In case you missed it, Liv Morgan was legitimately knocked out during a six-woman tag team match last night on WWE Raw, after taking multiple, legitimate kicks to the face.
While the fans on social media have been railing against Brie Bella, who delivered the kicks and has had a few bad looking spots since returning to the ring, it is the referee who called the match, as well as backstage officials who have come under fire for not handling the incident properly.
Oops. Brie Bella just legitimately kicked Liv Morgan in the face#RAW pic.twitter.com/XWH0Zxv7Ab
— GIF Skull (@GIFSkull) September 25, 2018
In the GIF above you can clearly see that Brie caught her opponent high on the chin with the fourth kick in her sequence, causing Morgan to slump over and take the fifth kick at full force, right in the face. At this point, the Riott Squad member collapsed on the mat and was motionless for several seconds.
At this point, in most cases the referee would jump in and check on a potentially injured superstar. There was no doubt in the moment that something was wrong with Morgan, as seconds after the above GIF ends, Brie herself went to check on her and immediately tried to roll her over and make a quick cover.
Brie then dragged her opponent to the corner, which could have potentially caused more damage if Morgan’s neck was in question. After a commercial break she was seen on camera lying on the floor outside of the ring, being checked on by WWE doctors, as the match continued in the ring. She then returned to the match to assist in a Tower of Doom spot in the corner.
There are a number of things wrong with this situation, and it does reflect badly on both the referee and officials backstage, who have the ability to communicate with the referee at all times.
First of all, any indication that a wrestler is legitimately knocked out during a match should be an instant stoppage – or at the very least, a pause in the action until the injured star in question can be properly and safely removed from the ring. In this case, the referee seemingly did nothing and allowed Brie to direct the flow of the match, rather than stepping in.
Secondly, the call to allow her to briefly return to the ring to participate in another spot, is absolutely inexcusable. Regardless of what Morgan may have said to the doctor, it was clear she was at least temporarily incapacitated, and we have seen too many freak accidents in recent years end careers, and even lives because of trauma to the head and neck.