A Trained Wrestler Explains Why Brie Bella Knocked Out Liv Morgan – And Who Is At Fault

During the six-woman tag match on last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw, Liv Morgan was knocked out cold when Brie Bella kicked her directly in the face not once, but twice.

Twitter user @GIFSkull captured the nasty moment in a GIF. As you can see below, Brie’s first three Yes! Kicks landed true before she nails Liv right in the face, knocking her unconscious. And then she does it again.

https://twitter.com/GIFSkull/status/1044388465498943488

Afterward, Liv’s teammates dragged her to their corner, and she rolled out of the ring. On commentary, Michael Cole claimed she was taken to the locker room to be evaluated; however, she was later seen being attended to at ringside by Dr. Chris Amann.

Remarkably, Liv re-entered the match after the botch. However, while she appeared to be okay, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio Tuesday that she underwent concussion tests after the accident and might have suffered some memory loss.

For her part, Brie Bella addressed the incident on Twitter shortly after the match – and she ultimately failed to take responsibility for kicking Liv in the face. Twice.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t get mad about this whole thing until seeing Brie’s non-apology. And as a former in-ring performer myself, I find her actions irresponsible and reckless.

Wrestling Is Real — And Dangerous

I’ve previously mentioned my brief experience as a trainee at a small pro wrestling school in Maryland, and while I only ever wrestled in practice matches, I took my fair share of bumps and physical damage. A botched move nearly broke my neck.

Despite never wrestling a legitimate match of my own, I worked a couple of dozen shows as a valet – briefly as a face, and then heel. At what would be the biggest show of my non-career, I accompanied a wrestler to the ring for a “Lords of the Rings” match; essentially a variation of a WarGames match without the steel cage. Before the match, we’d planned a spot where the wrestler who I’d managed before turning heel would attempt to suplex me from the ring apron into the ring – but my guy would save me right in the nick of time.

Can you guess where this story is going?

During the altercation with the wrestler I’d previously managed, the guy I was currently managing was in the other ring; he didn’t see us setting up for the suplex, and never came to save me. So, with no one to stop him, wrestler no. 1 – who outweighed me by a good 200 lbs – decided to heave me over the top rope and suplex me anyway. And because I was expecting to be saved, I didn’t jump; and instead of landing on my back I fell right on my neck.

Luckily, the botched suplex looked much worse than it felt. After the show, my trainer, John Rambo, told me that when it happened, he’d thought I’d broken my neck. Indeed, it seemed a small miracle that I walked away with nothing more than a few days of soreness.

However, I didn’t appreciate just how lucky I was until about six months later when another wrestler who had worked that same show died after hitting his head during training.

The physicality of wrestling is real and dangerous. It’s imperative that wrestlers protect both themselves and their opponents, and Brie Bella completely betrayed that code of conduct when she kicked Liv Morgan in the face. Twice.

Yes, accidents happen. In the case of my botched suplex, there’s no one person to blame; everyone involved in the spot, myself included, made mistakes that contributed to me nearly breaking my neck. But in the case of Brie Bella’s concussion kick, she is the only person to blame – and I’m hard-pressed to label it a mere “accident.” Brie’s skill level belies what it should be as a WWE Superstar, and she should know better and be better than to kick a prone opponent in the face. Twice.

Thank goodness Liv is okay, and I wish her a speedy recovery. As for Brie, this is the second time in two months that’s seriously botched a move. She should stay out of the ring – both for the safety of others and herself.