Liv Morgan thought her latest movie opportunity might get shut down before she even had the chance to audition. The WWE Women’s World Champion was worried the mature content in Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo would be enough for WWE to tell her “absolutely not.”
During an interview with Japanese outlet Real Sound to promote the movie, Morgan opened up about how she landed her first major feature film role. Since WWE operates with PG programming, she wasn’t sure the company would be comfortable with her appearing in a movie that definitely doesn’t fall into that same category. Morgan was prepared for WWE to reject the idea altogether. Instead, she discovered that Takashi Miike apparently has some pretty big fans inside WWE’s executive ranks.
“It was an audition. My initial concern was that the script wasn’t rated PG (suitable for all ages). Since the WWE shows I belong to are rated PG, I was prepared for the company to tell me, ‘Absolutely not.’”
Things went in a completely different direction once WWE learned who was directing the movie. According to Morgan, several executives were fans of Miike and gave her the green light to go after the role.
“But there are many big fans of director Takashi Miike among the WWE executives, and they kindly gave me permission, saying, ‘If it’s a movie by Director Miike, it’s OK, go ahead and audition.’”
Morgan ultimately landed the role and spent time in Japan filming Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo in May 2025. The movie also stars Shun Oguri, Lily James and Shotaro Mamiya, with Morgan appearing as Megan, a mysterious woman who comes to Japan to train as a sushi chef.
Fans finally got their first look at Morgan in the movie when NEON released its first trailer in August 2026. Her appearance in the footage confirmed that this wasn’t simply a small credit with her name attached, as she was shown alongside members of the film’s main cast.
Morgan’s concern about getting WWE’s approval turned out to be unnecessary, but the reason she got the green light is probably the more surprising part of the story. Had Miike not already had fans in high places inside WWE, Morgan’s first major movie opportunity might have played out very differently.
What do you think about Liv Morgan admitting she expected WWE to reject her request to audition for Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo? Let us know in the comments below.
