The challenge of booking Liv Morgan over Ronda Rousey

One of the most anticipated matches heading into SummerSlam was for the SmackDown Women’s Championship as Liv Morgan defended her new title against Ronda Rousey. There were a lot of factors leading into this match for both women that created questions around how Morgan could keep the title and Rousey kept as strong as she seemed. The outcome of the controversial finish caused some complaints, but it was the only way to get out of the situation WWE’s booking placed them in.

A decision to put the title back on Rousey would have been met with disdain. Rousey isn’t the beloved figure that WWE paints her as and the way she was initially booked overshadowed much of the women’s roster. Morgan, on the other hand, is someone that fans have long wanted to see in this position, and the response to her reaching championship-level is widely positive.

The angle of Rousey forcing the tap while her shoulders were pinned down creates an interesting opportunity to go in a few directions. Her post-match attack sets her down the path of becoming the heel character that many believe she already represents. It will be interesting to see how she embraces this role, and perhaps opens the door to a partnership with Shayna Baszler.

Morgan’s booking will be more of a challenge. The one mistake that came in the match at SummerSlam is that she did not get in much offense against Rousey. In fact, she was being soundly dominated and her victory was a fluke by all definitions. In the storyline, WWE has restarted matches for less, so what stopped them from restarting this match after she clearly tapped as the pinfall was counted? Hopefully, this booking doesn’t represent the lack of faith in Morgan as a top champion. No one wants to see her have a run like Nikki Cross did when she picked up the championship last year.

With names like Xia Li and Charlotte Flair waiting in the wings, WWE must find a way to book Morgan as a strong and competent champion. The challenge of getting her past Rousey isn’t complete, but the outcome at SummerSlam was an understandable step in that direction.