Source: Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald
Matt Morgan, The Blue Print, The DNA of TNA. This jacked, 7-0, 330-pound, intelligent athlete is all that and more.
He is also flesh and blood, heart and soul.
So when Morgan captured his first major title in this business — partnering with the impressive Hernandez for TNA tag team gold on Sunday, Jan. 17 during TNA’s pay-per-view Genesis — he clutched the belt, peered into the television camera and dedicated the victory to his biggest fan — his father.
Since he debuted in 2002, Morgan has longed for this moment as has his dad. Eight years later and after beating the talented British Invasion (Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams), it became an extremely emotional moment for the agile big man.
“My father is in a hospital with brain cancer,” Morgan said. “We just found this out on Monday [Jan. 11]. I flew out there, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and been with him at the hospital. I got back here the day [Jan. 17] of the [Genesis] pay-per-view, and my mind was in left field. It still is right now. He’s still hooked up to a ventilator.
“My dad has waited eight long years to see me win a title. He really has. Next to my wife, he’s my biggest supporter. My dad’s the guy who sits at home and Google searches me on the computer. DVRs everything. Rewinds it. Plays it. Calls me, says, `Congratulations. You did great,’ and I miss that this time.”
Morgan kept composed until he clutched that TNA tag strap.
“I started to break down after the match was done, and I gave him a little shout out on camera,” Morgan said. “That was to him, and my family all called me crying because they could read my mouth. They were like, `He will see it. We’ll get him through this. He’s going to get through this. You’ll see.’
Morgan updated his father’s status.
“Right now, it’s not looking great [for him],” Morgan said. “So it was very emotional — not just because it was my first major title win. That was emotional in itself. It was. I was very proud of that accomplishment and to do it with Hernandez meant more because he is a good friend of mine, but because my dad couldn’t see it really eats me up inside. It kills me.”
Morgan is appreciative and thankful for TNA President Dixie Carter. She is more than a company president to him.
“Dixie Carter is so cool,” he said. “I can’t begin to tell you what she has done for my family. She’s done a lot for me and my family that people don’t know about. She is an amazing woman. She really is. She’s not just my boss. She’s a good friend.
“One of the things she promised, she said, `We’ll get him a DVD, Matt, and he will pull through. We’re sending it to him as we speak. It’s being sent to your house, and your mom will take it, bring it and show it to him, when he’s able to see it.’
“That means a lot to me. I didn’t ask her to do that. She did that. Where does that happen? That doesn’t happen anywhere else.”
Morgan, who spent time in WWE with a stuttering gimmick, puts his TNA career choice into proper perspective.
“People that think they know what’s best for my career, like I don’t, apparently,” he said. “They will beg and plead with me to go back to WWE. They think I’m crazy for not doing it and why wouldn’t I do it especially right now while I’m hot. Well, it’s because of things like that, what Dixie Carter did for me.
“Physically, I would run through that wall for her, if she told me to. I really would. You can’t put a price tag on that. You can not. I’m so emotionally invested. She’s a good person.”
The rest of this story can be read here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/other/story/1437111.html
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