Former WWE Star Turned Down Surprise Return To The Company

WWE

A former WWE star has revealed they turned down a surprise return to the company during the 2014 Royal Rumble match.

The first major PLE of the year, the Royal Rumble features a titular match that commonly sees a number of former stars make appearances.

During a recent interview with Wrestling Life Online, former WWE star Matt Morgan revealed that he had agreed a return to the company, almost a decade on from departing in 2005.

Speaking about his decision to retire from in-ring action after becoming a parent Morgan said:

“I thought I’d go through it. Like for example, when I was graduating college, I was no longer going to be a basketball player. That had been my whole identity up until then. I had this weird crisis going on of what am I going to be known as now? Just the big tall, big jacked guy? What am I gonna be known as?

“It was a weird thing to try to get used to, and I thought I’d go through it even worse with pro wrestling, that being my identity for 12 years. And now I retire, what am I? And then once I had Jackson, that’s what changed everything in my head. It just completely changed everything completely. I didn’t have that identity crisis I thought I was going to have because I threw everything I could into the being the dad. And then when he gets diagnosed two and a half years later after being born – his diagnosis is technically moderate to severe on the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) spectrum – all my eggs in that basket obviously.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Morgan would then reveal that the birth of his son came at the same time he was set to return to WWE, but he opted against re-signing with the company after holding his newborn for the first time.

Morgan explained:

“And here’s what a lot of fans don’t know. How about this one for timing? I was scheduled to go back to WWE for Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant, January 2014. And it was January 20-something, if I remember correctly. They were going to let me be The Blueprint everything. I was so pumped.

“He gets delivered into the delivery room and I get a chance to hold him, and that’s what I’m saying literally the switch goes off, I’m done. I need to be a dad now.

“So I call Vince, and I tell him what’s happening, how long it took us. It took us like over a decade to even have him. Failed seven bouts of IVF with ICSIs (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection). Seven. It did not work. So imagine all of that and getting a chance to come back, and then I decide not to.

“So it wasn’t just stepping away, it was stepping away when I was supposed to debut in WWE as The Blueprint Matt Morgan, that originated in OVW, believe it or not.” 

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

With Morgan informing Vince McMahon of his decision to not appear, the star would go on to reveal the former WWE Chairman’s reaction, saying:

“I thought it was going to be a lot tougher, but it wasn’t. When I told him, he was thinking, well, if you don’t want to come back, just say it. ‘No, no, no, no, I really wanted to come back. I got new gear made, new boots, everything. I wanted to change up my look a little but stick with The Blueprint persona.

“The way I explained it to him was it took us over a decade to get here, and now I have this little guy in my hands right now for the very first time; this is after holding my son. I called him from the hospital and said, ‘Is there any way I can get out of this? I hate to say it this way, but not come?’ And his first issue was, ok what happens, you going back to TNA or something, Japan? No, I’m done. I’m not going anywhere. I might to a couple indie shots here or there, but I’m done.

“And he was like, ‘I wish you all the luck. I think that’s incredible. I think it’s a very responsible decision by you and I’m pretty impressed, and I just want to say good luck.’”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

Morgan would return to TNA Wrestling in 2015, eventually retiring four years later with his last match taking place at SCW Reiter Park Rumble on March 16, 2019.

Having signed with WWE in April 2002, Morgan would come up through the OVW developmental territory, heading to the main roster the following year before returning to Ohio Valley Wrestling and eventually being released in July 2005.

What Could Have Been

Billed at 7ft in height and a powerhouse of a star, with an elite sports background, Matt Morgan had all the tools at his disposal to become a top WWE star, despite working with many of the top stars of the early 2000s.

Outside of WWE, he would fare better over in TNA Wrestling, being a two-time World Tag Team Champion alongside fellow powerhouse performers, Hernandez and Crimson, with Ring Ka King seeing him become RKK Heavyweight Champion.

A January 2014 reappearance in WWE would have seen the star in his late thirties, and it would have been interesting to see how he would have handled himself in a Royal Rumble match that saw Batista win and a field that included the likes of Big E Langston, Roman Reigns, Kevin Nash, The Great Khali, Kane, JBL and Alexander Rusev as the “big men”.

Morgan found his name accidentally mentioned on commentary at WrestleMania 42, thanks to Wade Barrett.

The current commissioner of Longwood, Florida, a wrestling career is certainly now in the rearview mirror for ‘The Blueprint.’

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!

• wwe
• Royal Rumble
• Matt Morgan

Share this article with friends