At Rebellion last year, we can say W. Morrissey made a statement when he appeared next to Eric Young, ready to replace him in the match that was opposing Violent By Design to Eddie Edwards, Chris Sabin, James Storm and Willie Mack. That night, not only was he the one who gave the win to his team, but he immediately showed he would be a man on a mission. And he would be alone to ride that road.
Ever since he has been involved in stunning matches and feuds with some of the best talents of Impact Wrestling, showing to the world he is exactly where he is supposed to be. The 7-feet tall wrestler is more than a giant. He is as a powerful force as he can be a powerful mind. With him, words can hurt as much as his shots do. W. Morrissey is definitely a man on a mission, becoming World Champion and the face of Impact Wrestling.
SteelChair Mag had the absolute pleasure to talk to W. Morrissey yesterday. He told us about his upcoming World Championship match against Moose, his desire to be the face of the company, the feuds he has had since his debut with Impact Wrestling, the TNA fan he was, and what the future may hold for him.
Next week, finally, you will go one-on-one with Moose for the IMPACT World Championship, which is going to be a huge match. Are you looking forward to this match, this revenge?
“Next Saturday, February 19th, we’ll be in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is a place I’ve been to many times and performed many times. They have great fans there, I love the city of New Orleans, but yes, it’s my first one-on-one match with Moose for the IMPACT World Championship. I’m very much looking forward to it. There are still 2 episodes of IMPACT coming, I have a match on Thursday night with Brian Myers, it’s a no- DQ, so that’s going to be that fun, that’s probably going to take quite a toll on my body. Then, we have another week until No Surrender, but I’m very much looking forward to it. I think without all the other elements and other people involved, mano e mano, I think Moose is going to have a handful of me.”
This match is obviously different from the “Hard to Kill” one because there’s not Matt Cardona involved in it this time, you have Brian Myers on your way now. Aside from that, how this match is going to be different from last month’s one?
“It’s going to be a lot different. First of all, we don’t have Matt Cardona in there, so like I said, it is going to be a one-on-one match, and it’s just one man versus another, mind games will be played. I feel the mental element is bigger when it’s a one-on-one match. Also, Moose is unlike any competitor I’ve ever been in the ring with, just his athleticism at his size and the things he can do inside of the ring are really spectacular for someone of his stature and the energy he has. He seems to never get tired. He’s a tough guy to wear down, so he’s definitely going to be someone unlike anybody I’ve ever been in the ring with before. So I do think that I’m going to come out on top. I know I’m going to come out on top, but it’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure.”
How do you prepare for a match like that?
“I feel like in the past year or whatever it’s been 10 months since I debuted on IMPACT, I feel like my recipe for success is a routine, it’s something I’ve gotten into every day, and I think all I have to do is to keep doing what I’ve been doing, whether it’s hitting the gym or watching tape or whatever I need to do to prepare. What I’ve been doing has worked up until this point, so I don’t have any reason to change course and do anything differently. I’m just going to keep doing everything I’ve been doing, and I just know mentally going in it’s going to be a way tougher battle than anything I’ve experienced before, but I will keep my mind focused, same routine, same everything.”
It’s something I would say that you could have in common with Moose because if the evolution of Moose has been incredible over the last year, in just like 10 months, you have shown that you are made for Impact Wrestling, for what the company and the people who are this company represent. It’s really like a perfect match.
“I feel like Impact Wrestling and me going there is meant to be. I’m a very big believer in fate and destiny and higher power and all that, so I feel like I was destined to be at IMPACT at this time, and I feel like I was destined to be in a World Championship match less than a year into being there. I came to Impact Wrestling, I told Scott (D’Amore) on the phone, and I told him, in person, I’m not coming there to just be another guy, I’m coming to Impact Wrestling to be THE guy and I don’t know how long that will take. I’m hoping it’ll happen a lot sooner than later, but my goal from day one has been to be the guy in Impact Wrestling, and I think I’ve done a good job the past 10 months of getting towards the mountain top, and I think next Saturday, February 19th is going to be the final piece to the puzzle, and I think I do become the guy in Impact Wrestling next Saturday.”
What makes you feel that Impact Wrestling is the right place for you to be the face of it and put its future on your shoulders, and also it’s the right time for you to be that person?
“With everything I’ve been through, I think Impact Wrestling giving me an opportunity and Doc Gallows giving me an opportunity when nobody else would, I think, like I said, that that was destiny, that that was meant to be, but I do feel like I’ve always been destined to be a top guy in whatever company I’m in, THE guy, the performer in whatever company I’m in. I feel like, in the past, I’d let some personal decisions and some things get in the way of that. It’s hard to look in the mirror and realize that you haven’t reached your potential, so I think coming to Impact Wrestling clean, sober, different mindset, different routine, really, really focused on my game, I think that there’s just no way that I don’t end up being THE guy in Impact, I believe it in my heart, and I think everybody else is starting to see it.”
There’s something that you may not be aware of, but I have noticed that, because you’re a heel, when you’re making your way to the ring, you’re coming with that attitude but there’s always 3 or 5 seconds when you smile, something you may not be aware of. For me, that means as far a heel you try to be, you’re also super happy to be there, you love the company and its state of mind. But, is it easier for you to be a heel, mostly because of your size?
“The first thing you were saying about the smiling when I’m out there, I can’t hide it, that’s real emotion. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life professionally and personally, all over. The second question, my size makes it easier to be a bad guy, it makes me easier to be a bully, but I do like the challenge of being a good guy because for a guy my size, it’s really hard to get people to feel bad for you, it’s really hard to get sympathy from fans when you’re as big as I am. I think it’s a real challenge for someone of my size to be an underdog, to be a babyface. We’ve seen The Undertaker do it, he mastered it. Kevin Nash has done it too, so many guys at my size have done it, and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of being a good guy and being the face of Impact Wrestling.”
You have had incredible feuds since your debut, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Eddie Edwards, and Matt Cardona. We know about your goals, but which one of these feuds was important for you?
“They’ve all been amazing, but if I had to choose one, I’d say it was the feud with Eddie Edwards. I feel like I improved so much working with him and wrestling him. I feel like that’s probably the most I’ve improved in a few months span in my entire career. Working with Eddie Edwards was the most important one to me, they’re all important, but working with Eddie Edwards was extremely important to me because it really took me to a level that I wasn’t at before. I truly appreciate Impact for giving me that opportunity to get in there with Eddie.”
Now, who would you want to feud with you have not wrestled yet on IMPACT?
“Right now, I have my sights set on Moose, my sight set on the IMPACT World Championship. Moose is the guy right now, he’s the guy in Impact Wrestling and I want to dethrone him from that position, so the feud that I’d want to be in is the one that I am in right now. I feel like I’m very blessed on that end. Moose is the guy that I want to be right now in Impact Wrestling and that is who I’m going to be after on February 19th.”
I’m really looking forward to seeing Sami Callihan be back because that would be one hell of a match between you both…
“Oh yes.”
Were you expecting all of this to happen when you came to “Rebellion 2021” to replace Eric Young? Were you expecting to have that ride, with all these feuds and now being a World Championship contender?
“No, I was not expecting it. I just went in there with the mentality of working hard and seeing what opportunities come my way and I was really appreciative on that first night to be brought into IMPACT and to get the response that I did. But no, I wouldn’t say that I expected to be in this position, it’s the position I wanted to be in, it’s the position that I truly feel that I’m destined to be in but, for it to happen as quickly as it did, I wasn’t expecting that.”
Was TNA a company that you were watching when you were younger or training to become a wrestler?
“I was a TNA fan. I was ordering the pay-per-views on a weekly basis from the beginning. The X-Division was something that really blew my mind at a younger age, just watching some of those guys. I was really into TNA. Some of my favourite guys, Jeff Jarrett is going to be up there, Bobby Roode, and then AJ, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels, they had some ridiculous matches together. I’d say those would be, with Kurt Angle when he came, my favourite guys in TNA, for when I was more of a fan than I am a performer.”
What kind of advice would you give to a young wrestler trying to make it in the business or dreaming to become a wrestler? Or is there any advice you receive that you would share with a young wrestler?
“If someone really wants to make it in the professional wrestling business, my advice would be to go above and beyond, do what nobody else that’s trying is willing to do, go to lengths that nobody else is going to go to, whether it’s waking up earlier or just going the extra mile and training and whatnot. That’s on an in-ring performance and a physical perspective. On the other end, something that I think is really important is working on character, acting, acting in the car when no one’s there, the mirror, having conversations and really refining a character because that’s something I feel like make you a star. There are really great wrestlers, phenomenal wrestlers that have never really reached the pinnacle, every guy that’s reached a pinnacle has had that character. So I’d say work, on work on that character and go to links that no one else is willing to go to.”
Follow W. Morrissey on @TheCaZXL.
“No Surrender” will air live on February 19, 2022, at 8 PM EST (1 AM GMT) on IMPACT Wrestling’s new YouTube membership Impact Insiders, Impact Plus and on Fite TV.
IMPACT Wrestling is airing on Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV in the USA and around the world on IMPACT Wrestling’s new YouTube membership Impact Insiders, YouTube TV and Impact Plus.
All pics, videos and screencaps courtesy of Impact Wrestling, Fight Network, Fite TV and AXS TV