John Morrison returned to WWE television on the January 3 episode of SmackDown, emerging from The Miz' locker room. Since he's been back on television, Miz & Morrison have reunited and are back on top of the tag team division as the SmackDown Tag Team Champions.
Morrison's first run in WWE began in 2002 on Tough Enough and lasted through 2011 when his contract expired.
Appearing on the Keepin' It 100 podcast, Morrison discussed the differences in the WWE culture then and now.
"The backstage culture, it seems like there are less assholes there now, but then I was like, 'I wonder if I'm the asshole.' The whole idea of hazing and paying your dues and getting your ass kicked every day, those times have changed. It also feels like there's a lot of guys that are similar. We have this term we came up with called 'pump kickers.' It's lazy. There's a lot of pump kickers. I'm a leg slapper. There's a grit factor that you can't learn at the PC when you're under contract. Being on a 12-hour van ride driving across Mexico to make a town, that type of culture, when you go through that, it gives you a grit that you can't learn at developmental. It gives you a 'no fucks given' confidence when you come out," he said.
Morrison, along with the rest of the WWE talent and staff, has been working at the Performance Center due to the coronavirus pandemic. Morrison successfully retained the SmackDown Tag Team Titles in a triple threat ladder match against Kofi Kingston and Jimmy Uso.
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