For the uninformed passerby, the sight of Liv Morgan walking down the street might not instantly evoke the image of WWE Wrestler. Standing at 5’2 with beach blonde hair, and occasionally wearing reading glasses, the idea that she can suplex the average person into oblivion is a wild thought. But this last weekend in Saudi Arabia, the New Jersey native returned to the ring for the WWE Crown Jewel 2024, and defeated current WWE Women’s Champion, Jax, to become the first ever women’s Crown Jewel Champion.
We caught up with Liv before the big fight to ask about character influences, Limp Bizkit, and competing in Saudi Arabia.
Esquire: In the last few years, there’s been a surge of interest for the WWE, and the genres of music often alluded to the sport, among younger audiences. Why do you think that is?
Liv Morgan: I love it! I love My Sacrifice by Creed, and other bands from that era like Limp Bizkit. I remember watching those video packages growing up, that had the music and the wrestling videos alongside each other. I think that whole era just has such a nostalgic feeling, and I guess the younger generation is discovering it the same way we did.
Esquire: Not sure if you knew, but Marlon Brando was a big wrestling fan toward the end of his life. Have you ever been shocked by an actor reaching out to tell you they were a fan?
Liv Morgan: Vanessa Hudgens. I had no idea she was a WWE fan, and I had the chance to meet her at Wrestlemania, and she told us how much she loved wrestling. She was pregnant at the time, so I was like ‘listen, after you have that baby, if you want to have a match, you have my number’ (laughs).
Esquire: Can you tell me a bit about the thought process that goes into creating a character?
Liv Morgan: When you arrive in the WWE and you’re trying to flesh out your character, they always tell you that the best character is just an extension of yourself. So whatever I am, and then just dial that up to a 10. So when I started at 20 years old, I really took that advice to heart, and just became this crazy Jersey girl. I didn’t really know who I was yet as a person; I still don’t know who I am. All I knew was that I was from New Jersey (laughs). So I based my character, my gear, my brash, unapologetic personality on this Jersey girl, although when I think back at it now, I cringe. Thank god I grew out of it, and finally morphed into the Liv Morgan that we know and love to hate today.
Esquire: You beat Ronda Rousey in a historic win. What was your perception of her as a UFC fighter making the move into WWE?
Liv Morgan: I’ve always had my own relationship with Ronda. I used to be a Hooters’ girl, and we would have UFC night, and I’d be serving chicken wings while watching Ronda Rousey knock people out in ten seconds. Fast forward, and here I am, this former Hooters girl who watched this woman dominate people for years, only to beat her and secure my first ever championship. It was such a full circle moment for me that I never expected to have in my life. Ronda is such an athlete, and she brought so many more eyes to the WWE women’s division, and her background just meshed so perfectly with wrestling. And I am so open and so supportive for any women from any athletic background to come over and try it in the WWE.
Esquire: How was it competing in Saudi Arabia, and were you surprised by the fandom?
Liv Morgan: I don’t want to say surprised, but maybe that’s a good way to put it. They just had so much crazy crazy energy. I remember watching the first event in Saudi and just thinking like wow, I want to compete there. And then, having the first ever woman featured on a billboard in Saudi Arabia is an amazing thing to see, especially with it being our sport.
Esquire: What’s your favourite film?
Liv Morgan: Hmm. One film that always remains in my top 3 is Ready to Rumble (2000). It’s so fun. It still holds up to this day. It’s just a feel good wrestling film, and I watch it at least once a year. And now, as a professional wrestler, I watch it through a different lens than I did when I was younger.
