This past Sunday on the WWE Network, the special documentary “Liv Forever” aired. It was an in-depth look at Liv Morgan and her career to this point. From her childhood to WWE being her dream, all the way to months of difficulty trying to get on television as a weekly character. It opened the eyes of many fans in a number of ways, for better or worse. Better is that Morgan earned plenty of fans after detailing her story and being someone that people should want to cheer for. Worse because it opened up a can of worms that is the brutality of the WWE creative team and it’s handling of the superstars on the roster.
In this analytical piece, we discuss what is to come for Liv Morgan in her future following the documentary, how WWE aired their own flaws on a major scale and why it needs to be fixed, and a little bit more.
Liv Morgan Is Going To Be A Big Star… Maybe Just Not For WWE
The biggest takeaway from “Liv Forever” was simple. Liv Morgan is going to be a star. And even when they hold her back, it’s clear to everyone in the back that works with her that she is. Sami Zayn spoke on Twitter following the release of the doc, stating that he pitched for her to work with him when he became “The Great Liberator.” Zayn, the Intercontinental Champion, is only one of the many vocal people coming from this doc when discussing Liv. Paul Heyman was the director of Raw when he put her on television as Lana‘s secret love. And he explained Morgan was a talent that could not be contained. She’s going to be who she wants to be and no one should stop her. While what he had Morgan do was not to the hopes of anyone, it was a way for her to get on TV again. She enjoyed that for a little bit before detailing that she did not know who she was anymore.
That’s the point you can recognize that someone is special. She knew who she was, and it wasn’t who they wanted to make her be during that time. Her rekindling with Ruby Riott has shown that she can mix the crazy side of her time with the Riott Squad and the confident side of her solo act earlier in 2020 to be a true star. We see it every outing now. Add in the fact that she is very good in the ring and you know she is destined for greatness. But the question is this — will she be a star for WWE? Or somewhere else?
The idea is that she can be one of the go-to stars for years to come in WWE’s women’s division. It’s not only the Four Horsewomen who have all the talent in the world, and WWE should see that. This documentary should be the launching point to send Morgan into the stratosphere considering the fan support and ability she holds. She has the support of her peers as well, and if WWE doesn’t want to work with that, then maybe she can go somewhere else and shine. Morgan is good to go anywhere.
AEW has been in need of someone to really take over and be a star for them and their division. Morgan fills that billing if she were to move on from WWE. IMPACT Wrestling should never say no to someone with the talent of Morgan, who would have some killer matches with the likes of Deonna Purrazzo, Jordynne Grace, and Su Yung. Liv has always been good at matching crazy, so why wouldn’t a feud with Yung be good? It’d be fantastic. And this one may stun some people, but we have said it before in an article detailing WWE stars who could leave and have a better time elsewhere. That place is Stardom, who have always been fans of gaijin coming in and competing with the likes of Mayu Iwatani and Kagetsu at the top of the card for the World of Stardom Championship. And while pushing her to the top of the card instantly is not the way, she can certainly reach that point. She is far better than Bea Priestley, who named herself the “Top Gaijin.” Jokes on her, Morgan would be that by simply stepping foot in Stardom.
The point here is this: Liv Morgan is going to be a star in professional wrestling for years to come. She wants this. She wants to be at the top and shine in the world she loves. Will that success comes in WWE? That’s what we’re not sure of at this time. Hopefully, “Liv Forever” serves as a leaping point for the uberly talented Morgan. It’d only be right.
WWE Creative Is Broken — Can It Plausibly Be Fixed?
Ah, now the ugly. If you have been online since this documentary aired, you have an idea of where this is going. The handling of Liv Morgan was wrong from the moment they broke up the Riott Squad in the WWE Draft. She was left off of TV for 13 weeks before coming back to be taken off again. Then there’s the moment they were finally going to let her wrestle in front of a live audience in a dark match and canceled it 45 seconds before it happened, citing that the audience could not see Liv until she was in her “final form.” Talk about getting someone’s hopes up. This led to her being left off of TV until getting drafted over to Raw, where she would appear during Lana and Bobby Lashley’s wedding. A mess. And it’s all on WWE’s creative team and nothing on Morgan. What she did was pitch ideas to get her on TV and improve at the Performance Center. Something that not all may be willing to do because they become lost due to this creative team.
When we say creative team, it starts with Vince McMahon, and no one else really matters after that. He made the call to keep Morgan off of TV and never felt necessary to write her in. Instead, he had his lackeys, aka Michael P.S. Hayes, tells Morgan she couldn’t show up until they had her next step fully ready. We learned there was never a “final form” the moment Paul Heyman sent her out during the wedding. And you have to wonder how people work for this company unless you are a chosen one. Even if you are a chosen one of someone like Triple H, that doesn’t mean McMahon will like you. We can get into things like this now that WWE showed it so blatantly on their own Network. There’s a problem in the creative process and it starts at the top. Blaming the wrestlers should only come into effect when they re-sign with this company to continuously endure this pain and suffering to their careers.
Can it be fixed, though? Unfortunately, we don’t have those answers until McMahon finally steps away for good. But there should be a belief that when the day comes, something new will happen. Writers will be able to be creative and not cater to one man, but millions around the world who watch the product. And that has been the truth for a long time.
Documentary Backs Up The Words Of Those Who Have Left The Company
“We know what their problem is. It’s one person, three letters: V-K-M,” Jon Moxley said in an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio. “That’s the problem. Until he’s gone, or relinquishes control, it’s just not gonna change.”
Everything rings true after watching this documentary. We see a talent that isn’t featured in any way express her career to this point and the troubles she faces when trying to get on TV and show that she can shine. Jon Moxley has been one of the main names in the past that have said where the problem lies is with McMahon. And he was a main event star for the company. Miro (fka Rusev) has gone on record of talking about his problems of getting “Rusev Day” off the ground and the creative of the company sending it right back down.
WWE was just willing to put this on their own Network, and that’s on them. But perhaps it can be a major piece of the hopeful fix. If you broadcast to the world how difficult it was for this one talent to get over on her own and get on TV, then you open up the clear idea that it is the same for a lot of others as well. There’s a list of those who have left WWE because they requested their release or simply waited for their contracts to expire. FTR, Mike Bennett, Brodie Lee, Shawn Spears, and Sin Cara are all names within the past year to have requested and eventually been given their release because their directions were either ill or going absolutely nowhere. They wanted to be free. And it shows that this documentary backed everything up they have ever said.
We don’t need another wrestler to go on a podcast to air their grievances to understand that this isn’t an easy place to work unless you are at the top of the card. No more do we need to see the singing of praises for WWE by Seth Rollins to understand this isn’t an ideal home to work. They detailed that on their own Network. And it’s the reason many more will go if it does not change.
What Didn’t We See About Liv’s Struggles In The Company She Works For
The final piece of the puzzle to this documentary is simple. What did they leave out. They have shown bonus clips on their YouTube channel so far, but there was far more hardship than they wanted to display of Liv’s time during these 16 months. Even if the documentary showed the ins and outs of how this creative team works, it held back much more than fans can imagine. That’s how WWE has always worked. Liv Morgan can be happy as much as she wants to be working with Ruby Riott again, but there has to be a reluctance to be completely satisfied after these mishandlings of her for a year. There won’t be any way of knowing until Morgan or a friend speaks out about the whole ordeal. You could not fully display those 16 months in 42 minutes. Which makes us suspect there’s still more to this.
All we can hope is that Liv Morgan gets to rise up the ranks following this. Otherwise, what’s the point of the documentary to begin with? You have fans wanting to see her succeed, rise, and shine. So do it. That’s the only positive takeaway we can expect right now. But just remember, there’s always more to the story when it comes to WWE.
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