High Road/Low Road 10.02.09: Main Event Matt Morgan
Posted by Chad Nevett on 10.02.2009
Is Matt Morgan the future of TNA or a short term placeholder at the top of the card? Plus, all the Legacy feedback you could possibly want, in this weeks "High Road/Low Road."
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!
A brief explanation of the column: Sat takes the High Road (positive view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related "stuff" while Uncletrunx takes the Low Road (negative view).
Results for DX versus Legacy:
High Road: 35%
Low Road: 47% <-- ! 8>
Both Roads: 18% <-- ! 3>
Matt Morgan Main Event Player
High Road:
I look at TNA and most of their main eventers are above the age of 40. Eventually those guys are going to have to retire or they are going to be injured more frequently. I think it makes sense to have Matt Morgan become a main event player because it gives them a top star that is young.
Low Road:
More significant than Matt Morgan being pushed up the card is A J winning the title and Bobby Lashley signing. I can't see Morgan being pushed ahead of those two; indeed, for the most part he looks to be used as an upper mid card talent at the moment with occasional forays into Main Event territory. He's a younger guy that they're giving a bit of momentum to for certain but it's too soon to say he's a Main Event player in TNA.
High Road:
Matt Morgan has something going for him right now and that is the fact that TNA is interested in pushing some of the younger talent into the main event spots. This is a definite positive and it has shown because Morgan has been involved in the main event for the past few months. By only worry is that he could be passed up eventually because it seems like TNA is really interested in Bobby Lashley at the moment.
Low Road:
Exactly. There are other young guys who are ahead of Morgan in the pecking order and who may well be the real Main Event stars for TNA over the next few years. With A J holding the big belt, Joe still young enough to have a decent length run at the top and Lashley signing up, I think he's not going to be a permanent fixture at the top of the card.
High Road:
TNA had gotten the rap for taking WWE stars and putting them in the main event. They really have not taken anybody from the WWE and built them into a main event star. They have the opportunity to do that with Matt Morgan.
Low Road:
The counter to this is that by putting someone who was a nobody in WWE into their Main Event scene (or upper mid card for that matter), TNA looks even more bush league by comparison. With young stars who have not been in WWE, TNA can claim to be the alternative. This is not the case with Morgan.
High Road:
I think it would be a mistake to make somebody a main eventer if they are having bad matches left and right. But, that has not been the case with Matt Morgan. I can only recall him having one bad match and that was with Abyss. And I will grant you the fact that he is not having these great five star matches, but he has been having good matches. I think the good matches that he is having shows that he is ready to be a main eventer.
Low Road:
He's having ok matches, which show that he's a solid hand, a decent worker. What he's not having are the types of PPV main event that make you think "wow, this guy is the future of the business." As such, I don't see him taking the place of guys like Angle or A J in the long term.
High Road:
If TNA is successful in making Matt Morgan a main eventer, I think it would really help to create a ton of new match ups. I have said this multiple times, but TNA's main event picture is repetitive and we have seen basically every match. I think if TNA were able to elevate Matt Morgan to the main event level, then it would make the main event picture interesting.
Low Road:
It would create new matches, but I can't see any of them setting the world on fire. His "good but not great" big man with big boot style will make the new matches interesting once or even twice, but I'm not dribbling with anticipation.
High Road:
My initial concern with Matt Morgan was that after being involved in the main event, he was going to be forgotten about and shuttled back down he card. And this has really not happened. He was involved in a few title matches and now he will be wrestling Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory. I think that still be involved in main event matches as to bode well for Matt Morgan.
Low Road:
If he's still up there in a year, I'll consider that he has staying power at that level. As it is, he's still newly promoted and his position there is far from secure. Who wins the match with Angle at Bound for Glory will, I think, tell us a lot more.
Simply write "High Road", "Low Road", or "Both Roads" in the comment section.
E-Mails:
These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.
Sat: No emails at all this week. Not even for voting purposes. I'm totally expecting Terry (regular voter by email) to email us after I send this off to Uncletrunx.
Uncletrunx: Come on Terry, send us an email. We get lonely!
Sat: As I predicted Terry emailed us after I sent this off.
Comments:
Below are the comments for last week's columns and our responses. Every comment will not be included because it makes our lives a lot easier. The comments section was last looked at on Monday Morning Pacific Time.
Matt Writes:
high road. i think this feud (regardless of the past) has done more to get Legacy over than anything. i can see them beating DX in the cell.. althought it probably wont happen... still good-great matches!
Sat: While it probably won't happen, we also did not see DX submitting either, so anything can happen.
Uncletrunx: I think that the result of the cell match will be quite revealing.
M:-X Writes:
Going high road here guys...
1- Triple H needs stuff to do besides being in title matches. It seems the only thing he's WILLING to do something besides title matches is when he's with Shawn in DX.
2- HHH in DX helps his face character, because when he's NOT DX-HHH as a face he's just a neutered version of his heel character (who still almost always wins). Mind you this is all coming from a guy who LIKES HHH.
3- Legacy (or "priceless"...whichever), need something to do until the higher ups are ready to turn Ted (or turn both against Orton). The tag champs are heels, there's no real other tag teams on Raw (are there? face teams?), so at least they're still on TV.
4- When this ends, they (Legacy) have a built in feud with each other, which is more than you could say for Miz post-Cena feud.
5- DX back together means a potential DX break up, and if they're smart and turn HBK heel we could see heel HBK/face HHH which is something I don't think we've seen at all in the last decade.
Sat: HBK has gotten to the point where he turns heel for a match or two and that really does nothing for me. He needs an extended run of heel. It did wonders for Sting when he formed the MEM. And yeah HHH needs to be out of the main event for awhile.
Uncletrunx: I don't think HBK can turn heel; he's at the "living legend" stage of his career where all potential opponents would end up being the heel even if HBK set them and some orphans they'd adopted on fire. The only person he could turn heel on is Undertaker, and they did that story last year.
The Gold Standard Writes:
Low Road.I think this feud has been like whatever and has been predictable. Yea I was glad and surprised that Legacy won at breaking point but look to what extent. In any event a win is win. Besides Legacy before this had been lackeys more so than a tag team. I expected them to be champs again or feuding for the titles but thats not important to them which I thought is important for every tag team.As for DX I rather see them bury each other in a feud then other superstars.
Sat: The only way I see Legacy getting buried is if they get completely demolished in Hell in a Cell…
Uncletrunx: Which, to be fair, could very well happen.
King_Nothing Writes:
Low Road. I think this feud has been like whatever and has been predictable. Yea I was glad and surprised that Legacy won at breaking point but look to what extent. In any event a win is win.Besides Legacy before this had been lackeys more so than a tag team. I expected them to be champs again or feuding for the titles but thats not important to them which I thought is important for every tag team.As for DX I rather see them bury each other in a feud then other superstars.
Sat: While the tag team division has been better off late, I think Batista challenging Jericho and Show the past few weeks shows that the tag team titles are really not that high on the WWE's list.
Uncletrunx: The tag titles haven't been important in WWE for about a decade. In fact, I'd suggest that when Diesel and Michaels teamed up to hold all the gold then fell out, the tag titles suffered a blow from which they have never really recovered.
JR Writes:
Low Road. Here's what the WWE seems to forget as well as the fans: one win does not a main eventer make. Who else has Legacy beaten cleanly to show that they can be any legitimate threat to a championship?
The smart move would've been to establish them as tag champs for an extended period of time so even if they had lost their feud to DX (which will happen) they still have the potential championship presence.
What will happen though is that once they split up Dibiase will become a bland babyface while Rhodes will be stuck in mid-card land, and none of them will ever come close to winning the World Championship.
Sat: I'll admit that this is my one concern. I could easily see both guys falling into the midcard and being stuck there with guys like Swagger, Miz, Bourne, and MVP.
Uncletrunx: If they fulfill their potential, they could be World Champions before their careers are out.
T-Mac Writes:
Any one else see HBK super kicking HHH at some point before the end of the year? Blaming HHH for dragging him back to the WWE?
Sat: I would prefer to see this at Hell in a Cell…
Uncletrunx: It could happen. It might be a semi-unexpected twist for the Cell match, as long as they don't forget all about it to give us DX reunion 1,038 by the middle next year.
JLAJRC Writes:
Low Road- It just reeks of giving Legacy and DX something to do, despite logically spinning off from the HHH/Orton feud, while Cena deals with Orton.
I just have seen nothing from Legacy yet to make them more than midcarders at best. I just don't think either one makes a good heel. Orton attacking Dusty would have made Cody interesting (plus the crowd was on his side for once). But we just got a half-hearted heel promo from Cody the next week. Lame.
Sat: I looked at this a different way. I think Cody Rhodes is just bidding his time.
Uncletrunx: I'm not sure that they know quite what to do with him. I hope they prove me wrong but I'm not confident.
KanyonKreist Writes:
Are you kidding me?
High Road.
What the hell were Rhodes and DiBiase doing before this? Getting cracked upside the head on a weekly basis by the likes of Cena or Mark Henry, right? This is the first big-ticket feud they've had in their year-plus as a tag team, and it's about damn time.
Oh, and it was PERFECT the way they divided and conquered Michaels and the Game in that submission match.
Sat: I can't believe I overlooked this. You are right, they have done nothing and this is their first big feud.
Uncletrunx: The very fact that they have spent so long being beaten up by the world and his wife means that they just aren't believable as challengers to the almighty DX. As JR wrote, one win doesn't make them Main Eventers.
Burnout Writes:
Low Road - Legacy has been slapped around too much to seem legitimate. You don't see them putting Chavo against DX or Cena, this to me is the exact same thing. Prior to the DX feud I didn't even believe Legacy could take a punch. You can't go from one extreme to another and expect us to buy it. Yes we do have short attention spans, but they didn't even give us any cushion for that to come into play. If Legacy would have had one decent feud before DX maybe it would have been believable, but they went from punching bags to main eventers. Sorry ... not buyin it.
Sat: A good showing at Hell in a Cell will definitely help get them some credibility.
Uncletrunx: A good showing at Hell in the Cell will stretch the suspension of disbelief too far.
The Great Captain Smooth Writes:
High Road. You have two great performers in DX and two guys with wrestling in their genes in Legacy. Each has won a big PPV match. It has allowed Cody to really come into his own and Ted Jr's time will come during his angle with Orton. I take Legacy more seriously, because HHH needed to find HBK in order to even the score. I also like it, because it's a reverse of what we usually see. It's usually the older holding down the younger, now it's the younger who are being a bit too cocky and thinking they own the place.
Sat: Cody has shown me more than DiBiase has, but I still don't know if Cody is World Title material.
Uncletrunx: Neither of them is world title material yet, and nor will they be for a few years. This is why I would favour a slow build rather than them leaping from jobbers to legitimate threat in about two weeks.
JWestmoreland Writes:
Are these marks serious? LOW ROAD! Wasn't the WWF the one making jokes about WCW having old wrestlers back in the 90's? Now they take two young guys, and put them in a feud that they can't win with two guys in their 40's. I know someone is going to jump in and say "Well they won at Breaking Point". Yeah but it ended up two on one, and how that makes Legacy look strong I'll never know. Plus, they can't do that again, because this time they will be trapped in a cell. WWE fans should never complain about the MEM or TNA ever again.
Sat: I looked at Legacy's strategy as divide and conquer.
Uncletrunx: I look at it as unrealistic. I agree with this poster.
Guest#4268 Writes:
What's with all the Legacy love going around these days?
Yes there was a lot of hype for them because they were second generation and it's nice that the WWE gave some new guys a lot of time at summer slam to see if they were worth the hype but they proved they weren't. The Legacy looked completely out of their depth and like they had absolutely no idea what to do with that much time and as a result the match was sleep inducing. Not terrible, but definitely not good or anything that belongs on PPV.
Still, the WWE gave Legacy a chance, they failed, that should have been the end of it. Instead the feud was extended for another PPV. This would have been fine if the second match ended in a squash sending the Legacy back down to jobber town since they clearly proved they weren't ready to even be mid-cards, but bafflingly they're given a tap out win over Shawn Michaels in another boring snooze fest! WTF! Imagine what someone with actual potential could have done with that win. By far the worst ending at breaking point. Cry all you want about the millionth re-enactment of the Montréal screw job, it makes sense, got heat and advanced story lines without focusing on the original making it the best re-enactment in 10 years.
Now there's a Hell In The Cell being wasted on this feud which should have ended months ago, which isn't half as embarrassing as every writer on this site practically orgasming over mediocre matches performed by mediocre wrestlers. When Shawn Michaels is in a two star match you know something's wrong, when people are treating it like it was a five star classic it's just sad.
The Hearts are completely blowing Legacy out of the water right now, showing more talent in three minute matches than Legacy can muster in a twenty minute match. For that matter nearly every other mid-card on every roster is showing more potential than Legacy.
Low Road for now, High Road if the long overdue squash finally happens at what still should be No Mercy.
Sat: I'll start off with Legacy. They were called up to the main roster very quickly, so let's not hold that against them. They have improved and will only get better. We really need to give them another year before we judge them. Right now, the feud with Legacy and DX has done them a lot of good. While I would agree that the Harts definitely seems more interesting than Legacy at times, there is only so much you can do if you keep wrestling Cryme Tyme every week.
Uncletrunx: They needed a mid card feud or three before this to establish them; rather than having this as a short squash feud, I'd prefer it if they'd held off for a year or two.
Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at satuncletrunx@gmail.com or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week's column.
Definite high road. I've been high on Matt Morgan ever since I saw him come in. He's a big guy that, refreshingly, isn't slow and plodding like Big Show or Kevin Nash.
He's young, charismatic, had good mic skills, is a decent wrestler, and has shown he can be a believable heel or face. Why NOT push him to the main event? Lord knows TNA is stale enough as it is and could use any fresh blood they can get right now.
Posted By: lilwayne1 (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 12:49 PM
High Road
Posted By: Guest#9839 (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 12:56 PM
High Road. I predict Matt Morgan being World Champion by 2010
Posted By: Cesarmania (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 01:07 PM
Low road,just.
He won't be big enough to carry TNA on his own or grow it, and it's so close between he will just miss and be an upper mid-carder who can headline the odd ppv and whether he is a true main-eventer it doesn't matter to anyone but him. Same with Joe.
The only people it matters with is AJ, and to some extent Lashley if his mma career goes well,and the effect if it doesn't.
Posted By: Guest#7159 (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Low road to to the max!
Posted By: P-Rawk (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Low road, just.
Morgan will either be an upper mid-carder who does the odd main-event, or just about a true main-eventer in TNA, but his position is not key for how TNA grows compared to how well AJ does or if the Lashley cross-over experiment works.
Respected, good career, cash and main-eventing position I can see if it goes well, but being a genuine player that dictates whether your business grow and is a key factor in it I can't.
Nothing wrong in that, a big show or kane type career is still a good achievement and makes very good money.
I see him having a better career than Test(r.i.p) had for example.
Posted By: makeo (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 01:50 PM
High Road.
He looks like a champion and could easily be TNA's crossover star with Hollywood.
For a big man he moves well (unlike Nash) and he's not cartoony (like Abyss). Morgan could be the face of the company.
The only low aspect is his size. If injuries slow him down, he'll lose his edge.
Posted By: Guest#1682 (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 01:57 PM
High Road. Trunx, you say that because he was a nobody in WWE and the fact he's getting pushed in TNA makes them bush league? You're really reaching there.
It just shows that even the almighty WWE doesn't know how to properly build up potential stars, just look at the bland characters they're putting out there now. It would be one thing if he instantly won the belt upon going to TNA, but they built him up slooooooowly, the way it should've been handled all along.
Between Morgan, Styles, Samoa Joe, Lashley, and possibly Abyss, TNA has set their future World Championship core up very nicely.
Posted By: JR (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 02:26 PM
Moderate high road. As good as he can be now and in the future, he's 32 or 33 and won't have too much time to become a top star. Imagine if he were about five years younger? The wwe really blew it with him. I remember it was the summer of 2005 and I was going to see Wedding Crashers, when all of the sudden Matt Morgan walks in with a girl. Heads turned. People started to point and talk. This was a week after the WWE let him go and right after he F-5ed The Big Show. If you have a guy that had just been fired and who F-5ed The Big Show, that wanted my seat, I would have been more than willing to give it to him. To his credit, he was very polite about it. Sorry to go off topic a bit, but it was pretty damn cool.
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 04:32 PM
Low road. He will be what Kane is now at best. A big scary guy who will flirt with the ME from time to time but doesn't have the skill set to stay there and probably never will.
Posted By: HBK's Smile (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 04:48 PM
high road
he is exactly what tna needs. he has size, skill, and personality.
low road
it is tna. they will screw up somehow. he'll get beat by non-contracted former wwe wrestler(ie kennedy, umaga) in 5 minutes.
Posted By: rey (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 05:26 PM
Trunx, you say taking someone who was a nobody in the WWE and making them a main event player is bush league.
Here's a history lesson:
Stone Cold Steve Austin - Midcard in WCW - Biggest Star in WW/E history
The Undertaker - Bugger all in WCW - One of the next biggest stars in WWE history
Eddie Guerrero / Chris Benoit / Mick Foley / Chris Jericho / Kevin Nash
All midcard / underutilised at best in WCW before going to the WWE and getting the strap. Even Triple H himself was a WCW nobody.
Wrestlings an incestuous industry, everyone will work for someone else at some point. What's wrong with picking up somebody elses poor judgement and pushing talent in your company.
There's nothing wrong with TNA pushing Morgan. Just like there's nothing wrong with WWE pushing CM Punk, who previously, drumroll, jerked the curtain for TNA.
At least hold together a cogent argument if you're intent on bashing TNA for pushing someone who, shock horror, once worked for Vince McMahon.
Oh and, High Road for Morgan.
Posted By: The Truth of it All (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 05:41 PM
In a few years HIGH, bu tright now for this column LOW. Do any of you seriously buy into him now? Sure it is nice to have new blood on top, but just becuase it is a fresh face, that does not make it right.
Posted By: JUSTINW (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 05:50 PM
High Road.I think Morgan will make it as a main eventer.Hes agile for a big man.My only thing is thing is if he wins any titles anytime soon it should be the Legends belt.Yea its been crapped on but its their secondary title and I think having him win the belt and actually defend it will give it some kinda value also will give him something to do before its time to give him the world title.I agree I think 2010 he will win the TNA World Title.
Posted By: The Gold Standard (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 09:26 PM
High Road, one look at the guy and you can tell he'd be a main eventer. Morgan has all the potential and the tools in the world to be a champion. I don't know why on earth Vince decided to give a guy who can F5 the Big Show a stuttering gimmick. If Angle wants to fight you at the biggest event of the company they must see something in him. And seriously Trunx, you really think that because he used to work for WWE and went nowhere and now that he's being used well in TNA they are bush league? Then what does that make them in early 1996 for hiring a guy named who got fired over the phone by the name of Stunning Steve Austin?
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on October 02, 2009 at 11:03 PM
High road. I do think however, that Hernandez is the logical guy to push, he's very impressive in the ring, he appeals to a wide demographic and there just isn't anyone else like him out there at the moment.
Posted By: Guest#3407 (Guest) on October 03, 2009 at 12:43 AM
LOW ROAD
Posted By: Joe (Guest) on October 03, 2009 at 12:54 AM
low road..
guy has -3 charisma
Posted By: Guest#2614 (Guest) on October 03, 2009 at 02:20 AM
Both roads -
He's being pushed well and is getting over very well with the fans especially since feuding with Kurt. However I find him very overrated by the IWC at this point. He's NOT ready for the main event at all. He should be in the midcard for the time being. Firstly his over the top promos give me a headache. He needs to take lessons from Nash on how to be more controlled and subtle when cutting a promo. Secondly his ringwork leaves a lot desired. Unless he's being carried by a superior worker like Kurt he's just not delivered anything. I don't buy the whole 'cocky, atheltic, articulate' gimmick. His moveset is just boring. They need to push him as a destructive monster, because that's something TNA is lacking in - Joe has become less of one and Abyss was completely ruined by the Dr Stevie storyline. Kong's a monster but she's obviously confined to the Knockouts division.
Posted By: Code Red (Guest) on October 03, 2009 at 05:59 AM
Low road, Morgan's a solid all-round performer and should have a strong upper-card spot but nothing he does makes me go "wow, this guy's amazing, I gotta put down money to see him", maybe down the road he can grow into the ME scene but he's not ready to carry the company yet and isn't exactly a young guy so he's got a limited time-frame. Basically I think there are better, younger prospects on the roster that TNA could gain more from on a long-term basis for the same time & money invested.
Posted By: Guest#3582 (Guest) on October 03, 2009 at 08:38 AM
Low Road. He may have the look, the gimmick, and even a bit of charisma, but the man just hasn't delivered a single main event quality singles match. After BFG5, if his match with Angle goes very well, I might change, but until then, Low Road. What he needs is a manager that can talk- James Mitchell, or even D'Amore would do wonders for the guy.
Posted By: Johnny (Guest) on October 03, 2009 at 11:27 AM
High road
He probably end up like Kane someone who just hangs around and gets a few main event spots.
Posted By: nanoman (Guest) on October 03, 2009 at 02:04 PM
Low Road
Posted By: Guest#4971 (Guest) on October 04, 2009 at 05:05 AM
Are you kidding me? Matt Morgan. WHO? That guy's a joke. A skinny tall guy with zero ability to perform in professional wrestling.
Who's the joker that said Morgan had good mike skills? Because you're clearly not watching him. This is the same man that claimed, during a promo, that he was once "attacked by a bear". Years later he found that bear and kicked it's ass. WHAT!? LMAO! That has GOT to be the worst interview ever. Really Morgan? You found that EXACT same bear and beat it down? I tend to think not.
He has no intensity, doesn't sell, has no real wrestling background, is constantly off his timing, has ZERO mike skills, has little to no charisma and just plain SUCKS! I hate him. It's hard to watch and that's pretty much why I stopped watching his matches for the most part.
Seriously, marks, pay attention. And stop with your erections for "younger talent". Not all of them have it.
Posted By: Kurt's Medals (Guest) on October 05, 2009 at 12:25 AM
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