There's no doubt that the porn star character played by Sean Morley in WWE wasn't designed to crack the main event scene. Val Venis reeked of the 'Attitude' Era, and whilst the gimmick was entertaining, it didn't have the serious tone to really become anything more than upper mid-card. That said, Morley was a talented worker, and a good talker, so why didn't WWE capitalise and switch up his persona? Admittedly, Venis did become more serious in mid-2000, aligning with Trish Stratus. Suddenly, the adult film nuances were largely ignored, but the promotion didn't really replace them with anything of interest. The man was merely a pro wrestler, a good one, but there was nothing for fans to sink their teeth into. This was the ideal chance to elevate him, but creative never grabbed it. Venis certainly had the ability to have good matches. Fans enjoyed his work throughout 1998 and 1999, and he had an impressive physique. At SummerSlam 1998, for example, he was treated like a genuine star during his match against D'Lo Brown. There was potential there for more, but Val would never main event regularly outside of the smaller shows.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
