Liv Morgan has reached the pinnacle of professional wrestling — but she wasn’t sure she was ever going to make it there.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, the WWE women’s world champion, 30, got candid about her decade-long rise to the top of the company and her red-hot feud with Rhea Ripley.
“It’s weird because it was such a mixture of confidence and insecurity at the same time,” Morgan, who signed with WWE developmental brand NXT in 2014, said. “I had so much hope and belief in myself that I’d reach this moment, but at the same time, I secretly never felt good enough for it either.”
She added, “It was a really weird dichotomy of believing that’s where I’ll be, but also like, ‘Maybe I’m not good enough to get there.’ It was a battle for a lot of my career.”
Morgan acknowledged she was forced to play catch-up amongst her peers in the early days of her in-ring career, which saw her make her WWE main roster debut in 2017.
“I came into WWE with no athletic background,” she said. “Nothing about me screamed WWE superstar. No family, no connections. I already felt way behind, like I didn’t have the tools to put in the bag.”
At just 20 years old, Morgan was thrust into a brand new world where she “didn’t feel up to par with the rest of the women.”
Eventually, there were highs along the way. Morgan cashed in her Money in the Bank contract in July 2022 to defeat Ronda Rousey and win her first world championship, and she and then-partner Raquel Rodriguez were two-time women’s tag team champions.
But in July 2023, a shoulder injury brought everything to a halt. Forced to miss six months of action, Morgan was left to sit on the sidelines as story lines moved on without her.
All told, however, Morgan said it turned out to be a blessing.
“It wasn’t until I came back from my injury this past year that I went from like, ‘I’m lucky to be here’ to ‘I’m that bitch,’” Morgan boasted. “I don’t know what that switch was.”
Partially, at least, Morgan — whose real name is Gionna Daddio — said the break allowed her to figure out who she is away from the bright lights of pro wrestling.
“I think that was my big realization in my time off. For the last 10 years of my life, I’ve been Liv Morgan,” she explained. “Those are my formative, growing, stepping into my womanhood years. I had been so fixated on what I was doing in my career that I don’t think I paid enough attention to myself, my wants, my needs, my hobbies, my interests, my likes, my dislikes.”
Morgan added, “It wasn’t until I had those months off where I only had to be myself.”
After returning fully energized at the Royal Rumble in January, Morgan defeated Becky Lynch at WWE King and Queen of the Ring in May to earn her second world title.
More recently, it’s her love triangle story line involving Ripley and Dominik Mysterio that has earned raves from all corners of the wrestling world — and Morgan is soaking up every second of it.
“I’m super excited,” she gushed. “I’m showing up as the WWE Women’s World Champion. I’m showing up with my daddy Dom. I’m showing up with my new Judgment Day family. I walk into work every week so excited just to watch Rhea Ripley hate it. It’s the funniest thing, I think.”
Deal of the Day
Score 39% off Eva Longoria’s Favorite Hyaluronic Acid Serum! View DealThe next chapter of their saga goes down at WWE’s first-ever Bash in Berlin — the company’s latest foray into taking their premium live events global — where Morgan and Mysterio team up to take on Ripley and Damian Priest.
“When we go to these international places, we’re not even at the venue and we’re being recognized,” Morgan said of the experience. “It’s like, ‘Whoa.’ It’s a reminder of how wide this spreads. It’s everywhere. It’s a humble reminder that this is so much bigger than us.”
WWE’s Bash in Berlin streams live on Peacock Saturday, August 31, at 1 p.m. ET.
