Former WWE Star Explains How Upcoming Boxing Debut Came Together

WWE

A former WWE star explains how his upcoming boxing debut came together.

John Hennigan, formerly known as John Morrison in WWE, has spent his 20 year career wrestling around the world for multiple promotions, such as AEW, IMPACT Wrestling, AAA and more. After two decades in the business, Hennigan is expanding his resume outside of wrestling and heading into the boxing ring.

On Saturday, April 15, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion will have his first officially sanctioned boxing fight at Creator Clash 2 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

In a new interview with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, Hennigan explained how his boxing debut came together. After cornering fighter Nathan Barnatt at the first Creator Clash event, John stated:

“At the time, I didn’t realize how big the event was gonna be, but I was excited to watch him fight in his first fight. When I went and saw how well he did and how excited everyone was…all the influencers who fought in Creator Clash 1 had a really good time.”

When the showrunners were putting together the card for Creator Clash 2, Hennigan was asked if he wanted to take part in it.

Joking that he felt the additional pressure to win the match given that he is a wrestler, especially from his wife Taya Valkyrie, Hennigan said:

“My wife (said) if I lose, expect to get knocked out twice on April 15th because she’s gonna knock me out.”

Hennigan revealed that he is training with former UFC Heavyweight Champion and fellow pro wrestler Josh Barnett for the fight. Sharing the very honest thing Barnett told him beforehand, John said:

“When I asked him to train me, he said, ‘Sure John, I’ll train you but just so you know, boxing is your worst thing. He’s not wrong. I was like, ‘Josh, I know it’s my worst thing. That’s why I need you train me.” 

“It’s been fun: not just learning a new skill, but being under the gun, being forced to learn.”

“I forced myself (into this) by putting pressure on myself by taking this fight which I feel is kind of a fun thing to have this crazy goal and this date hanging over my head which makes me extra motivated to train every day.”

Discussing how nervous he is for this fight compared to any wrestling match, Hennigan admitted:

“I think I am more nervous for this than I have been for a wrestling match in a long time because when I wrestle, I am very confident in my ability.”

“I don’t have that confidence yet since I am just learning this craft. It’s fun and I like learning.”

Transcription via F4WOnline

Think you’re a wrestling mastermind? Well you can prove it by taking quizzes in our brand new quiz section! Don’t forget to tweet us your results!

• boxing
• John Hennigan
• John Morrison
• wwe

Share this article with friends