WWE hasn't exactly done Liv Morgan any favors with how they've booked her since winning the SmackDown Women's Championship at Money In The Bank in early July, and Shayna Baszler is looking to leverage that fact to garner heat. Triple H did his best to put Liv over while protecting Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam, but the move backfired. Morgan was clearly tapping out before the referee counted to three, and even though The Baddest Woman Alive is supposed to be a heel now, fans have been chanting her name at shows.
This puts WWE in a tough spot with Morgan, who was receiving large pops only a few weeks ago. The Miracle Kid run started well enough, and the ovation she received at the Money In The Bank premium live event upon cashing in her briefcase was fantastic. Yet protecting Rousey's aura was deemed more important than giving Morgan a clean win at SummerSlam, so much so that some pundits have wondered whether backstage politics played a role in the finish. Now she'll have to take on Baszler at Clash At The Castle next month, and her title reign could very well end in the United Kingdom.
Leaning heavily into her heel persona, The Queen Of Spades recently spoke on WWE's The Bump and had this to say about Morgan's fans following her SummerSlam victory. "The slow-mo was played. She tapped before the third count dropped. You can, 'Oh, the ref's decision is final,' sure. But the fact of the matter remains, she knows she tapped. We all can see in slow-motion that she tapped. The fact that she has a fandom that's claiming that I'm the one's wrong about that? That's your hero? That's how you want your hero to be, to skate by on a technicality and not be legit? Nah, not for me and not my nieces. They're gonna look at someone like me, who leaves no question." She then made a prediction for their upcoming title match. "You will tap, or you will take a nap, or your bones will snap. There's no question. That's a champion. Her fans clearly, she has the group of the WWE Universe that know nothing about wrestling. So that's the only excuse I see." (h/t and a thank you to Fightful.com for the transcription)
Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey Is Found Money On SmackDown
It'll be interesting to see how Triple H handles the fans turning on Liv Morgan. Vince McMahon probably would have stubbornly ignored the boos, manipulating the audio to lessen their impact and hoping fans would eventually change their minds. That seldom worked in WWE's favor, and it probably wouldn't work with Liv.
Ronda is kayfabe suspended for her actions at SummerSlam but could return to challenge Baszler should she win at the upcoming premium live event. The right move might be to get the title off of her at Clash At The Castle, resetting her character and allowing her to be a former women's champion who could later challenge for the belt. That could set up a feud between Baszler and Rousey, two of the most legit professional wrestlers on WWE's roster.
Sources: WWE's The Bump, Fightful.com