With Rhea Ripley injured, now is Liv Morgan's time

WWE Raw kicked off with some unfortunate news as Rhea Ripley’s championship run ended. It’s not because she was defeated in a match, rather she was injured during the backstage segment with Liv Morgan on last week’s edition of the show. It’s an unfortunate way to see her time at the top come to an end, but it’s an opportunity to seize a moment and build a new top star in Liv Morgan. This is the right moment to put the championship on her and build to the run her fans have long wanted. 

Look back at how fans rallied around Morgan heading into WrestleMania 40. Even though it didn’t make sense story-wise, the effort to push her into the women’s championship match was loud and clear. Now, WWE is presented with a situation in which it makes sense for Morgan to not only be a top challenger, but to hold the title until it is time to welcome Ripley back into the fold. 

Morgan hinted at the story during her backstage segment. Ripley injured Morgan in the storyline, putting her out for nearly eight months. It makes every bit of sense for Morgan to target Ripley now that she’s back. The revenge tour, as she's put it, is live and in service. Anyone can get it. There’s the motive to push Morgan down a dark path where she begins assaulting WWE superstars at every turn. She should even take out a few WWE NXT performers in the famed NXT parking lot just to prove a point. Just like Clubber Lang in Rocky III, the prediction should be pain for anyone that Morgan deems deserving. 

As mentioned, Morgan has remained a fan favorite for years. Even when she was a part of the Riott Squad, it was clear that her supporters were growing. She’s continued to improve each year, but it seems like the WWE was hesitating to give her a true, character-building run. Even though she was the SmackDown Women’s Champion, that run was deemed mostly a waste for how she was booked compared to Ronda Rousey. A strong run in 2024 would go a long way in repairing that damage. 

Of course, Rhea Ripley is going to be uber-over when she returns. It’s going to be hard to justify keeping a title on Morgan when she comes back. Some reports are mentioning that Ripley could be out as long as SummerSlam, but no official time table is announced. Giving Morgan a longer run with some defined matches and feuds leading into Ripley’s return would benefit everyone involved. 

WWE has done a good job in the past seizing opportunities when injuries pop up. Drew McIntyre’s current run is the newest example of such. With Rhea Ripley going out due to a shoulder injury, this is the time to put the championship on Liv Morgan, giving her a healthy run to build to big angles in the future.