professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was establish ...

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. She was raised in nearby

Elmwood Park, New Jersey Elmwood Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, and is a bedroom suburb located from New York City. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 19,403, She has four older brothers and a sister; following the death of Daddio's father, her mother raised all six children as a single mother. Daddio is a longtime fan of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, and would participate in

backyard wrestling Backyard wrestling (BYW), also referred to as yarding or backyarding, is an underground hobby and sport involving untrained practices of Professional wrestling, professional-style wrestling, typically in a low-budget environment, such as a backy ...

with her siblings. She has described the matches as core to start her foray into wrestling: Daddio was a former competitive

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, and worked and modelled for the restaurant chain Hooters.

Professional wrestling career

WWE

NXT (2014–2017)

In 2014, after being discovered at Joe DeFranco's gym in Wyckoff, New Jersey, Daddio signed a contract with WWE, assigning her to their

developmental territory In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a highe ...

,

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

in October 2014. She made her first televised appearance at the NXT TakeOver: Rival pay-per-view on February 11, 2015, as a planted fan who jumped on Tyler Breeze during his entrance. She appeared at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable on May 20, again as part of Breeze's entrance. In October 2015, she briefly worked under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

Marley,jobber and lost to Eva Marie. On the December 2 episode of ''NXT'', Daddio made her return under the new ring name Liv Morgan, losing to Emma. On the January 13, 2016, episode of ''NXT'', Morgan competed in a battle royal to determine the number one contender to Bayley's NXT Women's Championship, which was won by

Carmella Carmella is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Carmella DeCesare, a playmate for ''Playboy'' magazine * Carmella Flöck, a courier for the Austrian Resistance during the Anschluss of 1938–1945. * Carmella Sab ...

. On the August 31 episode of ''NXT'', Morgan picked up her first televised singles win, defeating

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

. She later began a rivalry with The Iconic Duo (

Billie Kay Jessica McKay (born 23 June 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Billie Kay and for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she competed as Jessie McKay. In Jun ...

and

Peyton Royce Cassandra McIntosh (born 10 November 1992) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Peyton Royce and for her time in Impact Wrestling where she performed as Cassie Le ...

), with both women confronting her following her match, leading to a match between Morgan and Kay two weeks later, which Kay won after interference by Royce. She then competed against Royce on the November 16 episode of ''NXT'', which ended in a disqualification after Kay interfered in the match, attacking Morgan and Aliyah until Ember Moon made the save. The three faced off in a six-person tag team match against Kay, Royce, and Daria Berenato on the November 23 episode of ''NXT'', with Morgan's team coming out victorious.

The Riott Squad (2017–2019)

On the November 21, 2017 episode of ''

SmackDown Live ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

'', Morgan made her main roster debut alongside Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan, attacking both Becky Lynch and Naomi, establishing themselves as heels in the process. On the same night, they interrupted a match between SmackDown Women's Champion

Charlotte Flair Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. She is currently inactive. She is a second-genera ...

and Natalya, then proceeded to attack both of them. The following week on ''SmackDown Live'', the trio, now called "The Riott Squad", made their in-ring debuts for the brand, defeating Flair, Naomi, and Natalya in a six-woman tag team match. On January 28, 2018, Morgan participated in the first women's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view as the eleventh entrant, but was eliminated by Michelle McCool. Morgan made her WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania 34 on April 8 by participating in the 20-woman WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, but failed to win the match. On April 16, The Riott Squad were drafted to Raw

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

as part of the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up, and caused the match between Bayley and

Sasha Banks Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks. Banks previously wrestled on ...

to end in a

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant ne ...

. At the inaugural all women's pay-per-view

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

on October 28, The Riott Squad lost to Natalya, Bayley and Sasha Banks. On January 27, 2019, at Royal Rumble, Morgan participated in the women's Royal Rumble match, only to be the first to be eliminated after lasting 8 seconds, setting the record for the shortest time in the women's Royal Rumble match. Morgan and Logan competed in a six-team Elimination Chamber match for the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at the

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

pay-per-view on February 17, where they were the third team eliminated by Nia Jax and

Tamina Sarona Moana Marie Reiher Snuka-Polamalu (born January 10, 1978) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tamina. She is a one-time WWE Women's Tag Team Cham ...

. Morgan competed at

WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was the 35th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place ...

on April 7 in a women's battle royal match that was eventually won by Carmella.

Brand switches (2019–2020)

2019-05-09 21-54-02 SM-G950F 191 DxO (cropped)

On April 16, Morgan was moved to the SmackDown brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up, effectively dissolving The Riott Squad in the process. On the July 16 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', Morgan turned

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

when she confronted Charlotte Flair and faced her in a match, in which Morgan lost by submission. On the October 14 episode of ''Raw'', Morgan was the final overall pick of the year's draft, being drafted back to the Raw brand. Throughout the month of December, vignettes aired promoting Morgan's return. Morgan returned to television on the December 30 episode of ''Raw'', during Bobby Lashley and Lana's storyline wedding, interrupting the proceedings and professing her love for Lana. After Lana subsequently attacked her, she aligned herself with Rusev, who had been feuding with Lana and Lashley, thus cementing her face turn. Morgan defeated Lana on the January 27, 2020, episode of ''Raw'', doing so once again the following week. After her feud with Lana ended, Morgan entered a feud with her former Riott Squad teammate Ruby Riott who turned on her upon returning. On the March 2 episode of Raw, Morgan defeated Riott with Sarah Logan as the special guest referee. At Elimination Chamber on March 8, Morgan entered her second Elimination chamber match, during which she was eliminated by eventual winner Shayna Baszler. On the WrestleMania 36 pre-show on April 5, Morgan defeated Natalya. After WrestleMania, Morgan continued her feud with Riott and defeated her on the April 20 and 27 episodes of Raw respectively.

Reunion with Ruby Riott (2020–2021)

After Morgan lost to Natalya on the June 22 episode of ''Raw'', Ruby Riott attempted to console Morgan backstage after her loss, which she rebuffed. On the August 3 episode of ''Raw'', Riott asked Morgan to join her in reforming the Riott Squad, only to be interrupted by

The IIconics The IIconics are an Australian professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee. They are best known for their time in WWE as The Iconic Duo and later The IIconics, under the individual names of Billie Kay and Peyton ...

, who mocked the two; this led to a tag team match where Morgan and Riott defeated The IIconics. At Payback on August 30, Morgan and Riott (now officially known as The Riott Squad again) defeated

The IIconics The IIconics are an Australian professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee. They are best known for their time in WWE as The Iconic Duo and later The IIconics, under the individual names of Billie Kay and Peyton ...

and once more the following night on Raw, forcing The IIconics to disband, per stipulation. As part of the 2020 Draft in October, Morgan and Riott were drafted to the SmackDown brand. She won a fatal four-way match during her first night on SmackDown after the Draft to qualify for the women's team at Survivor Series on November 22, in which she and her brand partners lost. They challenged for a shot at the Women's Tag Team Championship on the first night of WrestleMania 37 on April 10, but failed to win the match. Riott was released by WWE on June 2, 2021, effectively disbanding The Riott Squad for the second time.

Championship pursuits (2021–2022)

Morgan competed in the

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was establish ...

at the eponymous

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

on July 18, but failed to win the match. At Extreme Rules on September 26, Morgan defeated

Carmella Carmella is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Carmella DeCesare, a playmate for ''Playboy'' magazine * Carmella Flöck, a courier for the Austrian Resistance during the Anschluss of 1938–1945. * Carmella Sab ...

in the pre-show. As part of the 2021 Draft, Morgan was drafted to the

Raw brand Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestle ...

. In October, Morgan entered the Queen's Crown tournament, where she lost to Carmella in the first round. On the November 8 episode of ''Raw'', Morgan won a fatal 5-way match to earn a shot at the Raw Women's Championship, which was held by Becky Lynch. Morgan received her title match against Lynch on the December 6 episode of ''Raw'', but lost. Morgan failed to win the title in a rematch at Day 1 on January 1, 2022. She participated in the Royal Rumble match at the namesake event on January 19, entering at #6 but was eliminated by Brie Bella. At Elimination Chamber on February 19, Morgan entered the Elimination Chamber match for a Raw Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 38, eliminating Doudrop but was eliminated by

Alexa Bliss Alexis Cabrera (née Kaufman; born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss signed a contract with WWE and was a ...

. In March, Morgan began teaming with Rhea Ripley, challenging for the Women's Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way tag team match on the second night of WrestleMania 38 on April 3 in a losing effort. On the April 18 episode of ''Raw'', they faced new champions

Sasha Banks Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks. Banks previously wrestled on ...

and Naomi for the titles, but lost, and after the match, Ripley would attack Morgan, ending their partnership. At

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...

on June 5, Morgan, AJ Styles and Finn Bálor lost to The Judgment Day (

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...

, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley) in a

six-person mixed tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ma ...

.

SmackDown Women's Champion (2022–present)

On the June 13 episode of ''Raw'', Morgan and Alexa Bliss defeated Doudrop and

Nikki A.S.H. Nicola Glencross (born 21 April 1989) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Nikki Cross. She is a one-time WWE Raw Women's Champion, three-time WWE Women's Tag Tea ...

to qualify for the women's

Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was establish ...

. At the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

on July 2, Morgan won the Money in the Bank contract, granting her a women's championship match at any time of her choosing. Later that night, following the SmackDown Women's Championship match between Natalya and

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

, Morgan cashed in her contract on the latter to win the title, making her the third woman and fifth superstar to successfully cash-in the Money in the Bank contract the same night after winning it. A rematch between Morgan and Rousey was set for SummerSlam on July 30, where Morgan controversially retained the title; Morgan tapped out to Rousey's armbar, but the referee had counted Rousey's shoulders down, giving the pinfall win to Morgan. After the match, both Morgan and the referee were attacked by Rousey. At Clash at the Castle on September 3, Morgan retained the title against Shayna Baszler. Rousey won a fatal five-way elimination match on the September 9 episode of ''SmackDown'', earning a rematch against Morgan at Extreme Rules. The following week, Morgan challenged Rousey to an Extreme Rules match for the title, which Rousey accepted. At the event on October 8, Morgan lost the SmackDown Women's Championship back to Rousey, ending her reign at 98 days. While passing out in her match with Rousey, Liv smiled. Following the match she was found backstage in, what WWE described as, a dark place teasing a possible darker edge to her character moving forward.

Other media

Morgan made her video game debut as a playable character in ''

WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth overall game in the '' WWE ...

'', and later appeared in '' WWE 2K20'', ''

WWE 2K Battlegrounds ''WWE 2K Battlegrounds'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Saber Interactive and published by 2K Sports on September 18, 2020. A spin-off to the ''WWE 2K'' series, ''Battlegrounds'' is a fast-paced, arcade-style fighting game; ...

'', and '' WWE 2K22''. On June 2022, it was announced that Morgan will make her first movie appeance in ''The Kill Room'', starring alongside

Maya Hawke Maya Ray Thurman Hawke (born July 8, 1998) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, she began her career in modeling. She made her screen debut as Jo March in the 2017 BBC adaptation of '' ...

, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. In October, it was confirmed that Morgan would make a guest appearance on the second season of '' Chucky''.

Personal life

In November 2020, Daddio confirmed in a screenshot on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that she had taken up a course to become a real estate agent at the Bob Hogue School of Real Estate. In February 2021, it was revealed that Daddio was in a relationship with fellow wrestler

Bo Dallas Taylor Michael Rotunda (born May 25, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Bo Dallas. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Blac ...

, with the two living on a farm and starting a real estate business to prepare for life after professional wrestling.

Filmography

Championships and accomplishments

* ''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' ** Ranked No. 53 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the ''

PWI Women's 100 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

'' in 2018 ** Ranked No. 137 of the top 150 female wrestlers in the '' PWI Women's 150'' in 2021 ** Ranked No. 48 of the top 50 Tag Teams in the '' PWI Tag Team 50'' in 2021 - with Ruby Riott ** Ranked No. 17 of the top 150 female wrestlers in the '' PWI Women's 150'' in 2022 * WWE ** WWE SmackDown Women's Championship ( 1 time) ** Money in the Bank ( Women's 2022)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Liv 1994 births American female professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Female models from New Jersey Living people People from Elmwood Park, New Jersey People from Paramus, New Jersey Professional wrestlers from New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey 21st-century American women 21st-century professional wrestlers WWE SmackDown Women's Champions

Early life

Professional wrestling career

WWE

NXT (2014–2017)

The Riott Squad (2017–2019)

Brand switches (2019–2020)

Reunion with Ruby Riott (2020–2021)

Championship pursuits (2021–2022)

SmackDown Women's Champion (2022–present)

Other media

Personal life

Filmography

Championships and accomplishments

References

External links