Becky Lynch sits on top of the mountain as the longest reigning title holder of WWE’s main brands; with an almost 400 day reign. And while she enjoys the continued success, it isn’t easy to highlight many distinguishing features of her time as Raw Women’s Champion. This article takes a look at why this is, along with ways WWE could give her character a much-needed shot in the arm. In order to do this though, we need to roll back the clock. What was ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch like before she rolled up Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania? How has her character changed?
#GiveBeckyAChance
A couple of years ago, Becky was chasing after the SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella. She was the #1 draft pick, and while she was liked, she became somewhat of an afterthought (like Bayley as The Hugger). Nevertheless, fans wanted her to be champ while Charlotte Flair lorded over Raw. That was of course, until The Queen switched brands. Lynch accepted Flair being shoehorned in to the triple threat as it would cement her position. However, the victory didn’t occur at SummerSlam and Becky viciously turned on her “best friend”.
Becky aired her frustrations a few nights later, not only with Charlotte, but with the WWE Universe for not showing her enough support (she felt screwed out of her one-on-one match). While Becky got some jeers, they were soon drowned out by cheers after she shared her thoughts on Flair behind handed everything. ‘The Man’ was born from this frustration after toeing the company line for so long. After all the hard work, she was finally coming out of her shell and telling us how it is.
This promo resonated because it sounded real, almost as if it was coming from the mouth of Rebecca Quin. It felt good to hear someone straight up telling management how unfair it was for Flair to be given preferential treatment. Fans often share the hypocrisies within WWE among themselves, and they finally had a voice (the first since CM Punk) to air their distaste with how management books shows. While Lynch was giving it to her fans just as much, it was negated because her newfound freedom to express had an exciting upside. But yeah.. has she done anything like it since nailing this breakout moment? I don’t believe so.
Baddest Woman On The Planet
Their rivalry reached the next level when Becky defeated Charlotte for the title a month later. Becky got her payoff when she won ‘Last Woman Standing’ at Evolution. WWE thought that would be enough.. but then Nia Jax stiffed Lynch during SmackDown’s invasion of Raw. The bloodied face moment suddenly transformed her in to a Steve Austin-like anti-hero. Becky was seen as a badass, but not enough of one to retain against Asuka in a triple threat with Charlotte at TLC. And again, she wasn’t tough enough to claim it back in their return match at the Royal Rumble.
We know she needed to move on to Raw, but tapping out clean to Asuka showed her vulnerability. Becky had to be screwed here, but WWE figured they could cover it by having her win the Rumble an hour later; after stealing Lana’s #30 spot. Not only did this undermine the rest of the talent, but it was announcing her place at WrestleMania too soon. They had Becky play up a storyline injury and relinquish her place to Charlotte; but it was painfully obvious she’d earn it back. And most fans never wanted a triple threat, they wanted either: a) versus Rousey to prove who the baddest woman on the planet is, or b) The Man vs. The Queen to bring their long-time rivalry to an emphatic close.
Making it a triple threat complicated matters, but it wasn’t the only thing going against them. While being announced as the first women’s main event was historic, it piled on extra pressure to perform. Also, it was asking a little too much of the WWE Universe, to expect everyone to be awake enough to care after sitting through a 7+ hour show.
‘Becky 2 Belts’
The way she won both women’s championships at WrestleMania remains questionable. There were reports that the finishing roll up was botched, and assumptions lead to what many considered a logical step toward a singles encounter between Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch. The match never happened though (Ronda went home), so her triumphant WrestleMania victory will always be tainted because ‘Becky 2 Belts’ never proved herself over Rousey.
To add another layer of fishy booking to the cake, WWE decided she would lose the SmackDown Women’s Championship a month later to Charlotte at Money In The Bank. Becky had to work double duty as she first retained the Raw title against Lacey Evans. Immediately after this, Becky demanded her match with Charlotte; in what can only be deemed an overly brash move. A combination of Evans (who interfered despite submitting minutes earlier) and Charlotte ensured she would lose the title in little over six minutes. WWE figured by having Bayley cash in Money In The Bank on Charlotte, that everyone would forget what had transpired and celebrate a new champion crowned.
What they failed to realize, is that ‘The Man’ character spawned from the frustrations of The Queen always getting the upper hand. Becky had to resign herself to the fact that she isn’t who she claims to be. The crowning at WrestleMania was more of a fleeting moment than anything designed to be long-term; and it was Flair doing the spoiling once again. Despite the clear interference, and beating Bayley only a few weeks before, she never did get a rematch for the SmackDown title. Effectively, this was the beginning of a metaphorical vasectomy for ‘The Man’. She was losing her balls, and nothing could stop the inevitable tenure of mediocrity.
Match Stats
According to her known match records from profightdb, in over 13 months she has wrestled 34 times on television. This equates to an average of less than two times per month. 16 of those were as part of a tag team. What is interesting to note, is that WWE tried partnering her up with her boyfriend Seth Rollins. This happened only three times before WWE backtracked on what was obviously a mistake. And despite feuding with her rival Charlotte for over eight months, they put all the animosity to one side and formed a tag team a few months later. They paired up together eight times and unsuccessfully challenged for the tag titles three times.
Becky Lynch Angry That WWE Used Relationship With Seth Rollins as On-Screen Storyline
Including dark matches and live events, Becky has defended the Raw title 17 times. Her challengers include Lacey Evans (5), Asuka (5), Natalya (3), Alexa Bliss (2), Sasha Banks (2), Charlotte Flair (2) and Shayna Baszler (1). Only two of these were in special matches, which include a steel cage (vs. Flair & Asuka) and Hell In A Cell (vs. Sasha).
Looking at these stats, it seems clear that WWE hasn’t relied on her too often. To begin with, she was working extensively with Lacey Evans to help get her over. When management saw it wasn’t working, Becky had nowhere to go except to team with Rollins, and then Charlotte. This undermined her persona, because ‘The Man’ should be standing tall on her own. They tried some defenses against Natalya and Sasha Banks, but the magic didn’t appear. At the end of 2019 & early 2020, Becky finally began regularly defending her Raw title and hasn’t wrestled a tag match on TV since December 15th.
Ying & Yang
You’re only as good as your competition. The greatest legends of the business had rivals who were considered either on a par, or close enough to be considered a threat. Ric Flair had the likes of Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, Dusty Rhodes, and others. Steve Austin had The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Undertaker, and more. Aside from Charlotte Flair, Becky has no yang to her ying. WWE tried with Lacey Evans, but it didn’t come to fruition as she was too inexperienced. I’m not sure what it is about Sasha Banks.. but WWE hasn’t made her seem credible in years.
Bayley would be a good choice in her current form, but they are separated. Alexa Bliss hasn’t been a threat since the “This Is Your Life” segment; which Vince still isn’t over (he mentioned it on SmackDown). Then you have Asuka, who was the only woman who has beaten her clean in recent times. And what did WWE do? They had Becky tie up loose ends at this years Royal Rumble. Shayna Baszler’s booking.. I cannot understand. After being a dominant force on NXT for what felt like years, she made an immediate impact and almost won this year’s Rumble over Flair. She chowed down on Becky Lynch like some kind of zombie, and proceeded to annoyingly obliterate the competition in Elimination Chamber.
It was the perfect setup for Baszler to become the antithesis of Lynch. And then she lost.. in under nine minutes at WrestleMania. All the ingredients were there for a classic, yet it fell short of many fans expectations as they were left scratching their heads. Having Becky chase after the title again would have reinvigorated her, while also creating someone credible (who everyone hates!) to dethrone in Shayna Baszler.
Thrill Of The Chase
What does the future hold for Becky Lynch? It’s tough to say. If Ronda Rousey returned soon, retaining against Baszler would make a boatload of sense. But if not, then who’s left? Nia Jax returned lately, and is looking like she’s been built up for the feud we never got; after breaking Becky’s nose 18 months ago.
It’s tough to know if she’s getting over in a heel way though, as there’s no way to gauge a crowds reaction. Of course, Nia will credit herself for the rise of ‘The Man’, and it seems natural she would go on and take the title from her. WWE needs to learn from what they did with Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar here. Becky doesn’t need the title to be a draw, and there will come a day when the WWE Universe gets really sick of her reign (if they haven’t already) if they let it continue.
The key reasons behind Becky Lynch’s unremarkable reign is largely due to her being kept away from (heel) Charlotte. WWE hasn’t been able to build anyone up as her equal. Also, they lost sight of who ‘The Man’ is, a character born out of frustration from other’s getting handed everything, while she works harder than anyone else. With Becky being on top as long as she has, any attempt to insult management feels false and borderline whiny.
Becky hasn’t got any reason to be upset, she has it all.. except an opponent she can really bounce off. To make one, she will have to lose in order to win again later. Much like Steve Austin back in the day, he was always better chasing the title than holding on to it. Did You know? The Rattlesnake’s longest title reign was a mere 175 days. Sometimes you don’t need to be dominant to become a legend.
Conclusion
I’d like to wrap this up now, by saying that I’m not blaming Becky Lynch at all for this reign. She’s working with what’s on the table, and it’s up to WWE to find someone who can really threaten her position. Til then, all she can do is keep working hard and doing what she can. It will take time, but eventually this title reign could be something to remember. If not, well.. it’s not the end of the world. At least it’s better than having a champion like Kelly Kelly or The Bella Twins.
Out of the other women on Raw’s roster, who do you think should be considered her equal? Nia Jax? Shayna Baszler? Alexa Bliss? Asuka? Could Nikki Cross do it? What about Liv Morgan or dare I say it.. Lana? Ok, I wasn’t serious about the last one. There’s so many options for Becky Lynch’s future and I’d like to hear your thoughts. Stay safe everyone and thanks for reading.
