Liv Morgan

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Liv Morgan
Liv Morgan 2020.jpg
Morgan in January 2020
Birth nameGionna Jene Daddio
Born (1994-06-08) June 8, 1994 (age 27)[1]
Paramus, New Jersey, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Gionna Daddio[2]
Liv Morgan[3]
Marley[4]
Billed height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[5]
Billed weight117 lb (53 kg)
Billed fromElmwood Park, New Jersey[5]
Trained byWWE Performance Center[6]
DebutJune 27, 2015

Gionna Jene Daddio (born June 8, 1994)[1] is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Liv Morgan.[5]

In October 2014, she signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center, later appearing in NXT. Morgan was promoted to the main roster in November 2017 and was paired with Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan to form the stable The Riott Squad. After the stable disbanded in April 2019, Morgan became a singles competitor. After a few months of her singles run, she reunited with the returning Riott, who had been out of action for months with a shoulder injury, to reform the Riott Squad, now as a duo rather than a trio, until Riott’s release in June 2021.

Early life[]

Daddio was born on June 8, 1994 in Paramus, New Jersey, and raised in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.[1][7] She has four older brothers and a sister, and following the death of her father, Daddio's mother, Georgette, was a single parent raising six children.[8] Daddio is a longtime fan of professional wrestling, and would participate in backyard wrestling with her siblings.[8] Daddio described the matches as core to start her foray into wrestling, saying:

"I would literally take pedigrees and powerbombs like it was my job. I always pretended to be Lita. All the Divas were so glamorous and girly, and I was such a tomboy and didn't have nice clothes. When I saw Lita come out in baggy pants and sneakers, wrestling the boys, I thought she was the coolest thing ever. I related to her."[8]

Daddio was a former competitive cheerleader,[5] and worked and modeled for the restaurant chain Hooters.[6][9]

Professional wrestling career[]

WWE[]

NXT (2014–2017)[]

Morgan at an NXT event in 2015.

In 2014, after being discovered at the Joe DeFranco's gym in Wyckoff, New Jersey,[8] Daddio signed a contract with WWE, assigning her to their developmental territory, NXT in October 2014.[6] She made her first televised appearance at the NXT TakeOver: Rival event on February 11, 2015, as a planted fan, who jumped on Tyler Breeze during his ring entrance.[10] She later appeared at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable on May 20, again as part of Breeze's entrance.[11] In October 2015, she briefly worked under the ring name Marley,[4] debuting on the November 4 episode of NXT, where she worked as a jobber losing to Eva Marie.[12]

On the December 2 episode of NXT, Daddio made her return under the new ring name Liv Morgan, losing to Emma.[3] On the January 13, 2016, episode of NXT, Morgan competed in a battle royal to determine the number one contender to Bayley's NXT Women's Championship, which was won by Carmella.[13] On the August 17 episode of NXT, she competed in a six-woman tag team match, along with Carmella, and Nikki Cross, in which they defeated Daria Berenato, Mandy Rose and Alexa Bliss.[14] On the August 31 episode of NXT, Morgan picked up her first televised singles win, defeating Aliyah.[15] On the September 14 episode of NXT, Morgan defeated Rachel Fazio in singles competition via submission, and would issue a challenge to the NXT Women's Champion Asuka.[16] The following week, however, Morgan was submitted by Asuka in under a minute, and would afterwards begin a rivalry with The Iconic Duo (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), with both women confronting her following her match, leading to match between Morgan and Kay two weeks later, with Kay picking up the victory after interference by Royce.[17] On the October 26 episode of NXT, she interrupted a match between Kay and Aliyah by attacking Royce, causing a distraction that allowed Aliyah to defeat Kay.[18] Morgan went on to compete against Royce on the November 16 episode of NXT, which ended in a disqualification after Kay interfered in the match, attacking Morgan and Aliyah until Ember Moon made the save.[19] The three faced off in a six-person tag team match against Kay, Royce, and Daria Berenato on the November 23 episode of NXT, with Morgan's team coming out victorious.[20]

The Riott Squad (2017–2019)[]

Main article: The Riott Squad
Morgan (left) along with fellow members of The Riott Squad Ruby Riott (center) and Sarah Logan (right) at WrestleMania 34

On the November 21, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live, Morgan made her main roster debut alongside Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan, attacking both Becky Lynch and Naomi, establishing themselves as heels in the process. On the same night, they interrupted a match between SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and Natalya, then proceeded to attack both of them.[21] The following week on SmackDown Live, the trio, now called "The Riott Squad", made their in-ring debuts for the brand, defeating Flair, Naomi, and Natalya in a six-woman tag team match.[22] On January 28, 2018, Morgan participated in the first women's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view as the eleventh entrant, but was eliminated by Michelle McCool.[23] Morgan made her WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania 34, participated in the 20-woman WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, but failed to win the match.[24]

On April 16, The Riott Squad were drafted to Raw brand as part of the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up, and caused the match between Bayley and Sasha Banks to end in a no contest.[25] On the September 24 episode of Raw, Morgan was legitimately knocked unconscious by Brie Bella, when Bella was doing Yes Kicks when two of them connected to her head, Morgan would continue for a bit before being taken out of the match. In the inaugural all women's pay-per-view Evolution, The Riott Squad lost to Natalya, Bayley and Sasha Banks.[26][27] On January 27, 2019 at Royal Rumble, Morgan participated in the women's Royal Rumble match, only to be the first to be eliminated after lasting 8 seconds, setting the record for the shortest time in the women's Royal Rumble match.[28] Morgan and Logan competed in a six-team Elimination Chamber match for the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at the namesake pay-per-view, where they were the third team eliminated by Nia Jax and Tamina Snuka.[29] Morgan competed at WrestleMania 35 in a Women's battle royal match that was eventually won by Carmella.[30]

Brand switches (2019–2020)[]

On April 16, Morgan was moved to the SmackDown brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up, effectively dissolving The Riott Squad in the process.[31][32] On the July 16 episode of SmackDown Live, Morgan turned face when she confronted Charlotte Flair and faced her in a match, in which Morgan lost by submission.[33] This was her first match outside of house shows since WrestleMania 35 in April.[34]

On the October 14 episode of Raw, Morgan was the final overall pick of the year's draft, being drafted back to the Raw brand.[35] Throughout the month of December, vignettes aired promoting Morgan's return.[36][37] Morgan returned to television on the December 30 episode of Raw, during Bobby Lashley and Lana's storyline wedding, interrupting the proceedings and professing her love for Lana.[38] After Lana subsequently attacked her, she aligned herself with Rusev, who has been feuding with Lana and Lashley, thus cementing her face turn.[39] Morgan defeated Lana on the January 27, 2020 episode of Raw, doing so once again the following week. After her feud with Lana ended, Morgan entered a feud with her former Riott Squad teammate Ruby Riott who turned on her upon returning. On the March 2 episode of Raw, Morgan defeated Riott with Sarah Logan as the special guest referee.[40] At Elimination Chamber on March 8, Morgan entered her second Elimination chamber match, during which she was eliminated by eventual winner Shayna Baszler.[41] On the WrestleMania 36 pre-show, Morgan defeated Natalya in singles competition.[42] After WrestleMania, Morgan continued her feud with Riott defeating her on the April 20 and 27 episodes of Raw respectively.[43][44] She would later unsuccessfully go on to face then NXT Women's Champion, Charlotte Flair in a hard fought battle as well as Natalya respectively. This would turn out to be her last match as singles competitor.

The Riott Squad reunion with Ruby Riott (2020–2021)[]

Morgan in Live Event 2020

After Morgan lost to Natalya on the June 22 episode of Raw, Ruby Riott attempted to console Morgan backstage after her loss, which she rebuffed.[45] On the August 3 episode of Raw, Riott asked Morgan to join her in reforming the Riott Squad, only to be interrupted by The IIconics who mocked the two which led to a tag team match where Morgan and Riott defeated The IIconics.[46] At Payback, Morgan and Riott (now officially known as The Riott Squad again) defeated The IIconics and once more the following night on Raw, forcing The IIconics to disband, per stipulation.

As part of the 2020 Draft in October, both Morgan and Riott were drafted to the SmackDown brand.[47]

She would go on to win a Fatal four-way match during her first night on SmackDown after the Draft to qualify for the women's team at Survivor Series.[48][49] After Survivor Series, both Riott and Morgan would go on a tag team winning streak.[citation needed] They challenged for a shot at the tag team titles at WrestleMania 37 Night One but failed to win the match.[50]

On June 2, 2021, Riott was released by WWE, effectively disbanding The Riott Squad for the second time.[51]

Return to singles competition (2021–present)[]

On the June 4 episode of SmackDown, Morgan returned to singles competition by facing Carmella in a losing effort. The following week, they had a rematch in which Morgan was finally able to defeat Carmella, and later set her sights on the SmackDown Women's Championship. Morgan began to take issue with Sonya Deville for adding Carmella and a returning Zelina Vega to the women's ladder match at Money in the Bank. She defeated Carmella and Vega in singles matches before she took Carmella's spot in the ladder match, with Carmella competing against Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women's Championship the following week. This was due to Bayley suffering a legitimate injury while training, causing her “I Quit” match with Belair at Money in the Bank to be cancelled.[52] On the September 17 episode of Smackdown, Morgan teamed with Toni Storm to take on Zelina Vega and Carmella. The match would end via countout, which would then lead to Morgan challenging Carmella to a match at Extreme Rules.

Other media[]

Gionna Daddio
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2020–present
Genrevlog
Subscribers85.9 + thousand[53]
Total views1.39 + million[53]
Updated: April 16, 2021

Morgan made her video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K19[54] and later appeared in WWE 2K20[55] and WWE 2K Battlegrounds.[56]

On 4 September 2020, Morgan launched her own YouTube channel.[57]

Personal life[]

In November 2020, Daddio confirmed in a screenshot on Twitter that she had taken up a course to become a real estate agent at the Bob Hogue School of Real Estate.[58] In February 2021, it was revealed that Daddio had started a real estate business with fellow professional wrestler Bo Dallas.[59]

Championships and accomplishments[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "WWE Profile – Liv Morgan". ESPN.com. December 4, 2017.
  2. ^ "Gionna Daddio: Profile & Match Listing". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b James, Justin (December 2, 2015). "12/2 WWE NXT Results – Samoa Joe vs. Ciampa, James Storm". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Dave Meltzer (October 22, 2015). "WWE NXT Tapings: Finn Balor defends his belt against Apollo Crews (updated)". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Liv Morgan". WWE.com. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Johnson, Mike (October 27, 2014). "TOP NFL DRAFT PICK STARTS WWE CAREER TODAY, MORE WWE NXT NOTES". PWInsider. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  7. ^ Biese, Alex. "Liv Morgan, Sonya Deville and the New Jersey women at the heart of WWE's evolution". Asbury Park Press.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Saxton, Byron (February 18, 2016). "Liv Morgan is livin' the dream in NXT". WWE. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Namako, Jason (October 27, 2015). "INFO ON NEW WWE SIGNINGS STARTING AT NXT TODAY". WrestleView. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  10. ^ Johnson, Mike (February 11, 2015). "OWENS VS. ZAYN, AMAZING WOMEN'S FOUR WAY, NEW CHAMPIONS CROWNED & MORE - COMPLETE WWE NXT TAKEOVER: RIVAL COVERAGE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021. Breeze had a selfie stick (all color coordinated with the same material as his ring gear) and a hot blonde plant (recent NXT Diva signee Gionna Daddio) hopped the rail to try and embrace him.
  11. ^ Johnson, Mike (May 20, 2015). "FORMER TNA KNOCKOUT APPEARS ON NXT SHOW". PWInsider. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  12. ^ Trinofo, Richard (November 4, 2015). "WWE NXT REPORT: BALOR VERSUS CREWS, ASUKA AND A TOTAL DIVA, BONJOUR EVA MARIE, TAG TITLE MATCH NEXT WEEK, TURMOIL AT THE END OF THE SHOW". PWInsider. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  13. ^ James, Justin (January 13, 2016). "1/13 WWE NXT – Women's #1 contender Battle Royal, NXT Title drama, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  14. ^ Richard, Trionfo (August 17, 2016). "WWE NXT REPORT: WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH OPPONENTS IN THE SAME ROOM?, ITAMI IN ACTION, SIX WOMAN TAG MATCH WITH SOME DEBUTS, A LOOK AT TAKEOVER, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  15. ^ Namako, Jason (August 31, 2016). "WWE NXT Results – 8/31/16 (Shinsuke Nakamura on NXT Title win, No Way Jose and Tye Dillinger in action)". Wrestleview. Retrieved September 1, 2016. Aliyah certainly put forth a strong showing, but she could not keep up with Liv Morgan's energetic attack, which culminated in a spinning kick for the pinfall.
  16. ^ Namako, Jason (September 15, 2016). "WWE NXT Results - 9/14/16 (Samoa Joe injures Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode vs. No Way Jose)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2021. Liv Morgan’s momentum continued to surge as the athletic Superstar defeated Rachael Fazio by submission. The New Jersey native didn’t stop there, though, as she took the microphone following the contest and challenged NXT Women’s Champion Asuka.
  17. ^ Namako, James (October 12, 2016). "WWE NXT Results – 10/12/16 (SAnitY debuts with a returning Eric Young, Nakamura gets revenge on Samoa Joe)". WrestleView. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  18. ^ Namako, James (October 26, 2016). "WWE NXT Results – 10/26/16 (The Dusty Tag Classic continues, Mickie James sends a message to Asuka)". WrestleView. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  19. ^ Namako, Jason (November 16, 2016). "WWE NXT Results – 11/16/16 (TakeOver: Toronto preview, Andrade Cien Almas vs. Cedric Alexander)". WrestleView. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  20. ^ Martin, Adam (November 23, 2016). "WWE NXT Results – 11/23/16 (Six women's tag team main event match, SAnitY goes after No Way Jose)". WrestleView. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  21. ^ Richard, Trionfo (November 21, 2017). "WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: IF RAW CAN BRING IN THREE WOMEN, SO CAN SMACKDOWN, LUMBERJACK MATCH, WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH, THE BLUDGEON BROTHERS LIVE UP TO THEIR NAME, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
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  24. ^ Powell, Jason (April 8, 2018). "Powell's WrestleMania 34 Kickoff Show live review: WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal, Cedric Alexander vs. Mustfa Ali for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal". Pro Wreslting Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  25. ^ Tylwalk, Nick (April 17, 2018). "Raw: Superstar Shake-up a sendoff for the A-Lister". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  26. ^ Johnson, Mike (October 28, 2018). "NIKKI BELLA VS. RONDA ROUSEY, LAST WOMAN STANDING, NXT WOMEN'S TITLE & MORE WWE EVOLUTION PPV COVERAGE". PWInsider.
  27. ^ Trionfo, Richard (October 29, 2018). "WWE RAW REPORT: WHAT WOULD DEAN SAY?, BUILDING ON EVOLUTION, BUILDING TO FRIDAY, AND MORE". PWInsider. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  28. ^ Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Royal Rumble 2019 live review: Men's and Women's Royal Rumble matches, AJ Lee vs. AJ Lee for the WWE Universal Championship, AJ Lee vs. Not AJ Lee for the WWE Championship, AJ Lee vs. AJ Lee for the Raw Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  29. ^ Trionfo, Richard (February 17, 2019). "SMACKDOWN TAG TITLE MATCH: LIVE ONGOING WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER PPV COVERAGE". PWInsider.
  30. ^ "Second annual WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal announced". WWE.
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  33. ^ "Charlotte Flair def. Liv Morgan". WWE. July 16, 2019.
  34. ^ Sapp, Sean Ross (July 20, 2019). "Sean Ross Stats For WWE Raw 7/15/19 And WWE Smackdown 7/18/19". Fightful. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2021. Liv Morgan wrestled on TV for the first time since WrestleMania on Tuesday.
  35. ^ "See all the results from the 2019 WWE Draft". WWE.
  36. ^ Ashly, Kristen (December 9, 2019). "Liv Morgan Returning To Raw, Vignette Airs Teasing "Makeover" (VIDEO)". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2021. A promo aired during tonight’s show featuring clips of Liv Morgan in various matches. The video ended with a graphic that teased a makeover upon her return.
  37. ^ "Liv Morgan is out to destroy herself: Raw, Dec. 16, 2019". YouTube.
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  39. ^ Currier, Joseph (December 30, 2019). "Liv Morgan returns to WWE Raw during Lana-Lashley wedding angle". Wresling Observer Newsletter.
  40. ^ "Raw results, Feb. 3, 2020: The Beast lays waste to his WWE Super ShowDown challenger". WWE. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  41. ^ Khan, Steve (March 8, 2020). "WWE Elimination Chamber live results: Two Chamber matches". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  42. ^ Schwartz, Nick (April 5, 2020). "Everything that happened on Night 2 of WrestleMania 36". USA Today. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  43. ^ "WWE Raw 4/20/20 Results: 3 MITB Qualifying Matches, Bobby Lashley Lifts Tires & Morgan vs. Riott". Fightful.
  44. ^ Tees, David (April 27, 2020). "WWE Raw 4/27/20 Results: United States Title Match, A Contract Signing & Jinder Mahal Returns". Fightful. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  45. ^ "WWE Raw 6/22/20 Results: 3 Title Matches, While Dolph Ziggler & Rey Mysterio Make Their Raw Returns". Fightful.
  46. ^ Beltrán, William (August 4, 2020). "Ruby Riott y Liv Morgan se reúnen en Raw". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  47. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 9, 2020). "See all the results from the 2020 Draft". WWE. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  48. ^ Brookhouse, Brent (November 22, 2020). "2020 WWE Survivor Series matches, card, start time, predictions, date, location, Raw vs. SmackDown teams". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021. SmackDown has not yet formed a team. Belair was the first to secure her spot and Riott followed up by swooping in to score a win in a three-way with Natalya and Zelina Vega. Morgan won a fatal-four way against Chelsea Green, Tamina and Natalya to secure her spot.
  49. ^ Currier, Joseph (November 13, 2020). "Chelsea Green debuts, Liv Morgan qualifies for WWE Survivor Series". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021. Liv Morgan defeated Natalya, Tamina, and Green in the match. Morgan pinned Tamina to get the win. Morgan joins Bianca Belair and Ruby Riott on SmackDown's Survivor Series women's team.
  50. ^ Fiorvanti, Tim (April 11, 2021). "WrestleMania 37: Bianca Belair tops Sasha Banks, Bobby Lashley retains, Bad Bunny flies". ESPN. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  51. ^ "Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Lana, and other Superstars released". WWE. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  52. ^ "Bayley out approximately nine months after sustaining injury while training | WWE". www.wwe.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  53. ^ Jump up to: a b "About Gionna Daddio". YouTube.
  54. ^ Gartland, Dan (September 11, 2018). "Full 'WWE 2K19' Roster Revealed: See Every Wrestler Included in the Game". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  55. ^ Gartland, Dan (December 21, 2019). "Full 'WWE 2K20' Roster Revealed: See Every Wrestler Included in the Game". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  56. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (August 16, 2020). "WWE 2K Battleground's Full Roster Revealed, AJ Styles and Finn Balor Confirmed for Launch". IGN. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  57. ^ @YaOnlyLivvOnce (September 4, 2020). "It's only just begun... youtu.be/GYud9fu9Ys0 via @YouTube SUBSCRIBE TO MY OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL