John Randall Hennigan (born October 3, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, actor and traceur, who currently wrestles for Impact Wrestling under the ring name Johnny Impact. He is best known for his tenure in WWE where he used the ring names John Morrison and Johnny Nitro. He is also known for wrestling in the independent circuit, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and Lucha Underground under the ring name Johnny Mundo.
Hennigan was the winner of Tough Enough III, a televised competition that would award the winner a WWE contract, and was assigned to their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), to continue his wrestling training. While in OVW, he adopted the ring name Johnny Nitro and was placed in a tag team with Joey Mercury. The duo won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship and alongside their manager Melina, the stable was called MNM. MNM was called up to the SmackDown! roster and on their debut match in April 2005, Hennigan and Mercury won the WWE Tag Team Championship. After the stable split, Hennigan won the ECW World Championship and his ring name changed to John Morrison. He then formed a partnership with The Miz in late 2007, with the two capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship and the World Tag Team Championship on separate occasions, as well as winning the 2008 Tag Team of the Year Slammy Award.
After leaving WWE in November 2011, Hennigan began wrestling overseas on the independent circuit before wrestling in lucha libre professional wrestling promotions Lucha Underground and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. In Lucha Underground, Hennigan won the main event of the debut episode, as well as the first ladder match and steel cage match in the promotion's history. He is also the second Triple Crown Champion in the company's history, having held the Lucha Underground Championship, the Gift of the Gods Championship and the Trios Championship once each. In AAA, he is a former and first-ever triple champion, holding the AAA Mega, Latin American and World Cruiserweight Championships simultaneously. He (with partners Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Brian Cage) won the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup.
Video John Morrison (wrestler)
Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE
Tough Enough and Ohio Valley Wrestling (2002-2004)
Before getting into professional wrestling, Hennigan attended the University of California, Davis studying both film and geology. Upon deciding that he did not want to pursue either path, Hennigan began his professional wrestling career training at the Supreme Pro Wrestling school in Sacramento, California. After failing his audition for Tough Enough 2, a competition in which the winner earned a World Wrestling Federation contract, he was accepted as a cast member for Tough Enough III in 2002, eventually becoming the co-winner with Matt Cappotelli. For winning, Hennigan was awarded a developmental contract and assigned to their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), to continue his training. Hennigan competed in the Acolytes Protection Agency's invitational Bar Room Brawl match at Vengeance in July 2003. Hennigan and Cappotelli made an appearance on an episode of Heat in January 2004, losing to Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak in a tag team match.
On March 1, 2004, Hennigan debuted on the Raw brand under the ring name "Johnny Blaze". His gimmick was that he was the apprentice and assistant of the Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff. The next week his name was changed to "Johnny Spade", and three weeks after that it was changed to "Johnny Nitro". The Nitro name, which finally stuck, was a reference to WCW Monday Nitro, the flagship show of World Championship Wrestling for which Bischoff had previously worked. To drive the point home, he began using the Nitro theme as his ring entrance music. Nitro acted as Bischoff's apprentice and assistant until June, when he was sent back to OVW. To explain his departure, Nitro lost a match on June 7 episode of Raw against Eugene, which carried the stipulation that upon his loss, he also lost his job.
MNM (2004-2006)
Upon his return to OVW, Nitro was put into a feud with his former partner Matt Cappotelli. During the course of the feud Melina was brought into the company as Nitro's ex-girlfriend and an ally of Cappotelli, only to turn on him and side with Nitro. Not long after, Nitro and Melina were joined by Joey Mercury, forming the stable MNM. MNM wrestled in OVW for around a year, holding the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship once, before losing the titles to Cappotelli and Johnny Jeter in January 2005. They were soon called up to the main SmackDown! roster in April that same year.
In their debut match on the main roster, MNM won the WWE Tag Team Championship from Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. MNM held the titles for three months, having successful titles defenses against the teams of Mysterio and Guerrero and Hardcore Holly and Charlie Haas, before dropping them to the Legion of Doom (LOD) at The Great American Bash. They won the titles again in a four-way match defeating The Mexicools, William Regal and Paul Burchill, and LOD, but lost them to Mysterio and Batista days before Armageddon in December. Due to help from Mark Henry, MNM defeated Mysterio and Batista in a rematch on December 30 to win the championship for the third time. They began a rivalry with the team of Paul London and Brian Kendrick that lasted over three months, until they dropped the championship to London and Kendrick at Judgment Day in May 2006, with the storyline leading to Nitro and Melina suddenly turning on Mercury after the match, breaking up the group. Later that night, Melina and Nitro were booked off the SmackDown! brand by having the General Manager, Theodore Long, "fire" them.
Championship reigns (2006-2007)
The next week, Nitro, along with Melina, debuted on the Raw brand in a loss to WWE Champion John Cena. Nitro was immediately placed in the WWE Intercontinental Championship picture, beginning his first reign at Vengeance in June after defeating champion Shelton Benjamin in a triple threat match also involving Carlito. Nitro held the belt for four months, feuding with several challengers before losing it to Jeff Hardy on October 2 episode of Raw. Nitro then engaged in a feud with Hardy. Nitro recaptured the Intercontinental Championship from Hardy on November 6 when the General Manager for the night, Eric Bischoff, restarted a match that Nitro lost by disqualification. The next week, however, Hardy won the title back.
In addition, Nitro was also in a sporadic feud with John Cena throughout the second half of 2006. The feud was unique in that it also later involved non-wrestler Kevin Federline, who appeared on October 16 episode of Raw. Federline was then, in storyline, trained by Nitro for a match with Cena, which he won after interference from Umaga.
In November, MNM reunited on an episode of Raw to accept an open challenge from The Hardys (Jeff and Matt Hardy) at December to Dismember, a match that they lost. MNM and the Hardys feuded across the brands throughout December, with the feud intensifying after Mercury was legitimately injured at Armageddon in a four-way ladder match. Mercury wrestled Matt on SmackDown!, while Nitro continued to feud with Jeff for the Intercontinental Championship on Raw, including a steel cage match at New Year's Revolution. MNM lost to The Hardys at the Royal Rumble, and again at No Way Out in February which ended the feud. MNM continued on and off as a team until Mercury was released from WWE in March 2007.
Without Mercury, Nitro's association with Melina was played down as she began competing for the WWE Women's Championship. Nitro was paired up with Kenny Dykstra, until the 2007 WWE Draft, during which Nitro was sent to the ECW brand and Dykstra was sent to SmackDown!.
Johnny Nitro made his ECW debut on June 19 with a win over Nunzio, and few days later, on June 24, at Vengeance: Night of Champions, he won the vacant ECW World Championship in a match against CM Punk, making it his first world championship in WWE, when he was called upon to replace the missing Chris Benoit due to a "family emergency".
A few weeks after getting the title, Nitro's ring name was changed to "John Morrison" and his gimmick was tweaked to be even more conceited and self-aggrandizing -- in addition to being modeled after Jim Morrison (1943-1971), the legendary frontman of the 1960s rock band The Doors, to whom Nitro bears a strong physical resemblance. After defeating CM Punk again at The Great American Bash, he began taking part in a "15 Minutes of Fame" segment on the weekly ECW on Sci Fi television program, where if a wrestler could either defeat him or last 15 minutes without being defeated, they would earn a title shot. The first wrestler to do so was CM Punk, which set up another match between the two at SummerSlam. Morrison won by illegally using the ring ropes for leverage. The next week, Punk again became the number one contender; this time, however, Punk won the championship. Morrison was then suspended for thirty days for violating WWE's Wellness Program, renewing his feud with Punk upon his return, as well as competing against The Miz for the number one contendership to the title.
Teaming with The Miz (2007-2009)
Though rivals, Morrison and The Miz faced the dysfunctional tag team of Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter on the November 16 episode of SmackDown! for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a winning effort, marking Morrison's fourth WWE Tag Team Championship. At Survivor Series, Morrison and The Miz were both defeated by CM Punk in a triple threat match for the ECW Championship. After the defeat, the rivalry aspect of Miz and Morrison's relationship faded, as they were now portrayed as trusting friends. In February 2008, Morrison and The Miz were given a streaming segment on WWE.com named The Dirt Sheet in which they mocked other wrestlers and facets of pop culture. Morrison and The Miz co-wrote each episode of The Dirt Sheet each week, and he credits his time in college studying film with contributing to the success of the show. On July 4 episode of Smackdown, Morrison lost to Jeff Hardy who re-debuted on Smackdown after the 2008 WWE Draft. The team had many successful title defenses over the next few months, before dropping the titles to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder at The Great American Bash in a fatal four-way match which also featured Jesse and Festus and Finlay and Hornswoggle. Neither The Miz nor Morrison were pinned, as Hawkins pinned Jesse to win the titles.
Afterwards, they started a feud with Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard and JTG) through each team's Internet show, which then transitioned to matches on Raw and at Cyber Sunday. After winning the Slammy Award for Best WWE.com exclusive earlier in the day, Morrison and The Miz won the "Tag Team of the Year" Slammy Award on December 8, 2008 episode of Raw. On December 13, Morrison and The Miz won the World Tag Team Championship from CM Punk and Kofi Kingston at a Raw live event. Morrison and the Miz engaged themselves in a feud with The Colóns (Carlito and Primo), who were the reigning WWE Tag Team champions which resulted in both teams defending their respective championships successfully in separate matches. Their feud culminated in a tag team lumberjack match on the WrestleMania XXV pre-show where both titles were on the line, but it was The Colóns who would unify the championships with a win. As part of the 2009 WWE Draft on April 13, The Miz was drafted to the Raw brand to split up the team, and, as a result, Miz attacked Morrison.
Intercontinental Champion (2009-2010)
On April 15, 2009, Morrison returned to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft. In Morrison's first match back for the brand, on April 17, he defeated R-Truth. On the May 1 episode of SmackDown, Morrison engaged in a backstage fight with Chris Jericho, after Jericho slapped him, thus turning into a face for the first time in his career. Later that same night, Morrison defeated Shelton Benjamin, beginning a feud between the two. On the May 7 episode of WWE Superstars, Morrison lost a match to Jericho after a distraction by Benjamin. At Judgment Day, Morrison defeated Benjamin in a rematch. Morrison would soon become wildly popular with fans. On the June 19 episode of SmackDown, Morrison lost a critically acclaimed match against Edge, in which the commentators described it as a "third main event". On July 31 episode of SmackDown, Morrison had his first World Heavyweight Championship match against Jeff Hardy, but failed to win the title.
On September 4 episode of SmackDown, Morrison defeated Rey Mysterio to win his third Intercontinental Championship. Morrison then began a feud with Dolph Ziggler after losing a non-title match to him by countout, but he would successfully defend the title against Ziggler Hell in a Cell and again on the following episode of SmackDown. The feud between Morrison and Ziggler continued throughout the next month, with the two wrestling to a double countout for the Intercontinental Championship on the November 13 episode of SmackDown and Morrison retaining the championship in a two-out-of-three falls match the following week to end the feud. At Bragging Rights, Morrison was defeated by his former tag team partner The Miz in an interbrand Champion vs. Champion match. Their rivalry continued after both were announced as opposing team captains for Survivor Series, where Miz's team defeated Morrison's team. Morrison then went on to feud with SmackDown newcomer Drew McIntyre, who defeated Morrison in a non-title match on the December 4 episode of SmackDown, thus earning a championship opportunity against Morrison. At the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, Morrison lost the Intercontinental Championship to McIntyre, ending his reign at 103 days. He received his rematch on the first SmackDown of 2010, but was disqualified when McIntyre shoved him into the referee. He challenged McIntyre for the Intercontinental Championship again on the January 29 episode of SmackDown in a No Disqualification match, but lost, ending their feud.
In the following weeks, Morrison began a friendship with R-Truth. He later won an Elimination Chamber qualifying match and participated in the eponymous match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was eliminated by The Undertaker. Morrison and Truth defeated Cryme Tyme and The Hart Dynasty to earn a Unified WWE Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania XXVI against ShoMiz (The Big Show and The Miz). At the event, they failed to win the championship.
On April 26, Morrison was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2010 WWE Draft, and lost his first match back for the brand later that night to Jack Swagger. Later that week, in his final match on SmackDown, he lost to Cody Rhodes. On June 1, Morrison announced that he would be mentoring Eli Cottonwood in the second season of NXT. Cottonwood, however, was the second person eliminated from the competition, and was eliminated on July 27 episode of NXT. Morrison then went on to participate in the main event of SummerSlam in which he and six teammates (John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, R-Truth, Daniel Bryan, and Bret Hart) were victorious in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against The Nexus.
Championship pursuits and departure (2010-2011)
In October 2010, Morrison began a feud with Sheamus after he helped Santino Marella earn an upset win during a one-sided match against Sheamus. Within the following weeks, Morrison continued to save Marella from attacks by Sheamus. At Survivor Series, Morrison beat Sheamus. In November, Morrison entered the 2010 edition of the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Tyson Kidd, Cody Rhodes, and Alberto Del Rio. Morrison lost to Sheamus in the final round. He continued to feud with Sheamus and defeated him in a WWE Championship number one contender's ladder match at the Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view on December 19. Morrison received his WWE Championship match on January 3, 2011 episode of Raw, but lost to reigning champion The Miz in a falls count anywhere match.
On January 30, Morrison participated in the Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble event and despite not winning, he had a stand-out moment which was praised by critics as "arguably the spot of the decade" when Morrison was knocked off of the ring apron and performed a cat leap onto the barricade to avoid having his feet touch the floor and then went on to precision jump onto the ring steps and re-enter the ring. On February 20, Morrison participated in the Raw Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event but was eliminated by CM Punk. During the match Morrison climbed to the top of the cage while inside the cage before dropping to deliver a crossbody on and eliminate Sheamus. At WrestleMania XXVII, Morrison teamed with Trish Stratus and Jersey Shore guest star Snooki in a mixed tag match to defeat the team of Dolph Ziggler, Michelle McCool and Layla.
Morrison participated in a five-man gauntlet match for the number one contender's spot for the WWE Championship on April 11 episode of Raw, but was eliminated by R-Truth. The next week on Raw, Morrison challenged R-Truth to a match later on in the night, with the stipulation that if Morrison won, he would take R-Truth's place in the steel cage match at Extreme Rules. Truth accepted, and lost the match, making Morrison the new number one contender. At Extreme Rules, R-Truth interfered in the match, attacking Morrison and preventing him from winning the match. The next night on Raw, Morrison was attacked by Truth again, prior to a scheduled match between the two which did not happen as a result. Morrison then underwent surgery to correct a legitimately pinched nerve in his neck.
Morrison initially returned on June 13 episode of Raw, but R-Truth attacked him again prior to their scheduled match, re-injuring him. Morrison returned again on July 25 episode of Raw, attacking R-Truth. At SummerSlam, Morrison competed in a six-man tag team match, teaming with Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio to defeat R-Truth, Alberto Del Rio and The Miz. The following night on Raw, Morrison defeated R-Truth in a Falls Count Anywhere match to end their feud. At Night of Champions, Morrison competed in a Fatal-4-Way match for the WWE United States Championship, also involving Alex Riley, Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler, with the latter of whom successfully retaining his title. Morrison then challenged Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship twice; first on the September 26 episode of Raw in a 10 man battle royal and later in a singles match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, but lost on both occasions. Following this, Morrison went on a losing streak, lasting a number of weeks. On the November 7 episode of Raw, Morrison picked up his first victory in three months, defeating United States Champion Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match. He then challenged Ziggler for the championship at Survivor Series in a losing effort.
In his last advertised WWE appearance on the November 28 episode of Raw, Morrison faced his former tag team partner The Miz in a Falls Count Anywhere match; Miz won the match by delivering the Skull-Crushing Finale on the steel entrance stage, giving Morrison a kayfabe injury. This was used to write Morrison off television, even being stretchered out of the arena after the match. On November 29, WWE acknowledged the end of Morrison's contract, and moved his profile to the alumni section of its website.
In a video published on December 9, 2011 via Hennigan's personal YouTube channel, Hennigan claimed that he was taking time off to heal and retrain for a possible return to wrestling in the future. In 2015, Hennigan revealed on Stone Cold Steve Austin's podcast that WWE wanted him to sign another three-year contract, but due to a neck injury, residual pain and creative frustrations, he decided to not renew his contract, wanting "more control over [his] time".
Independent circuit (2012-present)
After leaving WWE, Hennigan began wrestling on the independent circuit under his real name, as well as his previous ring name John Morrison. On his first post-WWE wrestling appearance, Hennigan rekindled an old feud facing off against Shelton Benjamin in the main event of the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) Champions Showcase Tour in Manila, Philippines on February 4, 2012. Hennigan won the match to become the inaugural WWFX Heavyweight Champion. On August 12, 2012, Hennigan appeared at Juggalo Championship Wrestling's Bloodymania 6 event, defeating Matt Hardy and Breyer Wellington in a three-way match. On January 25, 2013, Morrison appeared at Dragon Gate USA's Open the Golden Gate, defeating Akira Tozawa in the main event of the show. Hennigan took part in the WrestleMania weekend, wrestling for the Pro Wrestling Syndicate. On April 4, Hennigan defeated Elijah Burke and on April 5, Morrison defeated Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger in an "International Dream Match" at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) event. On April 19, Hennigan again defeated Sami Callihan in a no count-out, no disqualification falls count anywhere match at a 2CW event in Rome, New York. The next day, he defeated Kevin Steen at 2CW's first iPPV (Living on the Edge VIII), in Watertown, New York.
On June 21, 2013, Hennigan defeated Carlito Caribbean Cool in FWE Welcome to the Rumble II, winning the FWE Heavyweight Championship. The next day, Hennigan defended the title against Too Cold Scorpio at House of Hardcore 2. On September 6 and 8, Morrison wrestled against WWL World Heavyweight Champion Black Pain for the title, but he was defeated both times. On October 12, 2013, at FWE Grand Prix, Hennigan defeated Matt Morgan, retaining the FWE Heavyweight Championship. On March 11, 2015, Hennigan lost the FWE Heavyweight Championship to A.J. Styles. Morrison faced Rob Van Dam at Pro Wrestling Syndicate in Rahway, New Jersey on October 24, 2015 in a winning effort. After the match, Morrison shook hands with Van Dam and led the crowd in an "RVD" chant.
On June 28, 2016, it was announced that Hennigan would make his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerilla in the company's annual Battle of Los Angeles tournament. He won his match against Matt Sydal in the first round, but was eliminated by Ricochet in the quarter-finals.
On November 16, it was announced that Hennigan, under his Johnny Mundo ring name, would appear for What Culture Pro Wrestling on their Delete WCPW event on November 30. Mundo was scheduled to face Alberto El Patron, but due to Alberto's absence he was replaced by Gabriel Kidd. At the event, Mundo cut a heel promo, insulting Alberto El Patron and the crowd, before defeating Kidd. On January 28, 2017, Morrison won a tournament at a 5 Star Wrestling event for his 5 Star Wrestling Championship, defeating Moose, Drew Galloway, and Rey Mysterio to retain the title. On June 2, Hennigan defeated Rob Van Dam to become the Pacific Coast Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. On September 22, Morrison reunited with former MNM tag team partner Joey Mercury after ten years, defeating Reno Scum.
Lucha Underground (2014-present)
In September 2014, it was reported that Hennigan had signed with the El Rey network's new television series, Lucha Underground, where he wrestled under the ring name Johnny Mundo. Mundo wrestled in the main event of the debut episode of Lucha Underground on October 29, 2014, defeating Prince Puma and winning one hundred thousand dollars, which was then taken away from him by promoter Dario Cueto, setting up several feuds. He then teamed with Prince Puma during the November 5, 2014 episode, defeating Cortez Castro and Mr. Cisco. On the November 19 episode, Mundo defeated Big Ryck by disqualification after interference by Castro and Cisco. Mundo then defeated Prince Puma and Big Ryck in the main event of the December 10, 2014 episode, which was a three-way ladder match, to finally win the hundred thousand dollars he was denied in the Lucha Underground debut.
On January 7, 2015, Mundo participated in a 20-man "Aztec Warfare" battle royal for the Lucha Underground Championship. He was the second luchador to enter the ring, but was the last man eliminated by Prince Puma who won the Championship. King Cuerno attacked Mundo on the February 4 episode, beginning a feud between them; the second installment took place on the episode which aired March 11, where Mundo and Cuerno wrestled in a Steel Cage match, which was won by Mundo. On the May 6, episode of Lucha Underground, Mundo was defeated by Alberto El Patrón in a number two contender match for the Lucha Underground Championship. The week after, Mundo turned heel (or rudo) when he attacked El Patrón in his match against Hernandez, throwing him through the window of Dario Cueto. Mundo subsequently tossed El Patrón back into the ring, giving Hernandez the win. After Mundo turned rudo, his character was tweaked to become more "cocky" and "ego-centric", similarly to his villainous Johnny Nitro and John Morrison characters. On the June 17, episode of Lucha Underground, Johnny Mundo unsuccessfully challenged Prince Puma for the Lucha Underground Championship in an Iron Man match. On August 5, 2015, at Ultima Lucha, Mundo defeated Alberto El Patrón after an interference by his girlfriend Melina Perez.
On the February 3, 2016 episode of Lucha Underground, Mundo faced Killshot in a winning effort. After the match, Mundo taunted Lucha Underground Champion Mil Muertes, only to be confronted by Cage. Mundo defeated Cage on February 24, after interference from the debuting Taya, subsequently becoming Mundo's valet. On the May 25 episode of Lucha Underground, Taya revealed to PJ Black and Jack Evans that their partner Fénix was injured by Mundo. As Mundo revealed himself as Fénix's replacement for their match, Black and Evans allied with the two. Later that night in the main event, Mundo, Black and Evans defeated Rey Mysterio Jr., Prince Puma and Dragon Azteca Jr. to win the Lucha Underground Trios Championship, the first championship for each in Lucha Underground. The week after, Mundo, Black and Evans, now collectively billed as Worldwide Underground, retained their championships in a rematch via disqualification. During the match, Mundo delivered a low blow to Azteca Jr. while Taya distracted the referee. After seeing Mundo's actions, Puma hit a low blow to Mundo, causing a disqualification towards Puma's team. On the June 8 episode of Lucha Underground, Mundo teamed up with Taya, Ivelisse, Fénix, King Cuerno and Pentagón Jr. in a 12-man tag team match where the winning team would go on to face each other in a six-man elimination match to determine the No. 1 contender for the Lucha Underground Championship. Mundo's team won defeating Rey Mysterio Jr., Prince Puma, Sexy Star, The Mack, Son of Havoc and El Texano Jr. The week after, Mundo lost the six-man elimination match which was won by Pentagón Jr. Worldwide Underground lost their titles to Aero Star, Drago and Fénix at the third and final part Ultima Lucha Dos, which aired on July 20.
On the October 26 episode of Lucha Underground, Mundo defeated Sexy Star to win the Lucha Underground Gift of the Gods Championship after he knocked out Sexy Star with brass knuckles while the referee was unaware. On the November 23 episode of Lucha Underground, he cashed in his Gift of the Gods Championship on Sexy Star before defeating her to win the Lucha Underground Championship, becoming the second Triple Crown Champion in Lucha Underground history. On the December 21 episode of Lucha Underground, Mundo successfully defended his championship in a rematch against Sexy Star inside a steel cage. He lost the title to Prince Puma at Ultima Lucha Tres.
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2015-2018)
On May 24, 2015, Mundo made his debut for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) at the Lucha Libre World Cup event representing Lucha Underground as a member of "Team TNA/Lucha Underground" alongside TNA wrestlers Matt Hardy and Mr. Anderson. They finished in second place, losing in the finals to the "Dream Team" (El Patrón Alberto, Myzteziz and Rey Mysterio Jr.).
On June 4, 2015 in the main event of Verano de Escándalo, Mundo established himself as a rudo and teamed with El Mesias and Pentagón Jr. losing to Myzteziz, La Parka and Rey Mysterio Jr. On September 27, Konnan announced Mundo as an official member of the rudo stable, La Sociedad, while he subsequently stepped down as the leader of the group. On October 4, at Héroes Inmortales IX, Mundo unsuccessfully challenged El Patrón Alberto for the AAA Mega Championship, when he was defeated by disqualification. After Alberto left AAA, Mundo was scheduled to face Rey Mysterio Jr. for the vacant AAA Mega Championship at Guerra de Titanes, but after the matches of the event were officially announced, neither Mundo nor Mysterio were featured for the event. Mundo participated in the 2016 Lucha Libre World Cup as a member of "Team Lucha Underground" alongside Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Brian Cage, defeating "Team Mexico Leyendas" (Blue Demon Jr., Canek and La Parka) in the quarter-finals, and "Team Mexico International" (Rey Mysterio Jr., Dr. Wagner Jr. and Dragon Azteca Jr.) in the semi-finals. Mundo's team won the tournament defeating "Team AAA" (Pentagón Jr., El Texano Jr. and Psycho Clown) in the finals.
After adopting an "anti-Mexico" attitude and teaming with El Mesías and Hernandez to defeat El Texano Jr., El Hijo del Fantasma and Pentagón Jr., Mundo challenged the latter to a match at Triplemanía XXIV for the AAA Latin American Championship, to which Pentagón accepted. At the event, on August 28, Mundo defeated Pentagón to win the Latin American Championship, marking his first championship in AAA and becoming the first non-Mexican to hold the title. On October 2 in the main event of Héroes Inmortales X, Mundo successfully defended his title against Garza Jr. On March 19, 2017, at Rey de Reyes, Mundo defeated El Texano Jr. and El Hijo del Fantasma in a three-way match to not only retain the Latin American Championship, but to also win Texano's AAA Mega Championship and Fantasma's AAA World Cruiserweight Championship. In his first AAA Mega Championship defense, on June 30, Mundo successfully retained his title against Texano.
In July 2017, Mundo and his fiancée Kira Forster, known as Taya, were involved in controversy with AAA and its Director of Talent Vampiro, which led to Taya's departure from the company. According to Wrestling Observer, AAA asked Mundo to turn in Taya's Reina de Reinas Championship for a photo shoot the day prior to an event on July 1. A few weeks later, Vampiro addressed to the live crowd that Forster was stripped of the title due to not appearing to defend her title, despite not being scheduled to appear.
On August 26, at Triplemanía XXV, Mundo successfully defended his three championships against Fantasma and Texano in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. On October 1 at Héroes Inmortales XI, Mundo wrestled in three matches, retaining the Mega Championship against Rey Wagner, but losing the Latin American Championship to Fantasma in the annual Copa Antonio Peña battle royal, and the World Cruiserweight Championship to Lanzelot in a ten-way match, ending his triple championship reign at 196 days.
On January 26, 2018 at Guerra de Titanes, Mundo lost the AAA Mega Championship to Rey Wagner, ending his reign at 314 days.
Impact Wrestling (2017-present)
In August 2017, despite not being signed to the promotion at the time, Hennigan appeared for Impact Wrestling at its live events, teaming with James Storm and Moose to defeat Ethan Carter III, Lashley and Eli Drake on August 4, and Carter, Lashley and Low Ki on August 5. On August 17, a video package was shown at Destination X revealing Hennigan's ring name as Johnny Impact. He made his televised in-ring debut on the August 24 episode of Impact! in a Gauntlet for the Gold match for the vacant Global Championship, ending in the final three before being eliminated by eventual winner Eli Drake. The following week, he and Eddie Edwards interrupted Drake and Chris Adonis' championship celebration, which led to a tag team match on the main event, which Drake and Adonis won. On the September 14 edition of Impact!, Johnny Impact defeated Low Ki to become the number one contender to the Global Championship at Victory Road. After the match, Impact was brutally assaulted by Drake and Adonis. The week after, Impact defended his number one contender status in two matches, defeating both KM and Texano in the same night. At Victory Road, Impact was defeated by Drake and failed to win the Global Championship. After the match, he was attacked by Drake and Adonis but was saved by Garza Jr.. However, the two of them were assaulted by LAX. On the October 12 episode of Impact!, Impact defeated Garza in a number one contendership match to challenge Eli Drake for the Global Championship in the main event of Bound for Glory. At the event, Impact was unsuccessful in defeating Drake for the championship after an interference from a returning Alberto El Patrón.
Throughout the rest of 2017, Impact continued to feud with Drake for the Global Championship, as well as El Patrón for interfering in his match. The latter rivalry culminated in a match on November 30, in which Impact defeated El Patrón. After the match, both competitors were attacked by Drake. On the January 25, 2018 episode of Impact!, Impact and El Patrón were involved in a three-way Last Chance Six Sides of Steel match for the Global Championship, in which Drake retained his title. After Drake lost the renamed Impact World Championship to Austin Aries, Impact began pursuit of Aries's championship. On the February 22 episode of Impact!, Impact defeated Ethan Carter III to face Aries for the title at the Impact Crossroads special. At the event, Impact lost to Aries and was unsuccessful in capturing the Impact World Championship.
On the April 19 episode of Impact, Johnny Impact was attacked and injured by Kongo Kong.
Maps John Morrison (wrestler)
Other media
In 2009, Hennigan and Maryse Ouellet were interviewed on Eurosport. In 2009, Hennigan appeared on two episodes of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, which were both aired on September 29. Hennigan is the subject of a WWE DVD, called John Morrison - Rock Star, which was released on February 16, 2010. The DVD covers his career from his name change to John Morrison up until his Intercontinental Championship win in September 2009. He appeared on an episode of Destroy Build Destroy on March 3, 2010. Hennigan was on the cover of Muscle & Fitness in June 2010, with the issue also featuring an interview and photo shoot.
After leaving WWE in 2011, Hennigan started to pursue acting as a career and as a way to improve his promo skills. In 2013, he co-starred in 20 Feet Below: The Darkness Descending with Danny Trejo. Hennigan also appeared as a cameo in the first episode of Video Game High School's third and final season. Hennigan portrayed "The Hammer" in the wrestling themed Air Bud spin-off Russell Madness. In 2015, Hennigan signed on to play the lead role in the action horror film Diablo Steel.
Hennigan is also a frequent collaborator with comic book-based film producers Bat in the Sun Productions, appearing in two episodes of their well known Super Power Beat Down series; playing as Casey Jones against Kick-Ass in episode 13, and as Winter Soldier against Nightwing in episode 19. Hennigan will be portraying Eternal Warrior in the web series Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe, produced by Valiant Entertainment and directed by Bat in the Sun.
In 2016, Hennigan, Rey Mysterio, and King Cuerno appeared on ESPN to promote the second season of Lucha Underground.
Filmography
Personal life
Hennigan was born in Los Angeles, California in a neighborhood called Westchester and grew up in Palos Verdes Peninsula, where he attended high school. He graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2002 with a film major. Hennigan is good friends with fellow professional wrestlers The Miz, Zack Ryder, Dolph Ziggler, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, and Matt Cappotelli.
Hennigan has a passion for parkour and frequently incorporates it into his wrestling style and cites Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, and Curt Hennig as his favorite wrestlers.
Hennigan was involved in an on-off relationship with former WWE Diva and on-screen manager Melina Perez from 2003 to 2015. The pair met during the auditions for Tough Enough III, in which Perez was cut and Hennigan eventually won. Since 2016, Hennigan has been in a relationship with Taya Valkyrie, to whom he got engaged to on June 14, 2017.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- As John Hennigan / Johnny Mundo
- End of the World / Fin del Mundo / Starship Pain (Split-legged corkscrew moonsault)
- As John Morrison
- C-4 (Standing moonsault side slam)
- Moonlight Drive (Corkscrew neckbreaker)
- Nitro Blast (Superkick, with theatrics) - parodied from Shawn Michaels
- Starship Pain (Split-legged corkscrew moonsault)
- As Johnny Impact
- Impact Elbow / Thursday Night Delight (Diving 450° flip transitioned into an elbow drop, with theatrics)
- Starship Pain (Split-legged corkscrew moonsault)
- As Johnny Nitro
- Corkscrew neckbreaker
- Snapshot (Delayed hangman's neckbreaker, with theatrics)
- Standing shooting star press - 2006-2007; used as a signature thereafter
- Superkick
- As John Hennigan / Johnny Mundo
- Signature moves
- 180° spun flare transitioned into a leg drop
- Corkscrew moonsault
- Corkscrew plancha
- Diving crossbody
- European uppercut
- Multiple kick variations
- Backflip
- Capoeira-style handstand
- Capoeira-style spinning heel
- Dropsault
- Double mule
- Enzuigiri
- Flying Chuck (Springboard roundhouse)
- Leg lariat
- Slingshot baseball slide
- Russian legsweep
- Running knee strike to the head of a seated opponent - sometimes used as a finisher
- Shooting star plancha
- Slingshot or springboard elbow drop
- Springboard 450° plancha
- STO backbreaker followed by either a Russian legsweep or a neckbreaker slam
- Tilt-a-whirl counter transitioned into a Russian legsweep
- Tilt-a-whirl DDT
- Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown
- Managers
- Jillian Hall
- Melina
- Nikki Bella
- Taya
- Nicknames
- "The Guru of Greatness"
- "JoMo"
- "The Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday Night Delight"
- "The Face of Lucha Underground"
- "The Mayor of Slamtown"
- "The New Face of Extreme"
- "The Prince of Parkour"
- "The Shaman of Sexy"
- Entrance themes
- "Monday Night Nitro Theme" by Jonathan Elias (WWE)
- "Paparazzi" by Jim Johnston (WWE; used while a part of MNM)
- "Ain't No Make Believe (Instrumental)" by Jim Johnston (WWE)
- "Ain't No Make Believe" by Stonefree Experience and Jim Johnston (WWE)
- "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen (AAA)
- "Welcome to Slamtown" by Johnny Mundo (LU)
- "American Luchadore" by Dale Oliver (Impact)
Championships and accomplishments
- 5 Star Wrestling
- 5 Star Wrestling Championship (1 time)
- One Night Tournament (2017)
- Continental Wrestling Federation
- CWF United States Championship (1 time)
- DDT Pro-Wrestling
- Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time)
- European Pro Wrestling
- EPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Family Wrestling Entertainment
- FWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Next Generation Wrestling
- NGW World Championship (1 time)
- NGW World Title Tournament (2013)
- Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
- AAA Mega Championship (1 time)
- AAA Latin American Championship (1 time)
- AAA World Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
- Lucha Libre World Cup (2016 Men's Division) - with Chavo Guerrero Jr. and Brian Cage
- Lucha Underground
- Lucha Underground Championship (1 time)
- Lucha Underground Gift of the Gods Championship (1 time)
- Lucha Underground Trios Championship (1 time) - with Jack Evans and PJ Black
- Second Triple Crown Champion
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Joey Matthews
- Pacific Coast Wrestling
- PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2009)
- Tag Team of the Year (2005) - with Joey Mercury
- Ranked No. 24 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
- Qatar Pro Wrestling
- QPW Souq Waqif Championship (1 time, current)
- QPW Souq Waqif Title Tournament (2015)
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- ECW World Championship (1 time)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (3 times)
- World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Miz
- WWE Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Joey Mercury (3) and The Miz (1)
- ECW World Championship Tournament (2007)
- Tough Enough III with Matt Cappotelli
- Slammy Award (2 times)
- Tag Team of the Year (2008) - with The Miz
- Best WWE.com Exclusive (2008) - with The Miz
- World Wrestling Fan Xperience
- WWFX Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Tag Team of the Year (2008) - with The Miz
Luchas de Apuestas record
1 The episode aired on tape delay on October 18, 2017.
References
External links
- Impact wrestling profile
- Online World of Wrestling profile
- Slam! Sports bio and story archive
- John Morrison on IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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