By Glenn Schouw
Johannesburg — From tears to unrelenting joy for a young girl in the WWE Universe has sent social media into a frenzy.
The child was devastated by her favourite wrestler Liv Morgan’s brutal defeat by the 26-year old gothic superstar Rhea Ripley during their Smackdown clash.
@abbyonekenobi Dis you? pic.twitter.com/JQVrkbFAqw
Made aware of the child’s stress, the 28-year Morgan ensured a backstage path was cleared through the sea of livid fans. Security were ready to go as the fans were venting their anger at Ripley, who was taunting the young fan.
After the fan ran through the backstage curtains, the awaiting Morgan embraced the youngster and spun around with her in a special moment they both enjoyed.
The former champion reassured her endearing fan that she was “Okay” after the savage contest, which had clearly gone off the planned script.
The young girl’s never-to-be-forgotten moment was rounded off with an autograph.
Morgan’s class and empathy will have made her even more fans in the WWE Universe.
This was not the case with Ripley who many felt was cruel in tormenting the child as Morgan, who was forced to tap out against her powerful former tag team partner, left the ring.
Some would say that Ripley was staying true to her role as the villain.
However, Ripley later took it to another level which was unforgivable and not welcome in sports entertainment.
Ripley, who faces the 16-time World Champion and WWE great Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania in Hollywood next month, did the unthinkable by changing her Twitter profile picture to that of the distraught child crying.
Sadly, Twitter is divided over Ripley's actions.
Some fans praised Ripley for her dedication to her character, as well as her sensational win over Morgan.
Others hit back: “Rhea ur so cruel” commented user @rhearipleyfp, “stop being mean to children please” and “I saw that poor little girl crying last night on Smackdown. It was adorable that she loves Liv that much. It was even cooler that Liv cheered her up. I love this energy.”
One can’t help but conclude that Ripley doesn’t care about the divided opinions, all she cares about is taking out Flair.
In their only previous encounter, two years ago, Flair exploited her lack of experience and took the spoils; however, the well-muscled Ripley has upped her game big time and poses a real threat at WrestleMania.
It appears Morgan may miss out on Mania, which would be a travesty as few have advanced their ring persona and improved as an athlete as much as Morgan.
She seized the opportunity that came with her women’s Money in the Bank victory and her SmackDown Women’s Championship run gave her the opportunity to engage and win over audiences.
In her role as an underdog or former champion pushed to the brink by the heartbreak of losing her title, Morgan has been a legitimate star for the SmackDown women’s division.
The only two Mania doors that could possibly open for Morgan is continuing her feud with Ronda Rousey, who is in a race to be fit after suffering a recent injury, or Morgan partnering with Raquel Rodriguez or another Friday night competitor to do battle with “The Baddest Woman on the Planet” (Rousey) and her teammate.
It has been a tough year for the popular Morgan.
She fought well at the Elimination Chamber last month but fell short of achieving a shot at the Raw Women’s Championship as Asuka won the match.
Asuka also had her measure on Smackdown prior to the February pay-per-view as she also was a part of the six-person tag-team that fell to Asuka, Carmella and Nikki Cross.
Morgan’s last win came on February 10 when she and Rodriguez defeated Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville in a tag-team match.
So it would be fair to say that Morgan will be praying for a rabbit to be pulled out of the WrestleMania hat.
However, if this doesn’t happen, Morgan may see this as the stars lining up for a full-time career in the movie industry.
The former model has already acted in movies and made an impact.
Fittingly, WrestleMania is taking place in Hollywood.
Watch this space!
IOL Sport