Becky Lynch is the Raw Women’s Champion, and the Smackdown Women’s Champion. The first-ever Champ Champ.
This feels good, right?
Of course it does.
Over the course of many months, everything has pointed to this moment, Becky’s crowning glory on the Grandest Stage of them All, in front of more than 80,000 fans at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
However, there’s a horrible, nagging feeling that this isn’t how things should have gone down.
We all wanted the perfect finale to the story of a fighter who has paid her dues, dismissed the naysayers, fought the regime, and finally saw all her dreams come true.
On the face of things, that is exactly what happened.
NEW #RAW #WomensChampion.
— WWE (@WWE) April 8, 2019
NEW #SDLive #WomensChampion.@BeckyLynchWWE just made HISTORY! #WrestleMania #BeckyLynch pic.twitter.com/thDQ3KUDMz
Becky stood triumphant, gold on each shoulder, after being victorious in her Winner Takes All Triple Threat match with Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair.
After everything she has been through, and the groundswell of public opinion backing her, it’s no more than was deserved. But, the manner of the victory cheated her out of an even more special Wrestlemania moment.
A screwy pin finish to hand Ronda Rousey her first defeat and condemn Charlotte to a super-short spell as Smackdown champion was not the finish Lynch deserved.
Whether it was slightly botched or planned – it leaves a slightly deflated feeling now it’s all said and done.
For everything she has done to force this match into the main event, the payoff should have been so much more.
From title wins, losses, Royal Rumble wins, opportunities denied, a broken face, and a wave of popularity rarely seen in recent years – she has literally given blood for the cause.
Wrestlemania was her moment, the culmination of all this effort in one unforgettable highlight reel snapshot.
It may seem like that’s what she got, but I’m not convinced.
Think back to similar storylines from the past.
The Man was likened to Stone Cold Steve Austin countless times throughout the run, and you look back to one of his defining moments against Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. With blood pouring from his head, Austin was able to summon everything inside him to beat the Hitman in one of the WWE’s most iconic matches. It was the ultimate rub in the face of adversity.
Daniel Bryan is another who springs to mind. He, like Lynch, was never supposed to be the champion. Kept down by the authority, he was destined to be the small guy who would never make the big time. His opportunity came at Wrestlemania 30. Not only would he defeat Randy Orton and Batista in a Triple Threat, but would go on to defeat Triple H on the same night.
Even look on this year’s Mania card at Kofi Kingston. A much shorter build to a similar story. A man overlooked for more than a decade, pushed down by the boss, handed the impossible task to claim the title, yet picks up a clean win over Bryan to provide the perfect conclusion to the story.
The results? The kind of feel-good moments that will live forever in the memory.
For Lynch, it was almost as though the crowd was surprised by the timing of the pin. Their reaction seemed stunted – but did pop when things sunk in.
Rousey questioned the legitimacy of the win. Was her right shoulder up? It will be interesting to see how this plays out on RAW and how the story develops.
From being on the pre-show of last year’s Mania, to the main event of this, Becky’s journey has been must-see, and has made her the face of the company.
This should never have been a moment for conspiracy theories, but we will be stuck with them.
Going over in a Wrestlemania main event is huge, but given everything she has done for the company – it could, and should, have been even more.
