"He looks like Matt Hardy" - Former WWE Superstar opens up about backstage issues with MNM

Tommy Dreamer says WWE's John Laurinaitis wasn't a big fan of Joey Mercury.

Johnny Jeter was the most recent guest on the House of Hardcore podcast with Tommy Dreamer to discuss various subjects. During the discussion, Dreamer revealed Johnny Jeter got a call up to team with John Morrison in MNM before the tag team's official debut because Laurinaitis didn't like the way Mercury looked.

"I remember specifically, John Laurinaitis was not a fan of MNM. They loved MNM, but he wasn't a fan of Joey Mercury. He said, 'He has a plain look. He looks like Matt Hardy.' I remember Morrison had come up with the whole idea," Tommy Dreamer revealed. "They tried to replace Joey Mercury with everybody. I think you [Johnny Jeter] got a call to tag up with him once. I'm explaining the system. It was like, ok, we want to call this guy up but we don't want this guy. They put Jeter with Morrison. They put Chris Cage with him. Maybe Matt Cappottelli, but then they said no because of Tough Enough. They were trying to put everybody in that spot."

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Tommy Dreamer supported Joey Mercury to make the MNM tag team happen in WWE

However, the Innovator of Violence went to bat for Joey Mercury and made the MNM tag team happen in WWE.

"I had to go to bat and I said, 'Listen, I get that you don’t like Joey Mercury, but just put him in that slot. This is MNM. If it doesn’t work, then just fire him.' You have to have somebody in your corner to push for that," Tommy Dreamer said. "Then MNM worked, and the rest is history. I remember saying this to all of you. I would sit you up on the steps against the ring and I said, 'I will hold your hand up until you get called up to the main roster, and then once you’re up there, you’re swimming with the sharks. It’s kind of like, you’re on your own. I have to let my children fly.' Some made it, some didn’t, but it’s that type of scenario."

What do you make of Tommy Dreamer's comments? Are you surprised that Joey Mercury was almost not a part of the MNM tag team? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

Thanks to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription of the podcast.