10 Disastrous WWE Booking Decisions Triple H Has Already Botched

9. Getting The SmackDown Women's Championship Away From Liv Morgan

Sami Zayn
WWE.com

It became apparent when Vince McMahon resigned in disgrace that Triple H didn't really see Liv Morgan as his longterm prospect SmackDown Women's Champion. Not for now, anyway.

Maybe this was the thinking all along within the corridors of power. Morgan had cashed in a Money In The Bank briefcase to defeat a babyface Ronda Rousey on the same night she won the prize, which has typically often resulted in short or indifferent first runs with the top strap. But it became a matter of focus - Liv's gimmick was neither one thing or another. Was she a project-done-good living the dream, a wacky injury enthusiast ready to give her body to the cause, or somebody empowered by the position raring to live up the responsibility?

WWE answered with "none of the above". Or "a little bit of all of them". Or neither. And herein lay the problem. Unconvincingly defeating Shayna Baszler in what was comfortably the coldest match at Clash At The Castle having barely squeaked by Ronda Rousey in their rematch, Morgan was a paper champion that never once felt validated before losing to 'The Baddest Woman On The Planet' and feeling too much like a failed experiment for the rest of the year.

Things didn't improve from there though...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett