Smackdown! entertains wrestling fans

• By LISA TRAMONTANA
• Advocate News Features staff
• Published: Jul 4, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 am

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The shaman of sexy!

The guru of greatness!

John Morrison doesn’t even blush when he’s introduced this way. Instead, the 28-year-old gets an adrenaline rush when he hears those words … usually on a stage in front of thousands of wrestling fans.

Morrison is among an impressive list of champion wrestlers who will be at the Baton Rouge River Center on Tuesday, July 8, for World Wrestling Entertainment Smackdown! and Extreme Championship Wrestling. It’s a special event that will be taped and televised.

Morrison can’t wait. “You feed off the crowd’s energy,” he said. “You go with the flow. You feel the passion.”

Championship wrestling, which combines art, sport and mock combat, has taken on a soap opera quality that appeals to fans of all ages and backgrounds. Fans can tick off the names of their favorite wrestlers, their musical themes, their signature moves, their histories and their current rivalries.

Some of the wrestling superstars that will make their way to Baton Rouge next week are Batista, Edge, Matt Hardy, MVP, The Great Khali, The Big Show, Finlay with Hornswoggle, CM Punk, Kane, Chavo Guerrero and many others.

 Apparently, the action never gets old.

“It’s like surfing where no wave is the same,” Morrison said. “In wrestling, no crowd is the same and no match is the same. It always ends up being spontaneous. I never get tired of stepping onto that stage.”

There are drawbacks, though, not the least of which is the traveling that goes on for 260 days a year. “It’s hard to have a normal life, that’s for sure,” Morrison said. “And it’s hard to have to work out when you’re tired and aching. But then you get in front of the fans and you feel that rush again.”   

Morrison was a high school wrestler who also dabbled in martial arts. In 2003, he won a 5-year wrestling contract after winning on the MTV reality show Tough Enough. Eventually, he was paired with “chick magnet” MIZ.

“We were put together eight months ago,” Morrison said, “and we really work well together. We’ve probably had 100 matches now. We work hard on our chemistry and perfecting our game. I think we’ve evolved into one of the best tag teams in WWE history.”

Time will tell.