7 Ups And 4 Downs From WWE Clash At The Castle

Ups...

7. Liv Morgan Survives

While you could very easily question the buildup and the decision to have Liv Morgan retain her SmackDown Women’s Championship, you’ve got to credit them for at least telling a decent story of an underdog champion.

Morgan went into the match at less than 100% with an injured arm, facing a submission expert in Shayna Baszler. The Queen of Spades targeted that arm, but Morgan managed to survive, even locking in an armbar of her own at one point. (The announcers noted that Morgan had trained with Matt Riddle in the lead-up to the match to improve her submission game.)

Liv absorbed more punishment, but she caught a break and nailed a Codebreaker, followed immediately by an Oblivion for the win. She basically hung in there until she found an opening and eked out a victory, which is in line with her character these days as she knows she’s punching above her weight class and is constantly having to prove herself.

However, WWE should do a better job of setting the table for these matches. When fans are actively jeering her (as they were on SmackDown in the weeks prior), that’s a bad sign. They should be rallying to the babyface underdog.