10 Ways WWE Has Changed Since John Morrison Left

6. Bigger, Better (?), Badder

John Morrison CM Punk
WWE.com

WWE had long moved into the era of the extended WrestleMania long before John Morrison elected to leave the wrestling empire behind, but the WWE Network's limitless space (more on that later) saw the company’s annual showpiece pushed to breaking point - the worry of matches being cut short (or being on the card at all) was instead transplanted to the viewer concerned about it going too f*cking long.

Morrison was directly impacted by this in 2011. He spent his final 'Show Of Shows' waiting to perform in what remained of his severed celebrity clash alongside Trish Stratus and Snooki, equally annoyed Stratus' placement in the match over on-off partner Melina or another full-timer.

The stretched show has solved both of these issues, but created a host of new scenarios that fans still can’t quite work through. WrestleManias are no longer rewatchable as a whole without taking full working days off in order to complete them. Main events often to play to the shattered silence of an exhausted audiences. They’re challenging to pace and structure, as proven by a potentially spectacular 2019 card reduced to partial mediocrity.

WWE may yet offer a reprieve and simply extend the event over two days, but the modern era ’Manias will presumably continue to expand until what’s hopefully that logical final destination. Depending on Morrison's returning donations to the roster, he will at least get a proper spot, even if the time and place still isn't to his liking.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett