Jay's Ways - Liv On, Liv Forever Submitted by Justin Watry on 11/30/2020 at 01:20 AM
The WWE Network has finally premiered their long awaited "Liv Forever" special as a part of their Documentaries series. While I will not review every single segment, I did feel it was noteworthy enough to write about Liv Morgan's story. Before getting to some bullet points, props to WWE for yet another production. I've said it before and will again: WWE is the BEST at this type of thing. Lighting, filming, filming, documentaries, behind the scenes footage, etc. So good, so captivating. This one was done with a slightly different presentation. Almost like a television airing or something. Similar to past WWE documentaries but with a hip, cool twist.
Now onto Liv Morgan, Liv Morgan, and some more Liv Morgan!
- We start with Liv Morgan talking about The Riott Squad being broken up in the 2019 Superstar Shakeup. Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, and Ruby Riott were all crushed when this took place. None of them expected it, after being a group for just two years. They were and still are super close. Heck, they all got a tattoo together (11-21-17 for their debut). That is real. That is legitimate. That is true dedication. Liv was heading to Smackdown on her own. Tearful moment...but a new beginning.
- Liv's mother was introduced. She talked about working 60 hours and having a rough time raising Liv. A single mom, mind you. Live'd dad died three months before she was born due to a heart attack. Very tough upbringing is discussed. Liv spent a lot of time alone in her room, watching wrestling - trying to ignore the mess that was right outside the door. Kind of a sad segment. Like many though, wrestling was always there for them. It sounds kinda corny, but that is the truth. When there are tough times or whatever is going on with the world, you know WWE will be on every Monday for Raw. You know Smackdown will air on TV. It can distract you from the "bad" stuff and keep you out of danger. This got Liv into wrestling, with her mom even making a ring for her in the backyard. Anybody who has seen Total Divas (or was it Total Bellas?) knows how close Liv and her mom, Gigi, are.
- Getting a job at Hooters caused Liv to finally spread her wings. She understood responsibility and wanted to get into the best shape of her life. That led her to a WWE tryout. Her dream come true. When offered a contract, Liv started crying. At just 19 years old, she was headed to Orlando for training. A touching moment for sure, especially knowing that she grew up following the product. Her brother was especially excited, as he started yelling and screaming. Know she had been signed.
- Truth be told, a lot of her NXT run was skipped over next. She didn't have a lot of highlights in NXT, but this was still mildly disappointing. Liv talked about practicing promos in front of a mirror. It only makes sense. You want to see what the audience sees. Gives you the best perspective from the audience's viewpoint. Liv did bounce around from gimmick to gimmick, never really finding her place in NXT for the next few years. I did like the fact that she cried after her first official match in 2015. That had to show everybody she cared and was passionate.
- From there, it was her 'main roster' debut. She was called to television and told she had to compete in a dark match. That is a non-televised match before the cameras start rolling. Sometimes even before the doors are open to fans. Usually this is done for a tryout or testing/auditioning material. Anyways, it was all a ruse. Triple H came into a room where she had been hidden from talent all day and told she'd be debuting on Smackdown as part of a heel faction along with Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan. They kept their cool, until Triple H sarcastically told them it was okay to freak out. Then they did. Kinda funny. WWE does this a lot to hide information and prevent spoilers. They will tell talent they are needed for one thing, but it is really for a secret project or whatever. Always interesting to see how talent are told of big life changing moves.
- Now back to where we started in 2019. Liv Morgan was broken up from her two best friends and moved over to a different show, Smackdown Live. As she dubbed it, Smackdown Liv. A full 13 weeks went by until she was finally used on TV. Absolutely heartbreaking. I remember this last year. Where was Liv Morgan? Why was she moved to a different show and then NOT even used? Literally nothing. No promos or teases or interviews or matches. Nothing. Just her sitting there and waiting, all the while being apart from her two stablemates, Ruby and Sarah. Finally though, the day came in July 2019. She had a quick promo segment and later lost a match against top star Charlotte FREAKIN' Flair! A huge step up from doing nothing. After the match, Liv claimed the next time we saw her, she was going to be REAL! Hmmm, I recall this being very cryptic. What did it mean? Huh.
- Quick words from Bayley. Go back and find clips from YEARS ago. Bayley constantly sang the praises of Liv Morgan. Always remember who had your back from the beginning. Always.
- While trying to find the REAL Liv Morgan, she tried many different things...but nothing. Just more waiting. On her own in September, she decided to dye her hair blonde. No longer the colorful pink. When scheduled for a dark match versus Ember Moon, she was ready to show off her new look and what she had learned the past couple of months. They were going to tear the house down, even if there were no fans at home watching. Again, as mentioned, these are done more so for 'test run' situations. Sadly, right before walking through the curtain, WWE canceled the match. Literally seconds away from going out to the ring. Stunned is not even doing this justice. Ember had no clue what was happening either. It turns out the company didn't want her to debut a new look or show off quite yet. Wanted to save the big reveal until it was truly on live TV in its final form. I get that. Should be a huge compliment in a way. Still, kinda sucky how that all went down.
- For the WWE Draft in October 2019, the final pick for RAW was...Liv Morgan. Yep. Back to Monday nights after a nearly non-existent Smackdown run. Luckily, Paul Heyman was in charge of the red brand at the time and was a big fan. Liv finally had a supporter that understood her and was willing to take a chance on her. Instead of trying to define her, Liv can't be defined. That is what makes her special. I agree with Paul in this instance. Just let Liv be Liv.
- Come December 30th, the time had finally arrived for the REAL Liv to appear. She would reveal herself to be the past lover of Lana and crash her wedding to Bobby Lashley. Yes, you read that right. Of all the ideas and all the waiting around, this is what WWE went with. To be fair, Liv Morgan did a fabulous job. It was a true "Raw Moment." I remember watching this segment with my jaw on the floor. It was a soap opera that you just couldn't look away from. Liv was certainly brought back in a big way, right in the main event spotlight. Feelings aside from the actual story. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. The story was flip flopped and twisted multiple times, within just a few short weeks. All the buzz and excitement from her return fizzled out. The Lana stuff went nowhere. Another setback from Liv.
- Liv Morgan did get a pre-show WrestleMania 36 victory over Natalya. It was throwaway to us viewers and meant nothing, but to Liv - it meant the world. She had made it to WrestleMania and won. After a little bit of time, Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan reunited, as Sarah Logan is at home pregnant. Back to where it all began. The journey starts again for Liv. The past was not ready to be the past just yet. There is more to accomplish first.
- She talks about not running to her goals but rather crawling. It was going to take time, it was going to be a struggle, but she was going to make it. Fun analogy, I like it. Fits Liv Morgan like a glove. So many setbacks, so many obstacles, so many ups and downs. She will get there.
