As a longtime combat sports aficionado, my personal feelings about celebrity boxing are decidedly mixed. There are times when it’s undeniably fun, however, and Saturday night provided one of those with a direct pro wrestling link at Creator Clash 2.
The card at Amalie Arena in Tampa featured John Randall Hennigan, better known to WWE fans as John Morrison, making his boxing debut, facing Harley Morenstein, the co-creator and host of “Epic Meal Time.” The WWE connection was played up throughout the event, with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan accompanying Hennigan to the ring.
Though Morenstein had a six-inch height advantage on Hennigan, the wrestler with legit fight training in his past was able to carry most of the action. After two knockdowns in the first two rounds, Hennigan landed a jab along the ropes and followed with a big right hand that ended it.
Jake Paul better watch out John Hennigan gonna KO him #CreatorClash2 #JakePaul pic.twitter.com/4T5UVV5R9o
— Young Chove 15 (@YoungChove2015) April 16, 2023
As is typical with these things, Hennigan called out KSI afterward after mentioning both Jake and Logan Paul. That’s simply good business, one would think, and it’s not like he needs any help with post-match promos.
John Morrison has challenged KSI #CreatorClash2 pic.twitter.com/1PanFhIjQK
— Marcel (@MarcelsNirvana) April 16, 2023
It’s important to note in all of this that the Creator Clash events aren’t meant simply to line the pockets of social media stars and influencers, but actually raise money for a number of worthy charities. In other words, if you find yourself unable to ignore celebrity boxing cards altogether, these are the kind you can watch and not feel horrible about yourself for spending money on after the fact.
And in any case, while no one is going to suggest that Hennigan should take up boxing as a full time gig (especially since he’s already 43), at least he upheld the honor of WWE and pro wrestling in general and didn’t lose to the host of a video series about food. That would really have been embarrassing.