Liv Morgan should be dropped from the WWE Queen of the Ring tournament | Opinion
Liv Morgan’s surprise addition to the WWE Queen of the Ring tournament, announced after last Sunday’s Clash in Italy, sparked some interesting discussion online.
There’s good reason for that as there are some flaws in her inclusion.
Why is it a big deal?
The winner of the tournament for the men and women’s KOR/QOR tourneys earn a championship opportunity at SummerSlam. So, why is the Women’s World Champion featured in a tournament designed to determine her potential challenger?
It naturally sparked a debate given the traditional expectation that all WWE champions will be featured at Night of Champions later this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Morgan positively reacted and explained how her eagerness to win it all got her featured in the tournament. She also appeared slightly taken aback by the announcement and responded while staying in character.
Morgan’s transition from the underdog to compelling fan favorite won her over with the WWE crowd. Her 2022 Money in the Bank win and subsequent cash-in accelerated her rise to stardom. At WrestleMania 42, she defeated Stephanie Vaquer to begin her third World title reign, and it looked like big things were on the horizon for the new champion in 2026. She even released a music video for a new theme song.
But the lack of a title defense since April raises the question on what WWE has in store for her. Even if WWE wants to do a storyline of her holding the World title and also winning the Queen of the Ring Tournament, that decision would invite some scrutiny.
The Judgment Day trajectory adds another layer of intrigue with the tension among the group of late, lending credence to a theory on Raquel Rodriguez potentially betraying Morgan for the Women’s title as a central storyline. There has been little development and Morgan’s reign is being questioned due to the stagnant positioning and title defenses. It became more evident when the push was strong going into her winning the title.
And then there was this story that came out Thursday.
Morgan needs to defend at Night of Champions
For a champion like Morgan, who has a proven track record and is capable of delivering excellent title matches, to not defend the World Title at an event called Night of Champions diminishes both the title and her reign. Her potential absence also creates an unnecessary disconnect.
Her current path in WWE seems to be less about conventional title defenses and feuds and more about positioning her as the center of multiple stories at once. This strategy could either solidify her stance as champion or risk diluting her third World title reign.
There is still time for WWE to adjust the Queen of the Ring bracket and replace Morgan with another competitor, allowing her to focus on a title defense. Alternatively, WWE could utilize the weeks leading to the event to determine a challenger for Morgan in a series of qualifying number one contender bouts.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.