There have been seven Women’s Royal Rumbles in WWE since the introduction of the match in 2018, and one of the lone constants has been Liv Morgan.
“I’ve never won it, but you know this is my match, right? I’ve been in every single Rumble since its creation,” Morgan told Bleacher Report.
Along with Natalya, Morgan is the only wrestler to appear in all seven Women’s Royal Rumble matches. This year’s premium live event will be held on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a place Morgan knows all too well, so perhaps the eighth time will be the charm.
“It’s interesting, because I’ve been in every single one and I’ve never won it. I’ve been runner-up a couple times, I’ve been Ironwoman, I’ve started and finished. But with this match, it’s so unpredictable that it’s hard to talk about my chances,” Morgan said. “But what I do know, is that I have the numbers on my side with Raquel [Rodriguez] and Roxanne [Perez]. So, I feel like if there was ever a year that Liv Morgan was gonna win the Royal Rumble, it’s probably this year. And also, you know, I have an amazing track record when we visit Saudi Arabia. I won my Women’s World Championship there. I became the first-ever Women’s Crown Jewel Champion there. I feel like I might finally win the Royal Rumble match there. We’ll see.”
Winning the Royal Rumble is one of the few accomplishments that has eluded Morgan in her spectacular career. The 31-year-old is a former Money in the Bank winner, a two-time Women’s World Champion and a four-time Women’s Tag Team Champion, though her most recent tag team title reign alongside Gonzalez ended in devastating fashion in June when she dislocated her right shoulder while also suffering a torn labrum, rotator cuff and bicep.
Morgan admitted that the recovery process wasn’t easy despite dealing with the same injury in 2023.
“It was rough,” she said. “This was my second shoulder injury, I injured my left shoulder with the same injury two years ago, my rotator cuff, my labrum, my bicep. So this time around, I was more prepared because I knew what was ahead. But I just attacked recovery as best I can, I started rehabbing the day after surgery. I was rehabbing five, six days a week. But it was painful, it was painful, and it was rough at times, but I got through it, and now I have two jacked, healthy shoulders. So, it’s all good.”
After a five-month hiatus, Morgan made her triumphant return at the Survivor Series premium live event in September when she helped “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio regain the WWE Intercontinental Championship from the now-retired John Cena. She made her television in-ring comeback in a victory over Lyra Valkyria on the anniversary edition of Raw on Netflix earlier this month.
“It’s been amazing being back,” Morgan said. “I thought that it would take me a little bit of time to adjust, because just going from the road, and the crowd, and the adrenaline, and the lights, the camera, the action, to solitude for five months, then back into lights, camera, action, I feel like that can be a bit of an adjustment. But honestly, the first day back, I was like, ‘I’m hooooome!’ It felt like I had never left, so luckily, that transition has been pretty smooth for me thus far. … I had missed it so much.”
It’s likely that Morgan missed being active particularly because of how monotonous her time away from the ring was. Despite being an avid gamer, she said she used her time off to embrace her solitude.
“Honestly, I didn’t play video games once while I was sidelined, there was no new 2K. I didn’t play video games once,” she said. “I did a lot of nothing, if I’m being quite honest. Like, literally, if you can imagine nothing, that’s what I did.”
Now, Morgan will get the chance to get back to her gaming ways following the unveiling of this year’s installment of the famed video game series, WWE 2K26. Fans like Morgan will get to enjoy multiple editions of the game, including the 2K26 Monday Night War Edition, the 2K26 Attitude Era Edition, the 2K26 King of Kings Edition featuring Triple H as the cover athlete, and the 2K26 Standard Edition with WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk as the cover athlete.
So what are some of the changes fans can expect in WWE 2K26?
“First off, my rating. I think I started as a 64, and now I’m one of the highest rated girlies!” Morgan said excitedly, referencing her video game debut in WWE 2K19 before adding, “Every year the game truly upgrades, and I feel like 2K tries to give the fans a really fun, immersive gameplay experience, taking feedback from previous years, and this year’s no different. We just have a really fun, exciting game with some new features, and really excited for everyone to play and enjoy.”
WWE 2K26 will include the biggest roster ever, with over 400 playable characters and the introduction of four new match types: I Quit, Inferno, Dumpster and 3 Stages of Hell. The 2K Showcase will be focused on Punk’s career, with fans getting to explore some of the famed matches from his career, as well as his own dream matches and an alternate timeline of his career had he never left WWE.
Morgan revealed that Punk happens to be part of her personal dream match along with his wife, AJ Lee, and she said she’s looking forward to making it happen in the video game.
“I’m hoping this year, I don’t know the roster reveal, I don’t know who’s all included, but my real-life dream match is myself and Daddy Dom vs. AJ Lee and CM Punk, so I’m hoping that maybe this year I get to live vicariously through 2K,” she said.
While Morgan is a self-described “game binger” who often plays video games for hours straight to try to beat them within two days, she claimed that Mysterio is the best gamer in the entire WWE locker room, besides the one time she got the better of him.
“Dominik’s better than me, but there was this one time where I beat him. We were playing 2K in the clubhouse, and I beat him, and I thought he let me win but he didn’t,” Morgan said. “I think Dominik is probably better overall, but I was a sleeper that one time we played.”
Like most gamers, Morgan said she’s awaiting the highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI. And while she enjoys the new features of today’s video games, she admitted that she won’t ever let go of the classics.
“I grew up loving No Mercy, I cannot tell a lie,” Morgan said of WWE’s legendary Nintendo 64 game. “I love No Mercy, that is my GOAT wrestling video game ever, ever, ever, but 2K has really stepped it up.”
WWE 2K26 is set to be released on March 13, with pre-orders available starting on Friday. So for now, Morgan is turning her attention to chasing titles in real life, and she said she plans on pursuing the Women’s Tag Team Championships with Perez as her new partner while Rodriguez focuses on her solo career.
“My little Roxy and I, we have an interest in the tag titles, but who knows what’s to come of this New Year,” she said.
The landscape of WWE’s women’s division has shifted since Morgan’s injury with Stephanie Vaquer holding the Women’s World Championship and Jade Cargill holding the WWE Women’s Championship. NXT Superstars like Jordynne Grace and Sol Ruca have also begun making their marks on the main roster in recent weeks.
While Morgan praised the growth of WWE’s women’s division, she also had a message for the rest of the roster.
“I’ve always thought that our women’s division is top-tier, and we have so many coming up in NXT that are gonna be the trailblazers of the next generation. I truly think so highly of all of our women athletes,” she said. “But the thing is, is that, no matter how good you are, no matter how great you think you are… You’re no Liv Morgan, sweetie.”
That level of confidence has defined Morgan throughout her career, so she unsurprisingly had a succinct answer for what’s in store for her in 2026.
“Whatever my little heart desires,” she said.
