CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCAST IPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
Pro Wrestling Torch
Pro Wrestling Torch Reaches The Most Wrestling Fans Every Week: #1 in iTunes • #1 on iPhone and iPad • #1 on Android • #1 on Kindle
GOT THE PWTORCH APP YET?
iPhone & iPad
Android
Amazon Kindle
Windows Phone
PWTorch Phone App
TNA News
EXCLUSIVE: One big TNA wrestler's deal is coming due and he says he might be WWE-bound

Apr 13, 2012 - 10:08:13 PM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY


MattMorgan_CRG220.jpg
By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

TNA's Matt Morgan, who wrestles Crimson on Sunday's TNA Lockdown PPV event, said on today's PWTorch Livecast (click to subscribe in iTunes) that his contract with TNA is up later this year. He says he is loyal to TNA, but WWE has expressed interest in him and he could see circumstances that would lead to his going back to WWE.

"I have another year left on my contract with TNA," he said. "My fifth of five years. I signed a five year deal with them four years ago. I believe in October it will be up. The way it works is I'm a businessman first and foremost, right? And you try to keep your options open as much as humanly possible. I did start with WWE. They gave me a lot of tools and a lot of knowledge and I was trained by some of the best big men this business has ever had and learned a lot of things from those people over there in WWE. So I was very very lucky."

He said it was a mistake for WWE to release him five years ago, but he understands in retrospect the circumstances that led to his being part of massive layoffs in 2005.

"Unfortunately, unluckily I came there during a time when there was a revolving door. The day I got released I believe we lost 22 other guys in a two days span on a Thursday as well as Black Friday in 2005. I believe it was one of those wrong places, wrong time. Timing is everything in this sport."

As far as a possible WWE return goes, he is not ruling it out. "To say I wouldn't go back would be dumb on my part and it would be a lie," he said. "But at the same time, I really am - I know people don't like this answer who are pro-WWE and not so pro-TNA - but that's the truth, I am loyal to those who are loyal to me. The minute, the day TNA stops being as loyal to me as I feel I am being to them, that's a different discussion all to itself and I definitely would weigh my options a lot differently if and when that day ever came. But speaking right now, I'm happy for the most part with how TNA has been treating me and they've done a really good job with me the last four years."

He believes WWE would look back at releasing him as a mistake, yet at the same time WWE had so much talent around the same age, he understands their decision. "I think I've proven it was a mistake, but not a mistake because of the timing," he said. "Timing really is everything. If they have a roster, which they did at the time, full of guys in my age group - they were throwing so much crap against the wall to see what would stick, a lot of us weren't given a lot of time to stick against the wall, first and foremost, to see if something would come out of these characters they were trying to present so quickly. I mean, if you watch back those old Smackdowns and Raws from '03 to '05 or '06, you'd see a lot of guys I could easily see now becoming huge."

He said one thing that could influence his return is the recent re-signing of Brock Lesnar. He worked with Lesnar during his previous run with the company and at times traveled with him.

"Brock Lesnar coming back to WWE, that guy helped me a lot when I was first up there," Morgan said. "He is someone who helped me a lot work as a bigger guy, the psychology involved in working as a big guy. So did Undertaker, so did Kane, so did Big Show. And there's still some other dream matches out there that I want to happen before my career is up. So I guess I would weigh my options a hell of a lot more when that day comes. I'm a businessman first and foremost, to answer your question honestly. But at the same time, that's what my agent is for. I know there has been interest from that company. But at the same time I am loyal to TNA for now."

He said the way TNA brought him along from a bodyguard at the beginning to a PPV headliner has worked out well. "I went from, you know, a body guard to being Cornette's lackey to making these awful matches on Impact and getting in trouble and having him scream at me on national television. But I was in a suit and was first brought on to speak, so these fans right away got to understand Matt can hold his own on the mic, this kid can talk, he's not relying on his physicality, not relying on flexing every ten seconds, not relying on being 6-11, 328 pounds of muscle like every other meathead in this business relies on. So that was a good lesson for me because I got introduced for my verbal skills for the most part. And when it was time to transition me to a wrestler, it was easier from that point moving forward. The fans had something to sink their teeth into somewhat because they understood me as a character first and foremost as opposed to another big guy who's really in good shape, let's say, like so many other big guys. We added a few good layers to my character over the years, and as long as they keep doing that, I have no reason to leave TNA, so to say."

Keller's Analysis: I have said in recent months, including a recent VIP Keller Blog, that I think Morgan - at age 35 - with both the in-ring and mic skills he has shown in TNA, not to mention his maturity and reliability, makes him very attractive to WWE. He might even be a better fit for WWE with their style of promoting and mix of current talent than he is with TNA. He towers over so many TNA wrestlers that not promoting him as a top tier singles World Title contender is difficult. In WWE, he'd fit right in and be a potential top level fresh, credible opponent for Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, C.M. Punk, and potentially even Undertaker (if Morgan caught fire as a main event act and if Taker wrestles at a few more WrestleManias). That said, Morgan could still be a top tier player in TNA, although I think he's better as a heel against smaller TNA babyfaces. TNA just doesn't have enough bigger heels for him to work with.

ALERT TO OTHER WEBSITES: This story is copyright TDH Communications Inc. is not to be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from Wade Keller, owner and author. A snippet of the quotes may be used, but no more than half contained above, with a clear link to the original story on the PWTorch.com website.


We suggest these recent related articles...
TV RATINGS: TNA Impact & ROH TV viewership - Week 19 on Dest. America - Impact surges post-BFG, ROH draws big audience
TV WRESTLING VIEWERSHIP - Week of Sept. 28: Full Break Down of last week's Pro Wrestling TV with DVR viewing
TNA NEWS: TNA announces TV tapings on January U.K. Tour
prowrestling.net
CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE PW.NET HEADLINES


CLICK TO EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING

NEW! SIGN UP FOR FREE PWTORCH BREAKING NEWS EMAIL ALERTS
BECOME A PWTORCH VIP MEMBER
-FORMER MEMBERS LOGIN HERE TO RENEW
-NEW MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
SELECT BY ARTICLES CATEGORY
SEARCH PWTORCH.COM



CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF UPCOMING PRO WRESTLING EVENTS
MORE HEADLINES AT AFFILIATE SITES
MMATorch
LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR MORE MMATORCH HEADLINES


PWTORCH POLL - VOTE NOW!
RAW POLL 10/12: Vote on Monday's show
 
pollcode.com free polls


RAW POLL 10/12: What was the Best Match on Raw?
 
pollcode.com free polls
MCNEILL LIVECAST POLL: TNA will have a 32-person tournament to determine a new Hvt. champion - your thoughts?
 
pollcode.com free polls
CENA POLL: If John Cena takes a year-end break, who should win the U.S. Title from Cena?
 
pollcode.com free polls
VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS



LATEST HEADLINES - CLICK TO READ CLICK HERE FOR EVEN MORE INC HEADLINES

_
LATEST FREE AUDIO SHOWS - CLICK TO LISTEN VIEW MORE PWTORCH LIVECAST EPISODES
DOWNLOAD PWTORCH LIVECAST APP
SUBSCRIBE TO PWTORCH LIVECAST IN ITUNES


ABOUT US

THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE

PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


**SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**

CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCASTIPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPRSS
VIP SIGN-UP
VIP LOGIN
THE TORCH: #1 IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE | © 1999-2013 TDH Communications Inc. • All rights reserved -- PRIVACY POLICY