Since the beginning of 2020, it's been all eyez on Liv Morgan...for everyone else in the WWE Universe. For me? I've been rocking with Liv since before The Riott Squad was formed in 2017. What do you expect, though? She was rocking a "201" on her gear, repping Jersey to the fullest. My favorite emcee is Redman; you already who I was rooting for. Back before the blue tongue, just so we're keeping score. [Ed note: Lightweight BARS for no reason.]
What a difference a quarantine makes, though. After the Riott Squad disbanded, Liv Morgan was a part of one of the hottest disputes on RAW, and was all but set to dive head-first into single's competition, even calling out (and squaring up against) Charlotte Flair. That's that Jersey in her, I imagine. Whatever the case may be, she came out swinging and proved to those who may have doubted her that she can bang with the big dogs.
Like anything going down during quarantine, thought, Liv's singles path shifted abruptly upon the return of her former tag team partner Ruby Riott. It took a while for the two to see eye to eye, but over the last month, they've figured out their differences, with big success. Sunday night, at the WWE's Clash of Champions: Gold Rush event, Liv and Ruby have a shot at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, which is currently being held by Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. This shift has come at a time where Liv's noticeably become more comfortable in her skin, challenging herself to bring out different sides of her personality. It could potentially be the biggest night in Liv Morgan's WWE career, in the midst of a year that's been one of the biggest in her career—she's even received her own merch. One thing Liv isn't doing is taking things lightly.
Ahead of her huge championship opportunity, Complex caught up with Liv, who spoke on the latest iteration of the Riott Squad, the evolution of her own personal style (which includes a dope collab with your favorite sneakerhead's favorite customizer), and what she's been getting into outside of the squared circle.
Now, Sunday...
Woo!
Clash of Champions. How does it feel to get this opportunity so quickly after reuniting with Ruby?
I don't know... She's so amazing, and honestly, it feels like it's what we have earned from just our entire experience in the tag team [division]. I don't think there's any tag team [that] knows each other as well as Ruby and I do. When you think of the Women's Tag Team Champions, we think of the best tag team that we have to offer and I 100 percent believe that it's me and Ruby. So, I think it's really deserved, to be honest.
I was watching the Riott Squad's Table for Three a week or so ago, and it was cool seeing the three of you at that point in your friendship, but now, you've had a whole year where a lot of things have changed and you've been able to get back to Ruby. Has it been fun to be able to collaborate with her and really team up again as both really good friends as well as partners?
Yeah, it was a rocky start in rebuilding the relationship, but it feels like old times in a way, but also better than old times because when we first started the Riott Squad, Ruby was our leader. Seeing as she was the most experienced, and she should have been the leader... but coming back around this time, I definitely think I've proven myself, in the ring, that I don't need a leader, and Ruby and I are equal elements in this tag team. I think that's really cool and that just makes us even stronger, but it's been amazing.
At the beginning of the year, I don't think anybody would have guessed that Riott Squad would have been back together as a team at this point.
Yeah, but that just goes to show that anything can happen and you just got to roll with it if you like it, at least. Ruby and I knew how we were as a team, and Sarah too. We miss Sarah so much and we still have been in constant communication. We tell her everything that we're doing or about to do, and we get her stamp of approval.
You mentioned that Ruby's not the leader now, and it's dope to see that play out and things like you guys sharing a Beetlejuice-style suit on RAW the other day. Let say, at Clash of Champions, Riott Squad wins the Women's Tag Team Championship. Do you have plans for Riott Squad designs for the Championship?
It might be Riott Squad, it might be something else. We've been working on a lot of themes as far as kind of rebranding the team a little bit.
Okay!
I don't want to say too much. If we win Sunday, which I think absolutely we're going to—you guys will see a little rebrand.
Your style evolution over the last five years has been really interesting, and this year have you seem to have been getting more personal and really letting more of what you feel Liv is inside, out through your personal style.
Oh, for sure, for my whole career. Liv is always just based on me and what I like and that little extra attention that I'm going to give to her. She's like my alter ego in a way, you know? Whatever I'm scared of, she's not... but over the last five or six months, it's really just been pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I don't want to create limits for myself or put myself in a box of what I would and wouldn't do. I [used to] really like to be very sporty with my sneakers, my Jordans, and my fitteds, my wrestling gear. I wore tight pants and sports bras and I wanted to see if I can do something completely different, something that I wouldn't normally do. So I kind of revamped the style [to be] a little bit more womanly, if you will, just to see if I could push myself a little bit, and it's been really fun. Doing that and mixing some of old style [has] been really fun to explore.
Is there a chance we'll be seeing you wrestling in Jordan 1s again?
I want to, I want to so much. I'm actually working on a Jordan 1 custom wrestling boot.
Really!?
Yeah, I'm working with Mache on a little collaboration, because I love wrestling in the Jordans. I really do. I'm most comfortable in Jordans, specifically the 1. I switched to the wrestling boots, but I definitely favor the sneakers. I was telling him about it and we're going to try to work something up. I think it's going to be awesome.
I remember, especially when the Riott Squad was at its peak, you were working with Champs Sports. You were up on everything as it was coming out. Are you still like that?
I still definitely secretly shop. I still like to be up to date, especially with Jordan.
Initially, I wanted to talk to you back when I spoke with David Arquette about his recent documentary, because I know you're such a big fan of Ready to Rumble. What was it about that film that drew you to it initially? Was it just the wrestling? It feels like you're just a movie fan in general.
I am. Well, when I first watched Ready to Rumble, I don't remember how old I was, but it was like a crime if I miss five minutes, I'm crying, and I'm like yelling at my mom 'why didn't you wake me up?' Ready to Rumble... a movie about wrestling. It was like the best thing that I could ever ask for, and there were so many recognizable faces in the movie as well. It just felt like a really long episode of RAW.
You're also a horror fan, right? What have you been checking out recently?
I'm always on the search for a good, new horror movie but I ran through all my options on Netflix or Amazon. So, if you have any recommendations, I will gladly take them. Right now, I've been into Ratched on Netflix.
You like it?
Yeah, I like it a lot. It's very reminiscent of American Horror Story. It's like that kind of horror, you know? But again, it's only like eight episodes and there's only one season, so I already need something new to watch. I love horror movies. I love everything scary. I always feel like the villains are really misunderstood. They never get to tell their side. So I like to really explore that a lot when I'm watching.
Are you talking about yourself here, Liv?
(Laughs) For sure. I mean, we all have stories that probably would need better explaining. I always felt misunderstood to some extent.
One of the more interesting things about you is that you've been developing your ranch.
Yeah, it's called Wonderland Ranch and it's a slow-growing farm. So right now there are chickens, I have Piggles—which is my pet before the ranch even started—two dogs, two cats that lived here before and they were nice enough to just let us [stay]. It's slowly growing, but I've always loved animals. I've always loved animals from very, very, very young age. So it's just nice to be surrounded by like pure energy, you know?
Was one of your plans when you got a big WWE check, like, "hey, let me put down some money on a farm"?
Not specifically. It was really like, "let me get my mom comfortable, and then let me take care of me". I got really lucky with the space. It's definitely a work in progress. It's a lot of work and I think a lot of time. Like I said, it's slowly building. I have some chickens, the chickens are like my favorite thing right now. That is so interesting to watch. Their behavior is so bizarre.
A good way to just zone out from literally everything else that's going on.
Literally, I'm just watching these little souls that are just exploring life with me. They have no ill will or no bad intention.
Did you send your family a big box of your merch when it dropped?
Oh, for sure. I was so excited. I'm actually still waiting for them to get it. I was lucky enough. A lot of people ordered so it's just a little bit backed up. So I'm blessed that I was like, "yay, people like the shirt".
I got the shirt, but I need to get the hoodie. It got a little too cold too quickly up here. I've got some kicks in the closet that haven't been worn that the gray hoodie will sit nicely on top of.
I see them a lot also a lot of people pairing [my merch] with Jordans. I love Jordan. It's really cool to see. We tried to do a wrestling shirt, but make it street style. Something you could wear and it doesn't look so much like a wrestling shirt, you know?
Big facts! One of the things that drew me to you early is just the fact of how much you represented Jersey. As a Jersey guy, I always appreciated that. You mentioned family earlier, and I know with quarantine, and all the work you've been doing throughout the year, it's probably been hard to go home. Do you have plans on coming home anytime soon?
Thank you. I just was trying to figure out when I can make a home. I wanted to come maybe October, but if October is going to be a little bit busy I'm not going to go.
Hey, busy is a good thing and hopefully, at some point you can make it up because again, it's crazy out there...
Exactly. Especially right now with FaceTime, I'm always in constant contact anyway. So, when everything gets better, maybe, but we talk all the time, we're in constant communication. Jersey will always be there. They'll be ready for me.
