4 theories on why WWE split up The Riott Squad

One of the biggest surprises of the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up came after SmackDown Live when WWE announced that Liv Morgan had been traded to the blue brand from Raw.

“The Problem Child” of The Riott Squad joined the main roster alongside Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan in November 2017 and the trio went on to form a bond so strong that they all have matching tattoos of the date they debuted together (‘11-21-17’).

Unlike other tag teams in WWE’s women’s division, notably Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, there had been no signs of dissension between Morgan, Riott and Logan in recent months, so the news about the faction splitting up came completely out of the blue.

Four other teams were broken up in the Shake-Up (SAnitY, Chad Gable & Bobby Roode, The Sky Pirates and Sasha Banks & Bayley), but the removal of Morgan from the rest of The Riott Squad was certainly the most surprising.

So, why did WWE decide to split the trio up and what lies in store for their main-roster futures? Let’s take a look at four theories about why they are no longer together.

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#4 Potential Money In The Bank holder?

For a long time, WWE showcased Ruby Riott as the main star of The Riott Squad, hence the name of the faction. In recent weeks, however, we have seen Sarah Logan come into her own as a singles competitor, particularly in the WrestleMania 35 Women’s Battle Royal, while Liv Morgan has displayed the most personality out of the three faction members.

Riott’s reputation was somewhat damaged at Elimination Chamber when she was easily defeated by Ronda Rousey in a 100-second match, but this break-up will allow her to have a fresh start to revitalise her singles career on Monday nights.

Like Riott, Logan is known for her in-ring skills – so much so that, back in 2017, Charlotte Flair even highlighted her as someone from the Mae Young Classic who she wanted to face – but it remains to be seen what she can offer as a singles performer.

As for Morgan, she has not been given much of a chance to show what she can do by herself, but she definitely has the ability and charisma to carve out a similar career path to the likes of Carmella and Alexa Bliss.

Maybe, with Money In The Bank on the horizon, now is the perfect time for WWE to push one of these Riott Squad members into title contention by giving them a run as “Miss Money In The Bank”.

#3 Too many high-profile losses

Much like The IIconics, The Riott Squad showed during their time together on the main roster that they possess plenty of personality and charisma. The problem is that every time they competed in a high-profile match that really mattered, they lost on every single occasion.

This run of big defeats began at Fastlane 2018, where Ruby Riott lost a SmackDown Women’s Championship match against Charlotte Flair. At the time, the loss did not seem to matter all that much – Riott was elevated simply by being in the match – but an alarming pattern emerged throughout 2018 and into 2019.

Riott defeated Bayley in a relatively meaningless match on the Backlash kickoff show, but she then went on to lose in her other two PPV singles matches against Natalya and Ronda Rousey. As a duo/trio, The Riott Squad lost all three of their PPV matches (vs. The Bellas & Rousey at Super Show-Down, vs. The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection & Natalya at Evolution, and vs. five teams at Elimination Chamber 2019).

Simply put, whenever The Riott Squad found themselves in a big match, it started to become obvious that they were going to lose.

#2 Freshen up the tag division

Sasha Banks & Bayley worked behind the scenes throughout 2018 to try to persuade Vince McMahon to introduce Women’s Tag Team titles. In the end, they were successful in doing so, and The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection became the inaugural holders of the titles at Elimination Chamber in February 2019.

The former NXT Women’s champions lost their titles against The IIconics at WrestleMania 35 and they have since been split up in the Superstar Shake-Up, with Banks’ WWE future said to be in doubt after she reportedly requested her release.

During the first two months of the Women’s Tag Team titles’ existence, the following teams have lost matches: Alexa Bliss & Mickie James, Natalya & Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox & Nikki Cross, Nia Jax & Tamina, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville, The Riott Squad, The IIconics, Carmella & Naomi, Natalya & Beth Phoenix, and Sasha Banks & Bayley.

Needless to say, if everybody beats everybody, how are any of these teams going to be viewed by the audience as genuine contenders to win the Women’s Tag Team titles?

Maybe, following the underwhelming storylines involving the titles over the last two months, WWE has decided to completely refresh the tag division by breaking up two of the most prominent women’s teams from the last year, The Riott Squad and The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection.

#1 Propel Ruby Riott to singles stardom

Ruby Riott has established herself as one of the brightest prospects on the main roster over the last 17 months. Whenever somebody creates a list of underrated Superstars or future champions, you can bet that Riott will be there.

As we mentioned earlier in this article, she has found it difficult to pick up victories when it matters most. Granted, she was never going to be seen as a credible title winner in her matches against Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey before the last two WrestleMania events, but it is still alarming that she has never won a singles match on a PPV main show.

While Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan fit into the ‘potential’ category, Riott is already the real deal. She could win the women’s Money In The Bank ladder match in May or become the #1 contender for the Raw Women’s Championship and there would be very few people complaining.

It would be an exaggeration to say that the rest of the Riott Squad was holding Riott back, but it cannot be denied that her future as a singles competitor looks significantly brighter without them.