Liv Morgan has shared a fun and revealing story from the early days of her WWE journey, opening up about the unusual ring names she pitched before ultimately becoming “Liv Morgan.”
Appearing on the What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon podcast, Morgan recalled the name-selection process she went through upon arriving in NXT—and how none of her original ideas made the cut.
“What had happened was, you know, you get to NXT and they’re like, ‘What would you like to be called?’ And they give you—you get to like write a list of names. And so I hand in a list of names and they’re like, ‘None of these.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay.’”
Morgan explained that from the start, she wanted something that felt clearly like a character rather than a realistic-sounding name. “I really wanted to not have a proper name. Like, I didn’t want it to sound like a government name, I wanted it to clearly sound like a character.”
One name in particular still stands out to her to this day. “I really wanted like Illy Milly, which I still stand by. I still stand by that.”
Despite submitting multiple lists, none were approved—and her frustration eventually turned playful. “And I give a second list and they’re like, ‘No.’ I give like a third list, and then at the bottom I’m kind of like, just—and at this point I’m like being a little bit cheeky. I’m like, ‘Any of these would do, or I’ll just like, settle for Oprah.’”
The joke name unexpectedly took on a life of its own backstage. “And for some reason the Oprah stuck and like no one ever let me live it down after that. Because like sometimes I’ll still see Hunter [Triple H] and he’ll like ‘Oprah.’”
She said the nickname followed her even during injury rehab at the WWE Performance Center. “I’ll even go to the Performance Center, like when I was rehabbing and they’re like, ‘Oprah,’ Norman Smiley’s like, ‘Oprah, remember?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I guess I remember.’”
Despite all the pitches, Morgan ultimately didn’t get to choose her official ring name at all. “And then all that to still not ever pick my name. Like I did not pick Liv Morgan.”
Morgan revealed that she briefly wrestled under another name inspired by her dog. “So I showed up at ‘NXT’ one day. I really wanted Marley. Oh, I had left a dog back home, Marley, and I wanted to like name myself after my dog. So, I was like Marley for one episode on NXT, but it never got cleared. So, by the time it aired, I was just local competitor.”
Eventually, WWE narrowed her options down to two choices. “And then I walked into NXT and they were like, ‘all right, you’re either Liv Morgan or Liv Gallo,’ like pick. And I was like, ‘well, sh*t.’”
Morgan explained how she made the final call. “So, I picked Liv Morgan, ’cause I think we had like Luke Gallows. And so I was like, ‘all right, I’ll be Liv Morgan.’ And that’s kind of how it went.”
While she wasn’t immediately sold on the last name, it didn’t take long for it to feel right. “At first I remember not really liking Morgan. I knew Liv was like punny though. I didn’t really like Morgan, but it grew on me.”
Years later, Liv Morgan is one of WWE’s most recognizable stars—but the journey to that name was far more chaotic (and entertaining) than fans might have ever guessed.
