W. Morrisey, formerly known as WWE’s Big Cass, made a surprise appearance at IMPACT Rebellion and shocked fans by joining Violent By Design!
The seven-foot star, who recently returned to wrestling after successfully battling addiction, was set to debut for IMPACT “imminently” as first reported by ITR’s own Gary Cassidy. However, it was unclear whether he’d first appear at the Rebellion pay-per-view or at a future IMPACT television taping.
With Eric Young unable to compete due to a torn ACL, he revealed his hand-picked replacement for the 8-man tag between James Storm, Eddie Edwards, Chris Sabin and Willie Mack against Young’s stable Violent By Design in the form of the former WWE star.
Making his presence felt, Morrisey would dominate over his opponents and pick up the win for the team with a big boot followed up by the East River Crossing on Mack – even going as far as to beat him down after the bell!
.@TheCaZXL is taking @TheEricYoung's place in this match! #IMPACTRebellionpic.twitter.com/peTpojuNC8
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) April 26, 2021
Cass made his first public appearance since September 2019 at fellow IMPACT star ‘The Big LG’ Doc Gallows’ Lariato Pro Wrestling event in February. The return received a standing ovation when the seven-foot-tall star appeared to save former tag team partner Enzo Amore, now known as nZo. He’s since appeared alongside Melina on the indies.
The now-IMPACT star was released from WWE in June 2018, and has been vocal about fighting his own personal battles outside of the ring – even enlisting the help of WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page while discussing his fight with depression and anxiety.
“When I was with WWE I had responsibility. I had to get on a plane every Saturday and do house shows and then go to TV. Once that responsibility went away, I had an apartment to live in, I had money in the bank, I had a car, I had everything I needed. I had no motivation to do anything. So I just drank all day after my release.”
“I think I had a problem way before. The release gave me the opportunity to live that way with no responsibilities, which is a horrible thing for an addict. 2017 was when it started to go downhill. You’re wearing a mask, you’re hiding and you’re making everybody think you’re ok. You drink in your room and you make sure that nobody sees you. There were so many things going on mentally, I was really struggling but I didn’t want to say anything. It shouldn’t be embarrassing but I was embarrassed and humiliated. I guess there’s a stigma around mental health, which is ‘toughen up’. Especially in wrestling or any kind of tough person business. It was telling myself ‘Just toughen up.’ But that’s the wrong way to go about things.”
Elsewhere on Rebellion: Josh Alexander defeated both Ace Austin and TJP to win the X-Division Championship for the first time and Kenny Omega became a triple world champion by winning the IMPACT World title!
Fans in the UK can rewatch everything that went down at Rebellion via FITE.