After Mercury's departure, Nitro also ended his association with Melina. Nitro was placed in a tag team with Kenny Dykstra, until the 2007 WWE draft, during which Nitro was drafted to the ECW brand. Nitro made his debut for the brand on the June 19 episode of "ECW", with a win over Nunzio, and few days later, on June 24, at , he won the vacant ECW World Championship by defeating CM Punk, replacing the absent Chris Benoit due to his double-murder suicide. A few weeks after winning the title, Nitro was repackaged as John Morrison, a reference to musician Jim Morrison, to whom Hennigan bears a strong physical resemblance. In the months to come, Morrison would retain the championship against Punk at The Great American Bash in July, and SummerSlam in August. Punk would again challenge for the championship on the September 4 episode of "ECW", in which Morrison lost the championship to Punk, ending his reign at 69 days. Morrison was then suspended for thirty days for violating WWE's Wellness Program, renewing his feud with Punk upon his return, as well as competing against The Miz for the number one contendership to the title.