Kerry Morton Is Carrying The Morton Family Legacy His Own Way (Exclusive)

When your last name is Morton and you're in the pro wrestling business, you're saddled with expectations whether you want them or not.

Kerry Morton understands that reality.

His father was Ricky Morton, one of the most beloved babyfaces in the history of wrestling and one half of the legendary tag team, the Rock N Roll Express. Ricky Morton set the bar for his family in the wrestling business. He worked with the biggest stars in the industry including Ric Flair, Tommy Rich, the Four Horsemen, and others. Kerry Morton is ready to raise that bar even higher.

In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Morton opened up on working in his father's shadow, his history in the wrestling business, JCW, and the responsibility he feels to the industry that gave his family all that it has.

"My father is my role model. He's my hero," Morton said. "My grandfather wrestled, my father, to now myself. So, it's a family lineage at this point. It's been carried on through the years and it's something to keep building. I'm proud to carry on the legacy and I'm doing it my way. And with that, there's ups and downs, but I have some big shoes to fill. I'm aware of that and I'm taking it inch by inch. I'm enjoying what I'm doing and what I'm bringing to the table."

What exactly is "his" way? Just being himself.

"I'm not the guy that's gonna go out there and clap and cheer and ask the fans to come on or make some noise for me or whatnot," Morton said. "I go out there and do the polar opposite. It just depends on what mood I'm in that day ... We go through these emotions and I try to express that as best as I can in the world of of what we do."

JCW is home for Kerry Morton

Right now, the Morton spends most of his time in the NWA and in JCW. Both promotions are important to him and he's signed to an NWA contract, but JCW very much feels like a home promotion.

"I genuinely think it's an honor," Morton said of working with JCW. "I love what I get to do there. I get to be loud and creative and be my own self. So, yeah, I definitely would say it's home. I think it's certainly a home, aside from where I'm at with the National Wrestling Alliance too. I get the best of both worlds. I get to have fun over here and then go to the National Wrestling Alliance. I could be seen on two different platforms, which is everything for a (young) wrestler breaking into the business. We just want attention. We we want people to watch us."

The weekly JCW show is called Lunacy and it airs on YouTube every Thursday evening. The show has seen quite a few changes in the last four months, including a new and polarizing figure in the creative room Vince Russo joined the promotion as an on-screen character and writer, but Morton says working with him has been a thrill.

"When Vince walked straight in the door, he gave me nothing but respect," Morton said. "And for someone that's 24 years old and as young as I am in this business, that's hard to come by ... That was something that meant a lot to me immediately. This man that has been there and done that and wrote these crazy story lines. It's hard to come by, especially in wrestling, is earning the vets respect, genuinely earning their respect.

"When that happened (with Russo), immediately, it was that was kind of a relief. And he's like, you're great. I love what you're doing and what you're bringing, so we're going to advance. He was really cool with the scripts and he's producing the show, but when it comes to my segments, it's have fun. And that's a lot of trust, especially for someone that's 24 and I'm aware of that. This man is giving me all this trust to do what I want to do and say what I kind of want to say."

In the end, it's about the Morton family legacy and lineage in pro wrestling. Kerry Morton is doing it his own way, but says he absolutely has a responsibility to his family and the business. Morton said that unique advice from his father reminded him how to pay that off properly.

𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓮𝓶 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 🦋 pic.twitter.com/rITbeYFJ2f
— 𝐊𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧 (@RealKerryMorton) June 23, 2024

"I'm not everybody's cup of coffee and I'm aware of that," Morton said. I try to be different and I try to hone into my roots of what I'm good at and go from there. That's something my father has always preached to me about. He's like, don't be anybody that you're not. Do what you're good at doing and make the most out of it. And that's where I am.

"So, I don't think it's necessarily responsibility. It's for the love of the game. And I absolutely treasure and adore this business. I'm proud to carry on the Morton lineage."