions
.
at center position. During Morgan's freshman year at the university, the Monmouth Hawks defeated Rider University
to become the Northeast Conference
champions. By winning the conference tournament, Morgan and the Hawks received an automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA tournament.
Of his trip to the tournament, Morgan said, "it was fun to be able to say that you actually played in the NCAA tournament and actually got some minutes. I didn’t score, but at least I got in as a freshman, which was cool." Monmouth lost to Marquette University
in the first round of the tournament by a final score of 68 - 44. Following a coaching change at Monmouth, Morgan transferred to Chaminade University in Hawaii, where he finished his college basketball career and graduated magna cum laude.
Morgan had professional tryouts with the NBA's Indiana Pacers
and Toronto Raptors
, but was not offered a contract by either team.
(OVW). He made his OVW debut on October 2, 2002 at the OVW TV Tapings as "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan teaming with Mark Jindrak
, defeating Bane and Lance Cade
.
He wrestled there sporadically (usually winning handicap matches) until October 2003 when he was called up to the SmackDown brand.
by then General Manager of SmackDown!, Paul Heyman
, to join Team Lesnar, which consisted of Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones, Brock Lesnar
, Big Show
and A-Train. It was hinted that Matt Morgan and Nathan Jones would be a tag team, but their only tag team match was at the 2003 Survivor Series
pay-per-view, when they took on Team Angle (not the stable introduced one year earlier, but a one-off combination of five wrestlers). They lost to Team Angle in a ten-person elimination tag team match at 2003 Survivor Series
. Matt Morgan was eliminated by Kurt Angle after Kurt Angle gave Matt Morgan an Angle Slam. Matt Morgan was then used to make run-ins along with the other members of Team Lesnar, helping Brock Lesnar against his opponents.
Very soon thereafter, Nathan Jones quit WWE, so Matt Morgan occasionally teamed with Brock Lesnar. He teamed up with Brock Lesnar, Big Show, and Rhyno
in a four-on-two Handicap match against Chris Benoit
and John Cena
on the January 22, 2004 edition of SmackDown!, in a losing effort. On January 25, 2004, he competed in the 2004 Royal Rumble match
, in which the winner would get a title shot against their brand's champion at WrestleMania XX
; he got rid of The Hurricane
but was eliminated by Chris Benoit, who would go on to win the match and the World Heavyweight Championship
at WrestleMania XX.
Two nights later, Paul Heyman announced a second Royal Rumble match to air on television. This shortened match would only feature the Royal Rumble match participants from the SmackDown brand. But during the announcement, he claimed (accurately) that Matt Morgan had sustained a shoulder injury and he would be replaced by eventual match winner, Eddie Guerrero
.
to become the OVW Heavyweight Champion
. He would hold the belt for almost six months before losing it to Chris Cage on October 13, 2004. Since the stipulation was that if Morgan lost he would "never show his face again" in OVW, he began wearing a mask to the ring and tweaked his name to simply The Blueprint. He would regain the OVW Heavyweight Championship on April 13, 2005 at an OVW live event after defeating Elijah Burke
, but lost the title 17 days later to Brent Albright
on April 30 after Albright hit Morgan with a crowbar
.
big-man who was defensive over his speech disorder
, and quickly defeated a then-unknown jobber, Zack Ryder
. On the May 19 episode of Smackdown!, he allied himself with Carlito Caribbean Cool
and became his "backup". Morgan helped Carlito defeat The Big Show at Judgment Day
, using Lesnar's former finisher, the F-5. This partnership ended when Carlito was drafted to Raw
, and Morgan was subsequently released by WWE on July 5, 2005. His last match in the WWE was on the July 7, 2005 episode of SmackDown! against William Regal
, although technically the match never took place as Morgan was attacked by The Mexicools
before Regal ever got to the ring.
in late 2005, defeating Yuji Nagata
in his debut match. He was being pushed as a "monster gaijin" and along with Brock Lesnar, was expected to become one of NJPW's top foreign wrestlers, but plans for this were abandoned when he decided to leave NJPW to go to All Japan Pro Wrestling
. Morgan debuted in All Japan Pro Wrestling as a member of Taka Michinoku
's foreigner-oriented RO&D
faction. He and Mark Jindrak
wrestled for HUSTLE as a tag team under the names of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Morgan also worked for NWE Wrestling
in Italy and Rings of Europe in Austria, where he participated as the Monster Heel in a 20 Men Rumble Match. He and Joe Legend
became allies but were unable to defeat Austrian Hero Big Van Walter in the end.
(TNA) on the August 7, 2007 episode of TNA Today
, appearing briefly in the background of a segment featuring Eric Young
and Jeremy Borash
. On the August 9 episode of TNA Impact!
, Morgan appeared alongside former TNA Management Director Jim Cornette
, with TNA later identifying him as Cornette's "backup". Morgan was the Special Enforcer in the Samoa Joe
and Christian Cage
match at Bound for Glory
, preventing Christian's Coalition
from interfering as Joe gave Cage his first true defeat in TNA.
Morgan had to restrain Tomko
and A.J. Styles
on the October 18 edition of Impact! when they tried interfering in the main event helping Christian defeat Samoa Joe in a Fight For The Right Qualifying match.
On the April 3, 2008 edition of TNA Impact!, it was revealed that Morgan allowed Team Tomko to add James Storm
to their team, giving them a five-to-four advantage heading into Lockdown
; however, at the end of the program, it was revealed that Morgan himself had joined Team Cage. The next week, Jim Cornette relieved Morgan of his assistant duties to become a full-time wrestler. With Morgan joining Team Cage
, he established himself as a fan favorite
, and went back to his old OVW nickname, "The Blueprint". Morgan teamed up with Kip James
at Sacrifice
as a result of the Deuces Wild Tournament draw. They failed to win the tag titles as James and Morgan could not get along long enough. He then began to feud with The Rock 'n Rave Infection after defeating Jimmy Rave
in less than two minutes on July 17. Lance Rock
immediately challenged Morgan to a match right there, and Morgan squashed him.
In August 2008 Morgan entered a tag team up with Abyss
. The storyline was an additional chapter in the "Abyss' humanisation" storyline. Since his return to television, Abyss had portrayed an emotionally vulnerable character, exaggerating the meaning behind every gesture he received. Abyss saw Morgan as his best friend, and was desperate not to displease him. But Abyss' new sensitivity made him more naive, thus causing him to make simple errors that cost the team matches. Through time, Morgan would go from understanding to frustrated over Abyss' errors. They feuded briefly with Team 3D
. The duo defeated Team 3D at No Surrender
, but lost at Bound for Glory IV
in a Monster's Ball match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship
, which Beer Money, Inc.
won. On the November 6 episode of Impact! Morgan and Abyss won a four team ladder match
to earn a future TNA World Tag Team Championship match against Beer Money, Inc., which they lost at Final Resolution
when Storm hit Abyss with brass knuckles when the referee was distracted. They gained a third opportunity at the belts at Genesis in a three-way match against Beer Money, Inc. and then-champions Jay Lethal
and Consequences Creed. During the match, Abyss accidentally knocked Morgan out with one of the championship belts, causing him to be pinned by Beer Money.
On the following Impact!, the team fought against Lethal and Creed in a number one contenders match for the tag team championship, which ended with Morgan once again being pinned because of Abyss. On the January 23 edition of Impact!, Morgan and Abyss battled Beer Money, Inc. in a non-title first blood match. Towards the end of the match, Morgan turned on Abyss after hitting him with a steel chair, causing him to bleed, giving Storm and Roode the win and turning heel
in the process. Abyss was so distraught over losing Morgan's friendship that he started having therapy sessions with his psychiatrist, Dr. Stevie
at shows. At Against All Odds
, Abyss defeated Morgan (who wrestled despite having a staph infection right to the bone of his shoulder) in a standard match. Three weeks later, Morgan challenged Abyss to a Match of 10,000 Tacks at Destination X
, which Abyss accepted the following week, after Morgan threatened his girlfriend Lauren
. Morgan defeated Abyss in the match after knocking him off the entrance ramp with his "Carbon Footprint" bicycle kick, onto two tables covered in tacks. The feud ended at Lockdown
, in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match, in which neither wrestler could be legally pinned were he not bleeding. Morgan won after interference by Abyss' psychiatrist, Dr. Stevie, by hitting Abyss with a back low blow and then a chokebomb onto a pile of tacks. This ended the feud, with Abyss moving on to feuding with Dr. Stevie.
to allow him to join them and become a member. He was aware that the current members of the Mafia were all former World Champions, but realising that Team 3D, Kip James
and Al Snow
had been invited into the Mafia (Team 3D refused, and James and Snow were rejected), Morgan felt he should have been invited too. Kurt Angle then hired Morgan to perform a series of tasks, constantly promising that the Mafia were considering inducting him. He faced Sting at Slammiversary
, but was unable to defeat him and was thus barred from joining the Mafia. At Victory Road
he defeated Daniels
to regain the Mafia's favour. On the August 13, 2009, episode of Impact!, Morgan defeated A.J. Styles in the deciding match of a "Best of Three Series" to secure his place in a triple threat match at Hard Justice
also involving Sting and Kurt Angle
. He lost at the event after Angle hit him with a steel chair. At No Surrender
competed in a re-match that also featured A.J. Styles and Hernandez
, who used his "Feast or Fired" contract to include himself in the match, but was removed after a few minutes when he sustained an injury at the hands of Eric Young
. During the match, Styles attempted a front flip senton from the apron onto Morgan outside of the ring, at the same moment Angle attempted to attack Morgan, but accidentally got struck by Styles instead. Morgan seemingly took this as a friendly gesture and agreed to assist Angle for the remainder of the match. But when Angle seemed set to win, Morgan turned on Angle and cost him the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
, turning into a fan favorite
in the process. On the September 24, 2009, episode of Impact!, Morgan cemented his newfound disinterest in the Main Event Mafia when he teamed with Hernandez to defeat Kurt Angle and Eric Young, which also solidified his status as a face. On the following impact, he teamed with former rival Abyss to defeat Kurt Angle and Mick Foley
. Another week later, on the October 1 edition of impact, Matt Morgan defeated Eric Young. On October 5 Morgan announced on his twitter
page that he had signed a new 5-year deal with TNA. Morgan's feud with Angle culminated in a singles match at Bound for Glory
, where despite Morgan's loss, he managed to gain Angle's respect. This match practically ended the Main Event Mafia.
and moved on to feuding with Rhino
and Team 3D, who accused TNA of favoring the younger talent of the company. At Turning Point
, Rhino and Team 3D defeated Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero in a street fight. The next night, the two teams had a re-match which ended the same way after Jesse Neal
returned and attacked Hernandez with a steel chair. It was announced that the both teams would face of at Final Resolution
in an elimination match, but both teams were required to have four members. Team 3D immediately enlisted Neal, while Dinero pursued Suicide
's help. Both teams fought in a regular tag match to determine an additional stipulation on the forthcoming match at Final Resolution. The match at Final Resolution would begin as a 4-on-1 handicap match, but the disadvantaged wrestler could have his partners join the match if he survived the first 5 minutes. Neal pinned Hernandez, meaning that Hernandez and his team would be disadvantaged at Final Resolution. At the pay-per-view Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero and Suicide defeated Jesse Neal, Team 3D and Rhino in an eight-man elimination tag team match, with Morgan scoring the deciding fall on Brother Ray.
On the January 4, 2010, live, three hour, Monday night edition of Impact! Morgan and Hernandez defeated Dr. Stevie and Raven
to become the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Champions British Invasion
(Brutus Magnus
and Doug Williams
) at Genesis
. At the pay-per-view Morgan and Hernandez defeated the British Invasion to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, his first major championship. At Against All Odds
as part of the 8 Card Stud Tournament Morgan and Hernandez were forced to face each other in the first round. Morgan defeated Hernandez by taking advantage of his injured shoulder and pinning him, while grabbing a hold of his trunks. However, in the semifinals Morgan was defeated by the eventual winner of the entire tournament, D'Angelo Dinero. At Destination X
Morgan and Hernandez retained the Tag Team Titles in a match against Beer Money despite plenty of miscommunication between the two champions. After the match Morgan nailed Hernandez with the Carbon Footprint and left with both titles, turning heel
in the process. The following day on Impact! Morgan defeated Hernandez via referee stoppage after sandwiching his head between his boot and the ring post, putting him out of action indefinitely. With Hernandez scheduled to miss months of action, Morgan declared himself the sole World Tag Team Champion on the April 5 edition of Impact! and TNA went along with this and recognized him as the sole Champion. in addition to this he began to reference himself as "matt and morgan" making him seem as if he had split personality disorder. Morgan then went on to successfully defend the Tag Team Titles teaming with the likes of Amazing Red
, Shark Boy
and Jesse Neal
as his partner, attacking each of them after the matches. On the May 3 edition of Impact! it was announced that Morgan would defend the Tag Team Championship at Sacrifice
against Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore
, both of whom he had attacked in the two previous weeks, and that Hulk Hogan
would decide his partner for the match. On the May 13 edition of Impact! Morgan demanded to find out who his partner would be and when he did not get an answer, threatened to turn his match against Generation Me
(Jeremy and Max Buck) into a bloodbath. However, Samoa Joe came to the ring to put a stop to this and gave Morgan the Muscle Buster. This led to The Band
coming out and Kevin Nash
cashing in his "Feast or Fired" contract, after which he pinned Morgan to make himself and Scott Hall
the new TNA World Tag Team Champions. On the June 3 edition of Impact!, Matt Morgan was distracted by somebody in the crowd which cost him a four-way match with Samoa Joe, Sting
and the winner of the match, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam
. The camera's immediately showed what was distracting Morgan, but nobody could clearly see who it was, although Taz
and Mike Tenay
believed it to be Hernandez. The following week, Hernandez made his official return by attacking Morgan. After the attack The Band gave the injured Morgan the rematch he had wanted for the World Tag Team Championship and easily defeated him to retain the title. At Slammiversary VIII
Morgan defeated Hernandez via disqualification, when Hernandez was disqualified for shoving the referee, when he had gotten enough of him reprimanding him for going after Morgan. The following month at Victory Road
Morgan was defeated by Hernandez in a Steel Cage match.
, during which two security guards, Gunner
and Murphy
, came out and attacked Hardy and Anderson. Later that night Morgan, Gunner, and Murphy were defeated in a three-on-two handicap match by Hardy and Anderson, after Morgan walked out during the match. On the August 12 edition of Impact! Morgan joined Ric Flair
's Fortune
(originally spelled Fourtune) stable, as he, A.J. Styles, Kazarian
, Robert Roode, James Storm and Douglas Williams attacked EV 2.0
, a stable consisting of former Extreme Championship Wrestling
performers. At Bound for Glory
Morgan, Styles, Kazarian, Roode and Storm were defeated in a Lethal Lockdown match by EV 2.0 members Tommy Dreamer
, Raven, Rhino, Sabu
and Stevie Richards
. On the following edition of Impact! Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan
's and Eric Bischoff
's new stable, Immortal
.
On the October 28 edition of Impact!, Morgan began showing signs of a face turn by showing concern for the concussed Mr. Anderson and trying to convince Eric Bischoff not to allow him to wrestle Jeff Jarrett in a chain match in the main event of the night. Morgan ended up taking Anderson's spot in the match, but was defeated after a low blow. After the match Fortune, minus Douglas Williams, turned on Morgan and beat him down, effectively turning him into a fan favorite. The following week Morgan became the number one contender to TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy by attacking Bischoff and signing a contract, which was originally meant for Mr. Anderson, who was unable to attend the event due to his concussion. At Turning Point
Morgan failed in his attempt to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Hardy. During the match Morgan seemingly scored a three count on Hardy, but this was missed by the referee of the match. Due to the controversy surrounding the title match, Morgan was given a chance to earn another shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the following edition of Impact! in a three–on–one handicap match against Fortune members Douglas Williams, James Storm and Robert Roode. Morgan won the match, after Beer Money, Inc. abandoned Williams, but was afterwards laid out by Jeff Hardy. On the November 18 edition of Impact! Morgan defeated Ric Flair in a singles match, after Douglas Williams turned on the rest of Fortune, when they interfered in the match. As a result, Morgan earned the right to choose a special guest referee for the match between himself and Hardy at Final Resolution
. On the December 2 edition of Impact! Morgan announced the returning Mr. Anderson as the special guest referee for his title match. At Final Resolution Hardy defeated Morgan to once again retain the World Heavyweight Championship. During the match Anderson was knocked out during which Morgan seemingly had the match won, but when a replacement referee came to the ring, Hardy managed to pull himself together and pinned Morgan to win the match.
Morgan was defeated by Mr. Anderson in a number one contender's match. On the February 10 edition of Impact!, Morgan received a shot at Anderson's TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from the returning Hernandez, who made his first TNA appearance in over six months. On the March 3 edition of Impact! Morgan defeated Hernandez via disqualification. On March 13 at Victory Road
, Hernandez defeated Morgan in a First Blood match, after using fake blood on him, following a distraction from a planted fan, later identified as Anarquia
, the newest member of Hernandez's Mexican America
stable. On April 17 at Lockdown
, Morgan defeated Hernandez in a steel cage match to win the feud. With his feud with Hernandez behind him, Morgan announced his intention of going for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the following edition of Impact!, but was interrupted by Scott Steiner
who claimed to be next in line for the shot, before laying Morgan out with a low blow. On June 12 at Slammiversary IX
, Morgan defeated Steiner in a singles match. Later that month, Morgan entered the Bound for Glory Series to determine a number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 21 edition of Impact Wrestling, Morgan won a four man ladder match to climb to number three spot in the tournament's rankings, however, just four days later it was reported that Morgan had torn his pectoral muscle, which would sideline him for six weeks, ending his participation in the tournament. Over the following weeks, Morgan was on commentary for the Bound for Glory Series matches. On August 29 it was reported that Morgan had been cleared to return to the ring. On the September 1 edition of Impact Wrestling, Morgan tried to stop Samoa Joe, who had vowed to ruin the Bound for Glory Series, but got kicked in the groin. Later in the evening, Morgan called out Joe and brawled with him, which ended with Joe again kicking Morgan in the groin, before hitting him in the arm with a steel chair. On September 11 at No Surrender
, Morgan defeated Joe in a grudge match. On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Joe defeated Morgan in a submission match. On November 13 at Turning Point
, Morgan wrestled the undefeated Crimson to a double disqualification. On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Morgan and Crimson defeated Mexican America to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
as one of the Gladiators. Morgan, under the name Beast, made his Gladiator debut during the first night of the semi-finals in the joust. He defeated each of his two opponents in less than eight seconds. On September 24, 2010, Morgan appeared on Fox
television show The Good Guys
, playing the role of a Russian mobster on an episode titled Vacation. In November 2010 Morgan was a contestant on an all TNA week of Family Feud
, teaming with Jay Lethal, Mick Foley
, Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam against Angelina Love, Christy Hemme
, Lacey Von Erich
, Tara
and Velvet Sky
. On June 30, 2011, Morgan was announced as being a part of the new season of MTV
show Made
.
(ADHD), which led to him getting involved with CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), a non-profit organization based out of Landover, Maryland
.
In an interview with Pro Wrestling Report on 540 ESPN Radio, he stated "I'm a big Jay-Z fan" and that "The Blueprint" moniker was inspired by the album of the same name.
In August 2008, it was announced that Morgan would contribute a sample of his DNA
to be launched into space as part of game designer Richard Garriott
's "Operation Immortality" project.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
as "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan. He is currently in his second reign as one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions
TNA World Tag Team Championship
The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
.
Basketball career
After a successful high school basketball career at Fairfield High School in Connecticut, Morgan played Division I college basketball with Monmouth UniversityMonmouth University
Monmouth University is a private university located in West Long Branch, New Jersey, United States.Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956, and later Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter....
at center position. During Morgan's freshman year at the university, the Monmouth Hawks defeated Rider University
Rider University
Rider University is a private, coeducational and nonsectarian university located chiefly in Lawrenceville, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States...
to become the Northeast Conference
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...
champions. By winning the conference tournament, Morgan and the Hawks received an automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA tournament.
Of his trip to the tournament, Morgan said, "it was fun to be able to say that you actually played in the NCAA tournament and actually got some minutes. I didn’t score, but at least I got in as a freshman, which was cool." Monmouth lost to Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
in the first round of the tournament by a final score of 68 - 44. Following a coaching change at Monmouth, Morgan transferred to Chaminade University in Hawaii, where he finished his college basketball career and graduated magna cum laude.
Morgan had professional tryouts with the NBA's Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
and Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
, but was not offered a contract by either team.
Ohio Valley Wrestling (2002–2003)
Morgan was first introduced to the World Wrestling Federation when he entered as part of its Tough Enough II program but left the show early due to an injury. In April 2002, Morgan signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and was assigned to Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
(OVW). He made his OVW debut on October 2, 2002 at the OVW TV Tapings as "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan teaming with Mark Jindrak
Mark Jindrak
Mark Robert Jindrak is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
, defeating Bane and Lance Cade
Lance Cade
Lance Kurtis McNaught was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade....
.
He wrestled there sporadically (usually winning handicap matches) until October 2003 when he was called up to the SmackDown brand.
SmackDown! (2003–2004)
He made his WWE debut on the October 30, 2003 episode of SmackDown! and was picked with the returning Nathan JonesNathan Jones (wrestler)
Nathan Boyce Jones is an Australian actor, powerlifting champion, strongman, and retired professional wrestler...
by then General Manager of SmackDown!, Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
, to join Team Lesnar, which consisted of Matt Morgan, Nathan Jones, Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
, Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
and A-Train. It was hinted that Matt Morgan and Nathan Jones would be a tag team, but their only tag team match was at the 2003 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2003)
Survivor Series was the seventeenth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
pay-per-view, when they took on Team Angle (not the stable introduced one year earlier, but a one-off combination of five wrestlers). They lost to Team Angle in a ten-person elimination tag team match at 2003 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2003)
Survivor Series was the seventeenth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
. Matt Morgan was eliminated by Kurt Angle after Kurt Angle gave Matt Morgan an Angle Slam. Matt Morgan was then used to make run-ins along with the other members of Team Lesnar, helping Brock Lesnar against his opponents.
Very soon thereafter, Nathan Jones quit WWE, so Matt Morgan occasionally teamed with Brock Lesnar. He teamed up with Brock Lesnar, Big Show, and Rhyno
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
in a four-on-two Handicap match against Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
and John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
on the January 22, 2004 edition of SmackDown!, in a losing effort. On January 25, 2004, he competed in the 2004 Royal Rumble match
Royal Rumble (2004)
Royal Rumble was the seventeenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 25, 2004 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, in which the winner would get a title shot against their brand's champion at WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX was the twentieth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on March 14, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York....
; he got rid of The Hurricane
Gregory Helms
Gregory Shane Helms is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment where he wrestled as The Hurricane and Gregory Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms...
but was eliminated by Chris Benoit, who would go on to win the match and the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
at WrestleMania XX.
Two nights later, Paul Heyman announced a second Royal Rumble match to air on television. This shortened match would only feature the Royal Rumble match participants from the SmackDown brand. But during the announcement, he claimed (accurately) that Matt Morgan had sustained a shoulder injury and he would be replaced by eventual match winner, Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
.
Return to OVW (2004–2005)
After Lesnar quit the WWE, Morgan was sent back to OVW for further development and experience, wrestling again as "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan and on April 14, 2004 he defeated Nick DinsmoreNick Dinsmore
Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
to become the OVW Heavyweight Champion
OVW Heavyweight Championship
The OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling promotion. The title was introduced on August 17, 1997 at an OVW live event, then known as the NWA-OVW Heavyweight Championship due to OVW's relationship with the National...
. He would hold the belt for almost six months before losing it to Chris Cage on October 13, 2004. Since the stipulation was that if Morgan lost he would "never show his face again" in OVW, he began wearing a mask to the ring and tweaked his name to simply The Blueprint. He would regain the OVW Heavyweight Championship on April 13, 2005 at an OVW live event after defeating Elijah Burke
Elijah Burke
Elijah Samuel Burke is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name of "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero; a gimmick in which he portrays a Harlem street preacher...
, but lost the title 17 days later to Brent Albright
Brent Albright
Brent Alan Albright is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, during which he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown! as Gunner Scott...
on April 30 after Albright hit Morgan with a crowbar
Crowbar (tool)
A crowbar, a wrecking bar, pry bar, or prybar, or sometimes a prise bar or prisebar, and more informally a jimmy, jimmy bar, jemmy or gooseneck is a tool consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flattened points, often with a small fissure on one or both ends for removing nails...
.
Return to SmackDown! and departure (2005)
Morgan returned to the WWE on the April 21, 2005 episode of SmackDown!, with a new gimmick as a stutteringStuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
big-man who was defensive over his speech disorder
Speech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
, and quickly defeated a then-unknown jobber, Zack Ryder
Zack Ryder
Matthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
. On the May 19 episode of Smackdown!, he allied himself with Carlito Caribbean Cool
Carly Colon
Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
and became his "backup". Morgan helped Carlito defeat The Big Show at Judgment Day
Judgment Day (2005)
Judgment Day was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It was the seventh annual event of the same name and took place on May 22, 2005 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
, using Lesnar's former finisher, the F-5. This partnership ended when Carlito was drafted to Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, and Morgan was subsequently released by WWE on July 5, 2005. His last match in the WWE was on the July 7, 2005 episode of SmackDown! against William Regal
Darren Matthews
Darren Kenneth Matthews , is an English professional wrestler, author and color commentator currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Steven Regal...
, although technically the match never took place as Morgan was attacked by The Mexicools
The Mexicools
The Mexicools were a professional wrestling stable and tag team, that were signed to World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand. The team consisted of three well-known Mexican wrestlers of the late 1990s: Super Crazy, Psicosis and Juventud...
before Regal ever got to the ring.
Japanese and European promotions (2005–2006)
Morgan toured with New Japan Pro WrestlingNew Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
in late 2005, defeating Yuji Nagata
Yuji Nagata
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He was known for his perennial tweener status, currently a solid fan favorite, and his stiff, shoot style wrestling technique....
in his debut match. He was being pushed as a "monster gaijin" and along with Brock Lesnar, was expected to become one of NJPW's top foreign wrestlers, but plans for this were abandoned when he decided to leave NJPW to go to All Japan Pro Wrestling
All Japan Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
. Morgan debuted in All Japan Pro Wrestling as a member of Taka Michinoku
Takao Yoshida
, better known by his ring name TAKA Michinoku , is a professional wrestler who has wrestled all over the world as well he was a former Mixed Martial Artist...
's foreigner-oriented RO&D
Roughly Obsess and Destroy
Roughly Obsess & Destroy is a professional wrestling stable founded in 2003 in All Japan Pro Wrestling by Taka Michinoku, and later reformed in Pro Wrestling Noah...
faction. He and Mark Jindrak
Mark Jindrak
Mark Robert Jindrak is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
wrestled for HUSTLE as a tag team under the names of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Morgan also worked for NWE Wrestling
Nu-Wrestling Evolution
Nu-Wrestling Evolution is an Italian professional wrestling promotion, owned by MAGNUMGROUP srl. The promotion's slogan is "Nu-Wrestling Evolution/NWE the place to be!"-History:...
in Italy and Rings of Europe in Austria, where he participated as the Monster Heel in a 20 Men Rumble Match. He and Joe Legend
Joe Hitchen
Joseph Edward "Joe" Hitchen is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Joe E. Legend.-Canadian independent circuit:...
became allies but were unable to defeat Austrian Hero Big Van Walter in the end.
Cornette's "Back up" (2007–2008)
Morgan debuted in Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
(TNA) on the August 7, 2007 episode of TNA Today
TNA Today
TNA Today was a free online professional wrestling program produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . It is hosted by TNA interviewer Jeremy Borash, with occasional appearances by Don West...
, appearing briefly in the background of a segment featuring Eric Young
Eric Young (wrestler)
Jeremy Fritz is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under his ring name Eric Young. He currently performs for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he has gained popularity using a variety of comic relief gimmicks....
and Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash
Jeremy Borash , is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, producer and website designer...
. On the August 9 episode of TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
, Morgan appeared alongside former TNA Management Director Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
, with TNA later identifying him as Cornette's "backup". Morgan was the Special Enforcer in the Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
and Christian Cage
Jason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
match at Bound for Glory
Bound for Glory (2007)
Bound for Glory was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on October 14, 2007 at the Gwinnett Center in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Georgia. It was the third event under the Bound for Glory chronology...
, preventing Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition / Team Cage was a villainous professional wrestling faction in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling led by Christian Cage...
from interfering as Joe gave Cage his first true defeat in TNA.
Morgan had to restrain Tomko
Travis Tomko
Travis David Tomko is an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tomko, who most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he previously was a member of Christian's Coalition and the Angle Alliance and often worked alongside A.J. Styles. He was also notable for his...
and A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
on the October 18 edition of Impact! when they tried interfering in the main event helping Christian defeat Samoa Joe in a Fight For The Right Qualifying match.
On the April 3, 2008 edition of TNA Impact!, it was revealed that Morgan allowed Team Tomko to add James Storm
James Storm
James Allen Cox is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J...
to their team, giving them a five-to-four advantage heading into Lockdown
TNA Lockdown
Lockdown is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced every April by the American professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action , is considered one of the flagship PPVs in the company, alongside Slammiversary and Bound for Glory...
; however, at the end of the program, it was revealed that Morgan himself had joined Team Cage. The next week, Jim Cornette relieved Morgan of his assistant duties to become a full-time wrestler. With Morgan joining Team Cage
Christian's Coalition
Christian's Coalition / Team Cage was a villainous professional wrestling faction in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling led by Christian Cage...
, he established himself as a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
, and went back to his old OVW nickname, "The Blueprint". Morgan teamed up with Kip James
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
at Sacrifice
Sacrifice (2008)
Sacrifice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on May 11, 2008 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fourth event under the Sacrifice chronology...
as a result of the Deuces Wild Tournament draw. They failed to win the tag titles as James and Morgan could not get along long enough. He then began to feud with The Rock 'n Rave Infection after defeating Jimmy Rave
Jimmy Rave
James Guffey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
in less than two minutes on July 17. Lance Rock
Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner...
immediately challenged Morgan to a match right there, and Morgan squashed him.
Storyline with Abyss (2008–2009)
Chris Parks
Christopher J. "Chris" Parks , better known by his ring name "The Monster" Abyss, is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
. The storyline was an additional chapter in the "Abyss' humanisation" storyline. Since his return to television, Abyss had portrayed an emotionally vulnerable character, exaggerating the meaning behind every gesture he received. Abyss saw Morgan as his best friend, and was desperate not to displease him. But Abyss' new sensitivity made him more naive, thus causing him to make simple errors that cost the team matches. Through time, Morgan would go from understanding to frustrated over Abyss' errors. They feuded briefly with Team 3D
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
. The duo defeated Team 3D at No Surrender
No Surrender (2008)
No Surrender was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on September 14, 2008 at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada...
, but lost at Bound for Glory IV
Bound for Glory IV
Bound for Glory IV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on October 12, 2008 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the fourth annual Bound for Glory event and the first to be referred to in roman numerals...
in a Monster's Ball match for the TNA World Tag Team Championship
TNA World Tag Team Championship
The TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
, which Beer Money, Inc.
Beer Money, Inc.
Beer Money, Inc. was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Robert "Bobby" Roode and James Storm in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where they are former four-time TNA World Tag Team Champions, while also holding the record for the longest reign as...
won. On the November 6 episode of Impact! Morgan and Abyss won a four team ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
to earn a future TNA World Tag Team Championship match against Beer Money, Inc., which they lost at Final Resolution
Final Resolution (2008)
Final Resolution may refer to:*Final Resolution*Final Resolution , a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, which took place in December 2008....
when Storm hit Abyss with brass knuckles when the referee was distracted. They gained a third opportunity at the belts at Genesis in a three-way match against Beer Money, Inc. and then-champions Jay Lethal
Jay Lethal
Jamar "Jay" Shipman better known by his ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor , where he is the ROH World Television Champion...
and Consequences Creed. During the match, Abyss accidentally knocked Morgan out with one of the championship belts, causing him to be pinned by Beer Money.
On the following Impact!, the team fought against Lethal and Creed in a number one contenders match for the tag team championship, which ended with Morgan once again being pinned because of Abyss. On the January 23 edition of Impact!, Morgan and Abyss battled Beer Money, Inc. in a non-title first blood match. Towards the end of the match, Morgan turned on Abyss after hitting him with a steel chair, causing him to bleed, giving Storm and Roode the win and turning heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
in the process. Abyss was so distraught over losing Morgan's friendship that he started having therapy sessions with his psychiatrist, Dr. Stevie
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...
at shows. At Against All Odds
Against All Odds (2009)
Against All Odds was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on February 8, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, Abyss defeated Morgan (who wrestled despite having a staph infection right to the bone of his shoulder) in a standard match. Three weeks later, Morgan challenged Abyss to a Match of 10,000 Tacks at Destination X
Destination X (2009)
Destination X was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on March 15, 2009 at the TNA Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, which Abyss accepted the following week, after Morgan threatened his girlfriend Lauren
Lauren Brooke (interviewer)
Lauren Thompson or Lauren Brooke is a U.S. television personality, print and voiceover model who works for Golf Channel hosting "Top Ten" and "Golf Now" , as well the "College Sports Minute". She is also known for previously working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a backstage interviewer...
. Morgan defeated Abyss in the match after knocking him off the entrance ramp with his "Carbon Footprint" bicycle kick, onto two tables covered in tacks. The feud ended at Lockdown
Lockdown (2009)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on April 19, 2009 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the fifth event under the Lockdown chronology...
, in a Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match, in which neither wrestler could be legally pinned were he not bleeding. Morgan won after interference by Abyss' psychiatrist, Dr. Stevie, by hitting Abyss with a back low blow and then a chokebomb onto a pile of tacks. This ended the feud, with Abyss moving on to feuding with Dr. Stevie.
Alliance and feud with Main Event Mafia (2009)
The following weeks Morgan began a campaign to convince the heel stable The Main Event MafiaThe Main Event Mafia
The Main Event Mafia was a heel stable in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
to allow him to join them and become a member. He was aware that the current members of the Mafia were all former World Champions, but realising that Team 3D, Kip James
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
and Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
had been invited into the Mafia (Team 3D refused, and James and Snow were rejected), Morgan felt he should have been invited too. Kurt Angle then hired Morgan to perform a series of tasks, constantly promising that the Mafia were considering inducting him. He faced Sting at Slammiversary
Slammiversary (2009)
Slammiversary was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on June 21, 2009 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the fifth event under the Slammiversary chronology and used to commemorate the seventh...
, but was unable to defeat him and was thus barred from joining the Mafia. At Victory Road
Victory Road (2009)
Victory Road was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on July 19, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
he defeated Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
to regain the Mafia's favour. On the August 13, 2009, episode of Impact!, Morgan defeated A.J. Styles in the deciding match of a "Best of Three Series" to secure his place in a triple threat match at Hard Justice
Hard Justice (2009)
Hard Justice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on August 16, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fifth event under the Hard Justice chronology....
also involving Sting and Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
. He lost at the event after Angle hit him with a steel chair. At No Surrender
No Surrender (2009)
No Surrender was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on September 20, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
competed in a re-match that also featured A.J. Styles and Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez
Shawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
, who used his "Feast or Fired" contract to include himself in the match, but was removed after a few minutes when he sustained an injury at the hands of Eric Young
Eric Young (wrestler)
Jeremy Fritz is a Canadian professional wrestler, best known under his ring name Eric Young. He currently performs for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he has gained popularity using a variety of comic relief gimmicks....
. During the match, Styles attempted a front flip senton from the apron onto Morgan outside of the ring, at the same moment Angle attempted to attack Morgan, but accidentally got struck by Styles instead. Morgan seemingly took this as a friendly gesture and agreed to assist Angle for the remainder of the match. But when Angle seemed set to win, Morgan turned on Angle and cost him the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is currently the highest ranked championship in TNA and is primarily defended in TNA's heavyweight division...
, turning into a fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
in the process. On the September 24, 2009, episode of Impact!, Morgan cemented his newfound disinterest in the Main Event Mafia when he teamed with Hernandez to defeat Kurt Angle and Eric Young, which also solidified his status as a face. On the following impact, he teamed with former rival Abyss to defeat Kurt Angle and Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
. Another week later, on the October 1 edition of impact, Matt Morgan defeated Eric Young. On October 5 Morgan announced on his twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page that he had signed a new 5-year deal with TNA. Morgan's feud with Angle culminated in a singles match at Bound for Glory
Bound for Glory (2009)
Bound for Glory was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on October 18, 2009 at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. It was the fifth event under the Bound for Glory chronology. The Event was the Premiere...
, where despite Morgan's loss, he managed to gain Angle's respect. This match practically ended the Main Event Mafia.
Teaming and feuding with Hernandez (2009–2010)
Since then Morgan teamed up with Hernandez and D'Angelo DineroElijah Burke
Elijah Samuel Burke is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name of "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero; a gimmick in which he portrays a Harlem street preacher...
and moved on to feuding with Rhino
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Team 3D, who accused TNA of favoring the younger talent of the company. At Turning Point
Turning Point (2009)
Turning Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on November 15, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, Rhino and Team 3D defeated Morgan, Hernandez and Dinero in a street fight. The next night, the two teams had a re-match which ended the same way after Jesse Neal
Jesse Neal
Jesse Neal is an American professional wrestler and a former member of the U.S. military. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is one half of the tag team Ink Inc., with his partner Shannon Moore....
returned and attacked Hernandez with a steel chair. It was announced that the both teams would face of at Final Resolution
Final Resolution (2009)
Final Resolution was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on December 20, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
in an elimination match, but both teams were required to have four members. Team 3D immediately enlisted Neal, while Dinero pursued Suicide
Suicide (character)
Suicide is a fictional character from TNA Impact! the video game. In December 2008, the Suicide character was introduced on television as a real-life wrestler in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
's help. Both teams fought in a regular tag match to determine an additional stipulation on the forthcoming match at Final Resolution. The match at Final Resolution would begin as a 4-on-1 handicap match, but the disadvantaged wrestler could have his partners join the match if he survived the first 5 minutes. Neal pinned Hernandez, meaning that Hernandez and his team would be disadvantaged at Final Resolution. At the pay-per-view Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero and Suicide defeated Jesse Neal, Team 3D and Rhino in an eight-man elimination tag team match, with Morgan scoring the deciding fall on Brother Ray.
On the January 4, 2010, live, three hour, Monday night edition of Impact! Morgan and Hernandez defeated Dr. Stevie and Raven
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
to become the number one contenders to the TNA World Tag Team Champions British Invasion
The British Invasion (professional wrestling)
The British Invasion is a professional wrestling alliance in the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , currently consisting of English wrestlers Douglas Williams and Magnus. The group previously also included their Welsh enforcer Rob Terry...
(Brutus Magnus
Nick Aldis
Nicholas Harry "Nick" Aldis is an English professional wrestler and actor. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Magnus, where he is a one time World Tag Team Champion with Doug Williams...
and Doug Williams
Doug Williams (wrestler)
Douglas Clayton Durdle is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Doug Williams. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Douglas Williams...
) at Genesis
Genesis (2010)
Genesis was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on January 17, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the fifth event under the Genesis chronology and the first event of the 2010 TNA PPV schedule...
. At the pay-per-view Morgan and Hernandez defeated the British Invasion to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, his first major championship. At Against All Odds
Against All Odds (2010)
-See also:*TNA Against All Odds*List of TNA pay-per-view events-External links:**...
as part of the 8 Card Stud Tournament Morgan and Hernandez were forced to face each other in the first round. Morgan defeated Hernandez by taking advantage of his injured shoulder and pinning him, while grabbing a hold of his trunks. However, in the semifinals Morgan was defeated by the eventual winner of the entire tournament, D'Angelo Dinero. At Destination X
Destination X (2010)
Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on March 21, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. The event was originally advertised as an all X Division pay-per-view...
Morgan and Hernandez retained the Tag Team Titles in a match against Beer Money despite plenty of miscommunication between the two champions. After the match Morgan nailed Hernandez with the Carbon Footprint and left with both titles, turning heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
in the process. The following day on Impact! Morgan defeated Hernandez via referee stoppage after sandwiching his head between his boot and the ring post, putting him out of action indefinitely. With Hernandez scheduled to miss months of action, Morgan declared himself the sole World Tag Team Champion on the April 5 edition of Impact! and TNA went along with this and recognized him as the sole Champion. in addition to this he began to reference himself as "matt and morgan" making him seem as if he had split personality disorder. Morgan then went on to successfully defend the Tag Team Titles teaming with the likes of Amazing Red
Amazing Red
Jonathan Figueroa is a professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Amazing Red, or simply Red for short. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former three-time X Division Champion, while also working on the American independent circuit...
, Shark Boy
Shark Boy
Dean Mathew Roll is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Shark Boy and his experience in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .-Early career:...
and Jesse Neal
Jesse Neal
Jesse Neal is an American professional wrestler and a former member of the U.S. military. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is one half of the tag team Ink Inc., with his partner Shannon Moore....
as his partner, attacking each of them after the matches. On the May 3 edition of Impact! it was announced that Morgan would defend the Tag Team Championship at Sacrifice
Sacrifice (2010)
Sacrifice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on May 16, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
against Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
, both of whom he had attacked in the two previous weeks, and that Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
would decide his partner for the match. On the May 13 edition of Impact! Morgan demanded to find out who his partner would be and when he did not get an answer, threatened to turn his match against Generation Me
The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks is an American professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real life brothers Matt and Nick Massie from Southern California...
(Jeremy and Max Buck) into a bloodbath. However, Samoa Joe came to the ring to put a stop to this and gave Morgan the Muscle Buster. This led to The Band
New World Order (professional wrestling)
The New World Order was a professional wrestling stable that originally wrestled for World Championship Wrestling . The group later appeared in the World Wrestling Federation after the purchase of WCW by the WWF...
coming out and Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
cashing in his "Feast or Fired" contract, after which he pinned Morgan to make himself and Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
the new TNA World Tag Team Champions. On the June 3 edition of Impact!, Matt Morgan was distracted by somebody in the crowd which cost him a four-way match with Samoa Joe, Sting
Sting (wrestler)
Steven James "Steve" Borden , better known by his ring name Sting, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and the winner of the match, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
. The camera's immediately showed what was distracting Morgan, but nobody could clearly see who it was, although Taz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
and Mike Tenay
Mike Tenay
Michael William "Mike" Tenay is a professional wrestling play-by-play announcer currently employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Prior to signing with TNA in 2002, he had a notable tenure with World Championship Wrestling from 1994-2001...
believed it to be Hernandez. The following week, Hernandez made his official return by attacking Morgan. After the attack The Band gave the injured Morgan the rematch he had wanted for the World Tag Team Championship and easily defeated him to retain the title. At Slammiversary VIII
Slammiversary VIII
Slammiversary VIII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on June 13, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. Despite the Roman numeral eight used in promotional material, it was the sixth event under the Slammiversary...
Morgan defeated Hernandez via disqualification, when Hernandez was disqualified for shoving the referee, when he had gotten enough of him reprimanding him for going after Morgan. The following month at Victory Road
Victory Road (2010)
Victory Road was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on July 11, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
Morgan was defeated by Hernandez in a Steel Cage match.
Fortune and face turn (2010)
On the July 15 edition of Impact! Morgan went to attack D'Angelo Dinero, after losing to him in a singles match, but was stopped by Mr. Anderson. The following week Anderson defeated Morgan, who then attacked and bloodied him. On the July 29 edition of Impact!, Morgan was involved in an altercation with Mr. Anderson and Jeff HardyJeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
, during which two security guards, Gunner
Phill Shatter
Chad Lail is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, where he performs under the ring name Gunner. In TNA, Lail is a member of the Immortal stable and a former one-time TNA Television Champion...
and Murphy
Mikael Judas
Michael Cole is an American professional wrestler best known by the ring name Mikael Judas and for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Murphy.-Professional wrestling career:...
, came out and attacked Hardy and Anderson. Later that night Morgan, Gunner, and Murphy were defeated in a three-on-two handicap match by Hardy and Anderson, after Morgan walked out during the match. On the August 12 edition of Impact! Morgan joined Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
's Fortune
Fortune (professional wrestling)
Fortune is a professional wrestling alliance in the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It currently consists of A.J. Styles, James Storm and Kazarian...
(originally spelled Fourtune) stable, as he, A.J. Styles, Kazarian
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Robert Roode, James Storm and Douglas Williams attacked EV 2.0
ECW Originals
The ECW Originals was a professional wrestling stable that made sporadic appearances in various wrestling promotions, including World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, a stable consisting of former Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
performers. At Bound for Glory
Bound for Glory (2010)
Bound for Glory was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , that took place on October 10, 2010 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the sixth annual event under the Bound for Glory chronology. Bound For Glory is considered to be...
Morgan, Styles, Kazarian, Roode and Storm were defeated in a Lethal Lockdown match by EV 2.0 members Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
, Raven, Rhino, Sabu
Sabu (wrestler)
Terry Michael Brunk , better known by his ring name Sabu, is an American professional wrestler best known for his extreme wrestling style...
and Stevie Richards
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...
. On the following edition of Impact! Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
's and Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
's new stable, Immortal
Immortal (professional wrestling)
Immortal is a villainous professional wrestling alliance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . It currently consists of Eric Bischoff, Bully Ray, Gunner, TNA founder and AAA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett, his wife and valet Karen Jarrett, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair and Scott Steiner...
.
On the October 28 edition of Impact!, Morgan began showing signs of a face turn by showing concern for the concussed Mr. Anderson and trying to convince Eric Bischoff not to allow him to wrestle Jeff Jarrett in a chain match in the main event of the night. Morgan ended up taking Anderson's spot in the match, but was defeated after a low blow. After the match Fortune, minus Douglas Williams, turned on Morgan and beat him down, effectively turning him into a fan favorite. The following week Morgan became the number one contender to TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy by attacking Bischoff and signing a contract, which was originally meant for Mr. Anderson, who was unable to attend the event due to his concussion. At Turning Point
Turning Point (2010)
Turning Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , that took place on November 7, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
Morgan failed in his attempt to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Hardy. During the match Morgan seemingly scored a three count on Hardy, but this was missed by the referee of the match. Due to the controversy surrounding the title match, Morgan was given a chance to earn another shot at the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the following edition of Impact! in a three–on–one handicap match against Fortune members Douglas Williams, James Storm and Robert Roode. Morgan won the match, after Beer Money, Inc. abandoned Williams, but was afterwards laid out by Jeff Hardy. On the November 18 edition of Impact! Morgan defeated Ric Flair in a singles match, after Douglas Williams turned on the rest of Fortune, when they interfered in the match. As a result, Morgan earned the right to choose a special guest referee for the match between himself and Hardy at Final Resolution
Final Resolution (2010)
Final Resolution was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling professional wrestling promotion, that took place on December 5, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
. On the December 2 edition of Impact! Morgan announced the returning Mr. Anderson as the special guest referee for his title match. At Final Resolution Hardy defeated Morgan to once again retain the World Heavyweight Championship. During the match Anderson was knocked out during which Morgan seemingly had the match won, but when a replacement referee came to the ring, Hardy managed to pull himself together and pinned Morgan to win the match.
Chasing the World Heavyweight Championship (2011–present)
At GenesisGenesis (2011)
Genesis was a professional wrestling pay-per-view eventproduced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , that took place on January 9, 2011 at TNA Impact! Zone in Universal Studios Florida...
Morgan was defeated by Mr. Anderson in a number one contender's match. On the February 10 edition of Impact!, Morgan received a shot at Anderson's TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated following interference from the returning Hernandez, who made his first TNA appearance in over six months. On the March 3 edition of Impact! Morgan defeated Hernandez via disqualification. On March 13 at Victory Road
Victory Road (2011)
Victory Road was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, which took place on March 13, 2011 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, Hernandez defeated Morgan in a First Blood match, after using fake blood on him, following a distraction from a planted fan, later identified as Anarquia
Matt Barela
Matthew Ramón Barela is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Anarquia. In TNA, he is currently a member of the Mexican America stable with Rosita, Sarita and Hernandez...
, the newest member of Hernandez's Mexican America
Mexican America (professional wrestling)
Mexican America is a professional wrestling stable in the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It currently consists of leader Hernandez, Anarquia, Rosita and Sarita, who are portrayed as villainous anti-Americans, promoting the superiority of Mexican-Americans...
stable. On April 17 at Lockdown
Lockdown (2011)
Lockdown was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, that took place on April 17, 2011 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the seventh event under the Lockdown chronology and the fourth event of the 2011 TNA PPV schedule...
, Morgan defeated Hernandez in a steel cage match to win the feud. With his feud with Hernandez behind him, Morgan announced his intention of going for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the following edition of Impact!, but was interrupted by Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
who claimed to be next in line for the shot, before laying Morgan out with a low blow. On June 12 at Slammiversary IX
Slammiversary IX
Slammiversary IX was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on June 12, 2011 at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, Morgan defeated Steiner in a singles match. Later that month, Morgan entered the Bound for Glory Series to determine a number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 21 edition of Impact Wrestling, Morgan won a four man ladder match to climb to number three spot in the tournament's rankings, however, just four days later it was reported that Morgan had torn his pectoral muscle, which would sideline him for six weeks, ending his participation in the tournament. Over the following weeks, Morgan was on commentary for the Bound for Glory Series matches. On August 29 it was reported that Morgan had been cleared to return to the ring. On the September 1 edition of Impact Wrestling, Morgan tried to stop Samoa Joe, who had vowed to ruin the Bound for Glory Series, but got kicked in the groin. Later in the evening, Morgan called out Joe and brawled with him, which ended with Joe again kicking Morgan in the groin, before hitting him in the arm with a steel chair. On September 11 at No Surrender
No Surrender (2011)
No Surrender was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that took place on September 11, 2011 at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the seventh annual No Surrender chronology...
, Morgan defeated Joe in a grudge match. On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Joe defeated Morgan in a submission match. On November 13 at Turning Point
Turning Point (2011)
Turning Point was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion, that took place on November 13, 2011 at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, Morgan wrestled the undefeated Crimson to a double disqualification. On the following edition of Impact Wrestling, Morgan and Crimson defeated Mexican America to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
Other media
In 2008, Morgan accepted an offer to appear on the third series of American GladiatorsAmerican Gladiators (2008 TV series)
American Gladiators is an American competition TV show that aired on NBC and Citytv in Canada. Hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, the show matches amateur athletes against each other and the show's own "gladiators" in contests of strength, agility, and endurance...
as one of the Gladiators. Morgan, under the name Beast, made his Gladiator debut during the first night of the semi-finals in the joust. He defeated each of his two opponents in less than eight seconds. On September 24, 2010, Morgan appeared on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television show The Good Guys
The Good Guys (2010 TV series)
The Good Guys is an American action-comedy series about an old-school cop and a modern-day detective that premiered with a preview episode on Fox on May 19, 2010, and began airing regularly on June 7...
, playing the role of a Russian mobster on an episode titled Vacation. In November 2010 Morgan was a contestant on an all TNA week of Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
, teaming with Jay Lethal, Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
, Mr. Anderson and Rob Van Dam against Angelina Love, Christy Hemme
Christy Hemme
Christina Lee "Christy" Hemme is an American actress, singer, model, professional wrestling valet and former professional wrestler. Hemme is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, as a backstage interviewer and ring announcer.-Early life:Hemme was born in Poway, California, but she...
, Lacey Von Erich
Lacey Von Erich
Lacey Dawn Adkisson is an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Lacey Von Erich. She is the daughter of Kerry Von Erich and the granddaughter of Fritz Von Erich...
, Tara
Lisa Marie Varon
Lisa Marie Varon , is an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and fitness competitor of Puerto Rican and Turkish descent...
and Velvet Sky
Velvet Sky
Jamie Szantyr is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a former TNA Women's Knockout Champion and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with her former Beautiful People partners Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich...
. On June 30, 2011, Morgan was announced as being a part of the new season of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
show Made
Made (TV series)
MTV's MADE is a self-improvement reality television series broadcast on MTV. The series follows teens who have a goal and want to be "made" into things like singers, athletes, dancers, skateboarders, etc. The teens are joined by a "Made Coach", an expert in their chosen field, who tries to help...
.
Personal life
Morgan announced on a 2008 episode of TNA Impact! during the TNA Webography segment where TNA Superstars give an insight into their life that he has been married to his college sweetheart, a Hawaiian/Filipino woman named Larissa Vasper from Hawaii for four years. During that Webography, he also announced that when he was five, he was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderAttention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a developmental disorder. It is primarily characterized by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age.ADHD is the most commonly studied and...
(ADHD), which led to him getting involved with CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), a non-profit organization based out of Landover, Maryland
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
.
In an interview with Pro Wrestling Report on 540 ESPN Radio, he stated "I'm a big Jay-Z fan" and that "The Blueprint" moniker was inspired by the album of the same name.
In August 2008, it was announced that Morgan would contribute a sample of his DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
to be launched into space as part of game designer Richard Garriott
Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
's "Operation Immortality" project.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
-
- Carbon Footprint (Bicycle kick or a running big boot) – TNATotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
- Fireman's carry facebuster
- Hellevator (TNA) / Mount Morgan Drop (AJPWAll Japan Pro Wrestlingis a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
) / Vertical suplex side slam (WWEWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
)
- Carbon Footprint (Bicycle kick or a running big boot) – TNA
- Signature moves
-
- Arm twist ropewalk chop
- Body avalanche
- Discus clothesline
- Diving crossbody
- DropkickDropkickA dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
- Guillotine leg drop
- Leapfrog body guillotine over the top rope onto an opponent draped over the top rope
- Multiple powerbombPowerbombA powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
variations- Choke
- Gutwrench
- Sitout
- Multiple slamPowerslamA powerslam is a professional wrestling body slam move in which the wrestler performing the slam falls face-down on top of his/her opponent. The use of the term "powerslam" usually refers to the front powerslam and the scoop powerslam.-Emerald Flowsion:...
variations- ChokeChokeslamA chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
, sometimes onto the knee - Fallaway
- Sidewalk
- Swinging side
- Choke
- Repeated back elbow strikes to a cornered opponent
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- CarlitoCarly ColonCarlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
- Paul HeymanPaul HeymanPaul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
- Theodore LongTheodore LongTheodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:...
- Jim CornetteJim CornetteJames Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
- Ric FlairRic FlairRichard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
- Carlito
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "The Blueprint"
- "The MVP of Spike TV"
- "The Most Genetically–Jacked, Athletically–Stacked Giant Walking Today"
- "The (self–proclaimed) DNA of TNA"
- "Ric Flair's Insurance Policy"
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "Sleeping Giant" by 10 Fold (TNA)
- "Click" by Dale OliverDale OliverDale Byron Oliver is an American music composer who works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Formerly a guitarist in BackHawk , Oliver serves mainly as a composer of theme music used in professional wrestling.-Music composer for TNA:Since 2003, Oliver writes, records, and produces music under...
(TNA) (Cover of "Click Click BoomClick Click Boom"Click Click Boom" is a song by American rock band Saliva. It was released in 2001 on their second album Every Six Seconds as the lead single. The song was put on the 2001 Clear Channel memorandum, resulting in speculation that the song was re-recored and retitled "Click Click Pull". However, no...
" by SalivaSaliva (band)Saliva is an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in September 1996 and currently under Island Records. Saliva released their self-titled debut album on August 26, 1997, under Rocking Chair Records....
) - "Cool" by Jim JohnstonJim Johnston (composer)James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
(2005; WWE; Used while Teaming with CarlitoCarly ColonCarlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
) - "Fortune 4" by Dale Oliver
- "Not a Stranger to the Danger" by Dale OliverDale OliverDale Byron Oliver is an American music composer who works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Formerly a guitarist in BackHawk , Oliver serves mainly as a composer of theme music used in professional wrestling.-Music composer for TNA:Since 2003, Oliver writes, records, and produces music under...
(TNA; While teaming with CrimsonTommy MercerTommy Mercer is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Crimson. He is currently one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions with Matt Morgan...
)
Championships and accomplishments
- Far North Wrestling
- FNW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Ohio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. OVW is run by owner Danny Davis and was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1997 until 2000...
- OVW Heavyweight ChampionshipOVW Heavyweight ChampionshipThe OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling promotion. The title was introduced on August 17, 1997 at an OVW live event, then known as the NWA-OVW Heavyweight Championship due to OVW's relationship with the National...
(2 times)
- OVW Heavyweight Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #32 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011
- Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
- TNA World Tag Team ChampionshipTNA World Tag Team ChampionshipThe TNA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. It is primarily contested within TNA's tag team division. It was created and debuted on May 14, 2007 at the taping of TNA's primary television program,...
(2 times, current) – HernandezShawn HernandezShawn Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring names, "Hotstuff Hernandez" and "Hernandez"....
(1, initially held together) and CrimsonTommy MercerTommy Mercer is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Crimson. He is currently one half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions with Matt Morgan...
(1, current)
- TNA World Tag Team Championship