Matt Morgan, District 4 Commissioner
Former WWE and TNA star Matt Morgan will make his in-ring return tonight at the Seminole Showdown, a charitable event where he will take on Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson.
Morgan’s comeback match will be for a good cause as the event looks to fundraise for AdventHealth, which offers treatment for opioid addiction. The CDC estimates that opioid misuse costs the United States
WWE addressed this issue head-on beginning in 2009, when the promotion began offering free drug rehabilitation to any former WWE Superstars who needed it. Though Morgan himself overcame opioid addiction on his own, he feels WWE has been part of the solution to this chilling epidemic.
“I think WWE has done an amazing job, quite frankly, of offering rehabilitation to past wrestlers,” said Morgan in a sit-down interview.
“When they started offering [free rehabilitation], I had just gotten clean. I was probably about a year or two clean at this point, so I didn’t get a chance to use that. But many of my friends, who worked for WWE, have. The big takeaway is this: Nobody puts a gun to your head and tells you ‘hey, you need to use drugs if you want to be performing your job.’ Nobody forces you to do that, that is a grown man decision that I made on my own.”
Now clean and sober, not only did Morgan buck the trend of the tragic wrestler—some of whom will be featured in the upcoming third season of Dark Side of the Ring–Morgan has since thrived in the political arena. Like former Governor of Minnesota Jesse “The Body” Ventura before him, and Mayor Kane (Knox County) after him, Morgan is an elected official and public servant. A former Mayor of Longwood in 2017, Morgan currently serves as District 4 Commissioner. With 46% of U.S. adults supporting a presidential bid for The Rock, Morgan would like to see more pro wrestlers transitioning into politics.
Seminole ShowDown on April 10
“In politics, you have guys and gals who have been groomed since college as the golden boy or the golden girl, of whatever party, that has been groomed to do this. People don’t want that,” said Morgan.
“You know what a resident wants? A resident wants a normal, run-of-the-mill resident like themselves who’s facing the same issue that they’ve faced. And they don’t have to worry about you being in bed with some political affiliation that has been grooming you for this position for years, because you lose yourself at that point.”
Even as a seven-foot tall former college athlete who reached the highest of highs in national pro wrestling, Morgan blends right in with his community of Longwood. At one point, Morgan even paused our interview to briefly interface with a local resident. That natural connection with everyday people is an advantage he sees among his pro wrestling brethren that can translate to success in the political realm.
“With wrestlers, we have a backbone, we have a spine. The big part of it is emotional investment,” said Morgan.
“As a pro wrestler, what are you trained to do? You are trained to go out there, and make an audience emotionally invest in you. So, who better to go out there, knock on doors and get residents to not only emotionally invest in that wrestler to run for office one day, but vice versa? The wrestler, right back, emotionally invests in those residents just like we did in our fans as wrestlers.”
Despite his political commitments, Morgan still makes time for pro wrestling, which he continues to enjoy with his family ahead of WrestleMania 37.
“I’m still an avid wrestling fan, I watch it with my son,” said Morgan.
“This year’s WrestleMania doesn’t feel like normal WrestleManias of the past; that feeling that you normally get going into it. But, I’m excited that they’re doing two nights worth, I think that’s a genius idea. I’m most excited to see Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks, I definitely want to see that match, that’s my No. 1 match I wanna see.”
“I really wanted to see Edge vs. Roman—I still think that should have been a singles match if I’m being honest, because Roman needs to continue to do his dominating character that he’s been playing, and doing such a great job. I love watching this Roman Reigns heel act, I absolutely love it. I think it’s some of the best stuff in wrestling. Throwing Daniel Bryan into the mix, come on, its Daniel Bryan, everybody wants to see Daniel Bryan even me.”
WrestleMania 37 featuring Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns vs. Edge
An innovative big-man, Morgan earned the nickname “The Blueprint” as a nod to his clearly impressive genetics that would see Morgan deliver bicycle kicks among a host of highly athletic moves that big men of generation’s past simply couldn’t do. Though he enjoys the continued evolution of big men in wrestling present day, he sees the most potential the newly minted NXT women’s champion Raquel Gonzalez.
“I’m a huge Raquel fan, I love how big she works,” said Morgan.
“She’s going to be a Hall of Famer. I know it’s hard to tell, but if this is where she’s at this early in her tutelage, and understanding the psychology of the business, oh my God! Her potential is limitless.”
The Seminole ShowDown takes place at the Orlando Sanford International Airport on April 10 at 6 pm EST. For more information, visit Seminoleshowdown.com.
