Smackdown and 205 Live this week will emanate from Evansville, IN.
3 matches have been confirmed for tonight’s shows thus far.
On 205 Live, a fatal 4-way match will take place to determine a new #1 contender to Cedric Alexander’s Cruiserweight Championship. Meanwhile, on Smackdown, Paige will announce who AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against at SummerSlam.
Smackdown 7/24
Paige Reveals AJ Styles’ SummerSlam Opponent
Smackdown General Manager, Paige, has announced she will reveal who Styles’ new challenger is tonight. Whether she announces a match to determine AJ’s next challenger or just announces a name outright isn’t yet known, however.
Styles’ last title defense came against Rusev at Extreme Rules. Rusev had won a gauntlet match on Smackdown to earn the title shot.
Non-Title Match
Becky Lynch vs Carmella
SummerSlam title match implications will be on the line tonight in a match between Becky Lynch and Carmella. This match was made last week with the stipulation that if Lynch is victorious she will earn a title match against Carmella at SummerSlam.
Lynch has gone 4-0 since Money in the Bank on Smackdown. She’s won single’s matches on 4 of the last 5 episodes of Smackdown. In that time she has defeated Billie Kay, Sonya Deville, Peyton Royce, and Mandy Rose.
Smackdown Tag-Team Tournament
The New Day vs Sanity
In a rematch from Extreme Rules, New Day take on Sanity tonight. The winner moves on to the finals of the 4-team tournament and will meet the winner of the Bar vs the Usos.
Sanity defeated New Day on the Extreme Rules Kickoff show but tonight is the match which has title implications on the line.
Why Did Randy Orton Almost Rip Jeff Hardy’s Ear Off?
Twice now we have seen Randy Orton target Jeff Hardy during a match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Why is Orton targetting Jeff Hardy? What is the status of Jeff Hardy’s earlobe following last Tuesday’s encounter with the Viper?
We will hopefully have answers to these questions after tonight.
Is WWE Building Towards The Miz vs Daniel Bryan At SummerSlam?
All signs point to the long-awaited Miz vs Daniel Bryan one-on-one match to take place at SummerSlam. Last week, Bryan crashed a mock-funeral Miz held for Team Hell No. This week should only further the tension between the two vastly different Superstars.
205 Live 7/24 Preview
#1 Contenders Match
Mustafa Ali vs Hideo Itami vs TJP vs Drew Gulak
Just one match has been announced for 205 Live tonight. Mustafa Ali, Hideo Itami, TJP, and Drew Gulak will battle for the right to face Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship.
TJP is the only former Champion in the match. Alexander defeated Mustafa Ali for the vacant title on the WrestleMania 34 Kickoff show. He also defeated Hideo Itami on the July 10th episode of 205 Live. He’s faced Drew Gulak 5x in the history of 205 Live. Alexander has won 3 of those matches to Gulak and lost the other two. Gulak’s only victories over Alexander were both in early 2017.
Unlike many of the athletes Becky Lynch came through the developmental system with, her road to WWE was long and arduous. Lynch began wrestling at just 15 years of age but it wouldn’t be until 11 years into her wrestling career that WWE would sign her. In that time, she began to doubt if she was what the company was looking for.
The 31-year-old recently appeared on the Conversations with Maria Menounos show and spoke about the pressure she felt earlier in her career.
Becky Lynch on Fitting the “WWE Mold”
“I remember hearing from a woman who said, ‘They don’t want girls like us. They want fluff.’ And I remember thinking in my head, ‘Well let’s see about this.’ But, also being like, ‘Oh ok, well what do I got to do?’” Lynch said on the show. “So at that time everybody was just drop dead models, stunning, and looked phenomenal.”
Lynch worked numerous jobs while she chased her WWE dream. She worked as an airline attendant and also did stunt work on the show, Vikings.
“I thought if I looked like a fitness model maybe I’ve got a better chance of getting hired,” Lynch continued. “So that’s why I got into bodybuilding and with that, of course, I didn’t do it properly. I didn’t really know what I was doing….and I just dropped so much weight and I didn’t have the energy and with that your mood changes…everything changes and gets messed up.”
She would continue to say the early frustrations in her career led to depression.
“I was going into depression and lack of self-belief more than anything,” Lynch said. “That lack of self-belief can be so detrimental to anybody in any field…they just throw away their art and what they’re good and what they’re meant to do because they just don’t believe in themselves.”
Lynch would also credit Dusty Rhodes for helping her have more confidence. “If it wasn’t for Dusty Rhodes believing in me a lot of the times, I wouldn’t be here.”
Three years ago today, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair made their main roster debuts on RAW. Nikki Bella was delivering a “State of the Divas Address” alongside Alicia Fox and Brie Bella. Stephanie McMahon interrupted and was soon joined by Paige, Tamina Snuka, Naomi, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair.
Stephanie said it was time for a real change in the division and provoked the Superstars into a brawl. The brawl culminated in Becky, Sasha, and Charlotte all locking in their finisher submission holds as Stephanie McMahon looked on from the entrance ramp.
All three Superstars have already accomplished a lot in the short time they have been on the main roster. Each has played an integral role in the women’s revolution and helped change the divas division into the women’s division. Charlotte and Banks main-evented WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 and Becky Lynch became the first-ever SmackDown Women’s Champion. Below is a recap of their time on the main roster so far and their accomplishments.
Becky Lynch (1-Time SmackDown Women’s Champion)
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Becky Lynch teamed up with Paige and Charlotte to form Team PCB. The trio didn’t last long, as Paige insulted Charlotte the RAW after she won the Divas Championship at Night of Champions 2015. Lynch tried to remain friends with Charlotte at the time, but the power had gone to Flair’s head and she became a heel.
Ric Flair started getting involved in Charlotte’s matches to ensure that his daughter stayed atop the women’s division. On RAW 1/4/16, Becky Lynch overcame Ric’s interference and defeated Charlotte Flair via a roll-up while holding onto Charlotte’s tights. Charlotte then attacked Lynch from behind after the match.
Lynch then battled Charlotte on SmackDown later that week. Becky had the match won with the Dis-Arm-Her submission applied, but Ric Flair pulled his daughter’s leg to the bottom rope just before she tapped out. Charlotte then rolled up Lynch and used the ropes for leverage to retain the title. Becky got another shot at the Divas Championship at Royal Rumble 2016 but came up short once again.
Becky Lynch then aligned with Sasha Banks to battle Tamina and Naomi at WWE Fastlane 2016. Lynch and Banks won the match but wound up in a feud against each other to determine the #1 contender for Charlotte’s Divas Championship. Charlotte wound up defending the title against both Superstars in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 32. Charlotte retained and the Divas Championship was rebranded as the WWE Women’s Championship.
Lynch was the first female Superstar to be drafted by SmackDown on July 19th, 2016. At Backlash 2016, Lynch defeated Natalya, Nikki Bella, Naomi, Carmella and Alexa Bliss in a Six-Pack Challenge to become the first-ever SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Becky Lynch lost the SmackDown Women’s Championship to Alexa Bliss in a Tables Match at WWE TLC 2016. She has not captured the title since but WWE has been pushing her on recent episodes of SmackDown. Becky has been on a winning streak as of late and tapped out Charlotte Flair last month.
Sasha Banks (4-Time Raw Women’s Champion)
Sasha Banks
Sasha joined Tamina and Naomi to form Team B.A.D. on the main roster. Banks defeated Divas Champion Nikki Bella on the 8/17/15 episode of RAW in a non-title match. She competed in #1 contender Beat the Clock challenge to determine the #1 contender to the Divas Championship. Banks wrestled Paige to a time limit draw and Charlotte Flair ultimately won the competition.
Sasha attacked Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair after their title match at Royal Rumble 2016. On the following week’s episode of RAW, Sasha wanted it to be known that she was no longer a part of Team B.A.D. and was on her own now. She had her sights set on the Divas Championship and was scheduled to face Becky Lynch later that night. During her match with Lynch, Naomi and Tamina attacked Banks. This led to Banks teaming up Lynch to defeat Team B.A.D. at WWE Fastlane 2016. Charlotte Flair then defeated Banks and Lynch at WrestleMania 34 in a Triple Threat Match.
Banks was drafted to RAW on 7/19/16 and made an immediate impact. She defeated Charlotte on the July 25th episode of RAW and captured her first WWE Women’s Championship. Banks dropped the belt back to Charlotte 27 days later and the title was rebranded to the RAW Women’s Championship.
Sasha Banks recaptured the RAW Women’s Championship on the October 3rd episode of RAW, only to once again lose it back to Charlotte 27 days later at in the first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell Match at WWE Hell in a Cell 2016. Sasha won the title for a third time after defeating Charlotte in a Falls Count Anywhere Match on the November 28th episode of RAW. Banks quickly lost the title back to Charlotte at WWE Roadblock in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.
Banks would then help Bayley defeat Charlotte to capture the RAW Women’s Championship on 2/13/17 episode of RAW. Sasha came up short against Bayley, Charlotte and Nia Jax in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match for the title at WrestleMania 33. Sasha won the RAW Women’s Championship for a fourth time at WWE SummerSlam 2017 after defeating Alexa Bliss. Her fourth title reign only lasted 8 days as she dropped the title back to Bliss on the August 28th episode of RAW.
Sasha was the #1 entrant in the first women’s Royal Rumble Match this past January. She lasted over 50 minutes in the match but was eliminated by Nikki & Brie Bella. Sasha also competed in the first women’s Elimination Chamber Match but lost to Alexa Bliss in the finals. During that match, Sasha Banks betrayed Bayley and that feud has been on and off ever since. Banks and Bayley are currently in counseling as demanded by RAW GM Kurt Angle.
Charlotte Flair (4-Time RAW Women’s Champion, 1-Time SmackDown & Divas Champion)
Charlotte joined Becky Lynch and Paige to form Team PCB after joining the main roster. Flair made her PPV debut at WWE Battleground 2015 and defeated Brie Bella and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat Match. Team PCB went on to defeat Team B.A.D. and Team Bellas at SummerSlam 2015
Flair captured the Divas Championship at Night of Champions 2015 by defeating Nikki Bella. The following night on RAW, Paige insulted Charlotte and Becky Lynch and claimed that Flair only won the title because of her father. Charlotte retained the title at Hell in a Cell 2015 by once again defeating Nikki Bella. The following night on RAW, Paige attacked Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Flair went on to successfully defend her title against Paige at Survivor Series 2015, the next night on RAW and WWE TLC 2015.
Charlotte had hinted at turning heel for a bit but it became official on the 1/4/16 episode of RAW. Flair lost to Becky Lynch and then attacked her after the match. Ric Flair then helped Charlotte retain the title against Lynch three days later on SmackDown. Charlotte held onto the Divas Championship by retaining against Brie Bella at WWE Fastlane 2016 and Natalya at WWE Roadblock. Charlotte became the first inaugural WWE Women’s Champion after defeating Banks and Lynch at WrestleMania 32.
Flair then entered a feud with Natalya on the RAW after WrestleMania 32. This led to a title match at WWE Payback 2016, Bret Hart and Ric Flair were ringside for that match. In an homage to the infamous Montreal Screwjob, referee Charles Robinson called for the bell while Charlotte had Natalya trapped in the Sharpshooter.
Charlotte defeated Natalya once again at Extreme Rules 2016 in a Submission Match. Ric Flair was banned from ringside but Dana Brooke interfered in the match. The next night on RAW, Charlotte scolded Ric Flair and informed him that she no longer needed him. Flair lost the title to Sasha Banks on the 7/25/16 episode of RAW following the draft. As written above, the two played hot potato with the title for a couple of months but Flair ultimately won the feud.
Bayley and Charlotte then entered a feud and Charlotte defeated her at Royal Rumble 2017 to retain the title. Charlotte then dropped the title a couple of weeks later on RAW to Bayley and then lost her rematch at WWE Fastlane 2017, which ended Flair’s PPV singles match undefeated streak at 16. Flair once again battled for the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 33 in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match. Bayley retained the title by eliminating Charlotte in the finals.
During last year’s WWE Superstar Shake-Up, Charlotte joined SmackDown and has been a part of the blue brand ever since. Charlotte once again became a fan favorite as she battled the Welcoming Committee (Carmella, Tamina Snuka and Natalya). Charlotte competed in the first-ever women’s MITB Ladder Match last year but Carmella emerged victorious due to outside interference from James Ellsworth. At WWE Battleground 2017, Charlotte battled Natalya, Becky Lynch, Tamina and Lana in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match to determine the #1 Contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Natalya emerged victorious in the match after pinning Charlotte.
Charlotte then stepped away for a couple months as Ric Flair was battling health issues. She returned to SmackDown on 9/19/17 and defeated Becky Lynch, Tamina and Naomi in a Fatal 4-Way Match to become the #1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Charlotte battled Natalya at WWE Hell in a Cell 2017 and won the match by DQ, thus Natalya remained SmackDown Women’s Champion. Flair wound up winning the title on the 11/14/17 episode of SmackDown in her hometown. After the match, Charlotte celebrated with her father on the entrance ramp. Flair successfully defended the title against Natalya at Clash of Champions in a Lumberjack Match.
Flair, Naomi and Becky Lynch then entered a feud with the Riott Squad. Charlotte wound up retaining her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Ruby Riott at WWE Fastlane 2018. After the match, Asuka confronted her and made it known she wanted to face Flair at WrestleMania after winning the first women’s Royal Rumble. Charlotte went on to hand Asuka her first loss at WrestleMania 34 and retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Two days after WrestleMania 34, Charlotte lost the title after Carmella cashed in her MITB briefcase. Carmella went on to defeat Charlotte at WWE Backlash 2018 to retain the title.
Charlotte has been off of SmackDown due to injury recently but is expected to return within the next few weeks. All three Superstars have had success on the main roster, but Flair seems to be the one consistently at the top. She will most likely be back in the SmackDown Women’s Championship picture upon her return to the ring.
Discussion: While Charlotte Flair has had the most impressive run on the main roster so far, which Superstar do you think will accomplish the most going forward?
Becky Lynch has attempted to pitch WWE officials an interesting idea.
That idea the SmackDown Live star has tried to get over is about a women’s tag team championship that could be used on both brands, RAW and SmackDown Live.
While speaking with longtime WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia last week at Ace Comic Con in Seattle, the idea was brought up to which Lynch noted that she had been trying to convince WWE officials that it was a good idea for a year if not longer. “Been pitching it for a year — maybe two,” Lynch stated (transcript courtesy of Pro Wrestling Sheet).
Lynch stated that there wouldn’t be enough competitors to make the titles viable on a single brand and thus the reason it would appear on both brands. She believes that it would set the stage for a larger range of matches and possibilities. “I think that would get people excited to watch any of the brands, because you wouldn’t know when people would be showing up on either RAW or Smackdown.”
What are your thoughts on Lynch pitching these ideas? Sound off in the comment section.
Smackdown General Manager, Paige, and WWE host, Renee Young, recently decided to play a prank on Becky Lynch. The orange-haired Lass-Kicker arrived backstage at Smackdown but was surprised to learn that wrestlers in the back had tampered with her luggage.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkOvE7nna9H/
Becky Lynch’s Bag Smells Great
Somehow, the moral of this story turned out to be that Becky Lynch’s bag seems to smell great.
The topic of luggage was clearly still on Lynch’s mind when she Tweeted out the following:
Lynch made Billie Kay of the IIconics tap out last night to her armbar submission finish.
Praise for Becky Lynch
Lynch earned some praise recently from WWE Hall-of-Famer, Bubba Ray Dudley.
“Every time she climbed that ladder, those people were on their feet. They’re invested in her, they wanted to see her win. Hopefully, the people in the back are listening.” – Bubba Ray Dudley
Lynch was the inaugural Smackdown Live Women’s Champion, having won the title shortly after the brand extension in 2016. She won a 6-Pack Elimination Challenge at Backlash that year to win the title. She would lose the title that December at the TLC pay-per-view to Alexa Bliss, however. Lynch dropped a tables match and then a steel cage rematch to Bliss due to interference by Mickie James. She then fell out of the title picture altogether.
WWE Hall of Famer and one of the most decorated tag team performers in the history of the industry Bubba Ray Dudley recently made some comments on the fan support for WWE Smackdown Live competitor Becky Lynch.
Becky appeared at the Money In The Bank PPV this past Sunday as one of the Women’s roster Superstars competing in the MITB match. Bubba Ray’s comments on Becky were reflecting the huge fan reaction to the ‘Lass Kicker,’ he stated that “Every time she climbed that ladder, those people were on their feet. They’re invested in her, they wanted to see her win. Hopefully the people in the back are listening.” WWE Raw Superstar Alexa Bliss eventually won the bout and cashed in her Championship opportunity later that night successfully against Nia Jax.
Do you feel that Becky Lynch is a Superstar that WWE should be doing more with? Should she be the next challenger for Carmella’s Smackdown Live Women’s Championship? Let us know your comments below.
WWE U.K. Champion Pete Dunne was recently a guest on BBC radio alongside WWE Hall Of Famer and Performance Center trainer Shawn Michaels. Dunne posted a photo of he and Michaels during the interview, and made quite a confident caption:
— ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne (@PeteDunneYxB) June 19, 2018
JR & Bully Ray Back Becky Lynch
WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray recently took to Busted Open Radio and discussed the Women’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match. Ray noticed that fans were cheering on Becky Lynch whenever she’d climb up the ladder.
Ray suggested he hopes backstage officials take note of this and perhaps give Lynch a push soon:
“Every time she climbed that ladder, those people were on their feet. They’re invested in her, they wanted to see her win. Hopefully the people in the back are listening.”
Last night on Smackdown, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair to hand the former champion her 3rd single’s loss since defeating Asuka at WrestleMania 34.
Flair posted the following to her social media accounts after the loss:
Her comments suggest Flair will look to add something new to her in-ring game in order to solve her recent slump.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in Smackdown’s Women’s Division
For Flair, the loss was her 3rd loss out of her last 5 single’s matches. She lost to Carmella in an impromptu Smackdown Women’s Championship match against Carmella on the April 10th, 2018 Smackdown. Carmella successfully cashed in her MITB briefcase.
Flair defeated Billie Kay the next week on Smackdown. At Backlash 2018, it seemed as though Flair was in a good spot to win back the title, but her knee buckled at one point, allowing Carmella to score the victory on a pinning combination. The following week on Smackdown, however, Flair defeated Peyton Royce to qualify for the Money in the Bank match later this month.
As for Becky Lynch, the 31-year-old has been out of the title picture for some time now. Lynch, who is the inaugural Smakcodwn Women’s Champion, hasn’t held the title since losing it to Alexa Bliss on December 4th, 2016. Bliss defeated Lynch in a tables match at the WWE: TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs 2016 pay-per-view.
Lynch would go on to challenge Bliss 3x on television or the Network after but failed to win the title back. She defeated Bliss via count-out on Smackdown just 9 days after losing the title but then lost a title match to Bliss 2 weeks later. They met inside a steel cage on the January 17th, 2017 edition of Smackdown, when Bliss once again defeated Lynch to retain her title. Since then, Lynch has largely been out of the title picture. She recently qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match, however.
WWE has announced two matches for next week’s episode of SmackDown Live on the USA Network.
Those matches are a Mixed Tag Team Match that will see Jimmy Uso team up with his wife Naomi to take on Aiden English and Lana as well as a singles match between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
WWE holds next week’s show in Corpus Christi, TX at the American Bank Center. As of this writing, no other matches for SmackDown has been announced.
Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch has had a successful career with the sports entertainment company.
During a recent appearance on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast, she reflected on where her career all started with the WWE, which was NXT. Lynch signed with the WWE in 2013.
“That was the thing. When I got to NXT it was like there wasn’t a single moment that I took for granted or a single moment – I think this is the biggest thing throughout my entire career because I think Lord knows I shouldn’t be where I am, but at no stage did I go, ‘Oh, they should be doing this for me.’ I would ask myself what I could do to make this good. I would take any opportunity – heck, I had to beg to be a Rosebud for crying out loud. Basically, the entire time I was so grateful to be there because I had known what it was like to be without it and then to be able to go train, and when the hours were long, it was more of a mental than physical struggle, but I was just happy to be there everyday and to learn how to say a promo from Dusty Rhodes.”
Following her arrival on the main roster in July 2015, she became the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion at Backlash in September 2016. Also, in this interview, she talked about feeling secure of her WWE position. “I’m pretty confident in my ability to connect with the audience. We just have this bond, at least I feel we do. In a way of looking at it, you can only do that for so long as far as the Four Horsewomen. Eventually, you are going to need more competition, and more evolution. There needs to be growth and I think that the more people there are the better.”
Lynch continued by stating, I feel like, and I hope I do this well, that I feel like I can elevate somebody in the ring and with a storyline and make somebody care about that character. The way I look at it; the more that I can help somebody else get over and grow then the better is, not just for me, but for everybody in the business. Maybe I do that too much to a fault, but I just want everyone to get better so that people care about our storylines and they care about either kicking somebody else’s ass or somebody kicking my ass. Whatever gets people more invested is what we really need and for the Women’s Revolution to be cared about and for the storylines to grow in general.”
H/T to Rajah.com for the transcriptions. What are your thoughts on Lynch’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below.
WWE Superstar Becky Lynch was recently a guest on former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Lynch discussed her close friendship with former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair:
“It’s awesome. You know when you are traveling, you are traveling with somebody who has the same schedule and likes doing the same things. Goes to the same gym, eats at the same food places and things like that,” Lynch said.
“That is one thing that makes the traveling more convenient, but also someone you can vent to all the time, or stay up with. It just makes the road life that much easier.”
Lynch then discussed her year in WWE in 2017. Although she enjoyed some of the opportunities she had outside the ring, as well as being a part of the first-ever Women’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match, 2017 wasn’t her best year:
“I mean, this year has been a mixed bag because I did a lot of great things,” she said. “I achieved a lot of the goals I had set out for myself. I moved to Los Angeles, California, which I love. I got to be the lead female in Marine 6.
“I did some stuff with Nickelodeon, and of course we got to do the first and second ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. We’ve had the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble and Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal, so there’s some great points there.
“Being somebody who is ambitious and complacent,” she continued, “I know I won’t look at 2017 as my most successful year.
“I wasn’t on television and featured in storylines as much as I would like to be, but of course that sets you up for the following year where we say to ourselves, ‘Okay, that may not be what I wanted, but how can we kick down the door and makes sure that 2018 is going to be better and bigger?'”
You can listen to Lynch’s full interview on Chasing Glory by clicking this link here.
Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was a guest on the recent episode of the Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia podcast, where she discussed a number of things. Becky talked about her friendship with Charlotte Flair, her career in the WWE, being a part of the first women’s MITB and Royal Rumble and more. You can check out the highlights from the interview below. Transcription H/T: WrestlingInc.
Now that Charlotte and Becky are on the same brand again, they are travelling and doing other things together. Lynch discusses how enjoyable it is for her to travel with her best friend again.
“It’s awesome. You know when you are traveling, you are traveling with somebody who has the same schedule and likes doing the same things. Goes to the same gym, eats at the same food places and things like that,” Lynch said. “That is one thing that makes the traveling more convenient, but also someone you can vent to all the time, or stay up with. It just makes the road life that much easier.”
Lynch was a part of the historic women’s ‘firsts’ matches last year. She says she enjoyed being a part of them but she also admits that 2017 was a very slow year for her career.
“I mean, this year has been a mixed bag because I did a lot of great things,” she said. “I achieved a lot of the goals I had set out for myself. I moved to Los Angeles, California, which I love. I got to be the lead female in Marine 6. I did some stuff with Nickelodeon, and of course we got to do the first and second ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. We’ve had the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble and Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal, so there’s some great points there.
“Being somebody who is ambitious and complacent,” she continued, “I know I won’t look at 2017 as my most successful year. I wasn’t on television and featured in storylines as much as I would like to be, but of course that sets you up for the following year where we say to ourselves, ‘Okay, that may not be what I wanted, but how can we kick down the door and makes sure that 2018 is going to be better and bigger?'”
You can check out the full episode of the podcast here.
Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch recently spoke with Sportskeeda to talk about various topics. During the interview, she was asked about WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss’ success on the RAW brand since being moved from SmackDown Live.
“She’s what, two-time RAW Women’s Champion? That’s good. I guess I haven’t seen her wrestle in a long time. So, that’s an important part of being a Champion. But I thought the Women’s Elimination Chamber match was brilliant.”
The WWE has announced that the first-ever Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal will take place at WrestleMania 34. The match is a female version of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. She was asked about this first-ever match for the sports entertainment company.
“She’s one of the most well-known women in WWE history and I think that when people think of the famous women of the past, they think of the Fabulous Moolah. That’s why the Battle Royal is being named after her.”
It’s Tuesday and that means another episode of SmackDown Live is upon us.
Tonight (March 6), the show takes place inside the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. WWE.com has rolled out their preview for tonight’s episode. The show has two matches and one segment set. WWE is also teasing conflict between two female superstars.
The Lowdown
WWE champion AJ Styles is set to take on one of his Fastlane opponents in a non-title bout. He’ll meet Dolph Ziggler, who got a measure of revenge on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn last week. After losing to John Cena, Styles will look to redeem himself on the go-home show.
An old rivalry will be renewed. Randy Orton will do battle with Jinder Mahal. Back in May 2017, Mahal shocked the world when he defeated Orton for the WWE title. That rivalry sparked the return of the Punjabi Prison match. They’ll meet again tonight just five days before Orton challenges Bobby Roode for the United States championship.
Ruby Riott has been a thorn in the side of SmackDown Women’s champion Charlotte. Riott is the last member of the Riott Squad for Charlotte to take out. Before their title match at Fastlane, the two will have a faceoff.
Becky Lynch and Money in The Bank holder Carmella have been at odds on social media. Things got heated enough for Lynch to challenge Carmella to a match tonight. We’ll see how it all plays out tonight on SmackDown Live at 8 p.m. ET.
– Back in August Jeff Hardy won a 15-Man Battle Royal on Monday Night RAW to become the No. 1-contender for the Intercontinental Championship. He failed to win the title the following week on Monday Night RAW. In September he was shelved due to a torn rotator cuff and shoulder labrum. He was given a recovery time of four to six months.
Jeff visited Birmingham, Alabama last Tuesday to have his shoulder examined and is now back to training for his in-ring return. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that Hardy could be back “anytime soon”:
“Jeff is back training, he should be back anytime soon,” Meltzer revealed.
It was speculated that when Jeff does return he could realign with his brother Matt in the “Woken” character and challenge for the RAW Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 34.
– Following a backstage segment on SmackDown Live last night, “Ms. Money In The Bank” Carmella will go one-on-one with Becky Lynch on next Tuesday’s episode. Check out the segment here:
WWE Superstar Becky Lynch recently did an interview with The Phoenix New Times to promote tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. Below are some of the highlights:
Have the wrestlers in the woman’s division had to work harder to prove yourselves? Maybe twice as hard as the male superstars.
“I think so, yeah. You know what I mean? I think when you’re trying to overcome something and prove something, you always have to work harder and you always have to give that 110 percent. And I think the greatest thing about that is that’s the drive from all of us. So nobody rests on their laurels and nobody becomes complacent because everybody’s trying to be the best.
“But everybody’s trying to be that first woman to main-event WrestleManina. And any time you’ve got healthy competition, it always pushed you harder and I think that was the greatest thing with the Four Horsewomen. What we did is we came together while at NXT at the same time and we have a common goal and a common vision and that’s to strive to be the best and change things and change the way things work and I think that was what coached us all so much. We always just wanted to outdo each other.”
What’s your opinion about the WWE bringing in Ronda Rousey?
“So I think there’s a lot of good aspects, and I think that Ronda Rousey has obviously proven that she’s a superstar. Like, a colossal superstar. Before her, there were no women in the UFC. That’s remarkable. And she was an Olympian, and she brings in pay-per-view buys. There’s no doubt that she’s amazing.
“I’m curious to see what she can do in a wrestling ring, because it’s a different kettle of fish. And, obviously, with UFC and with such an incredible history and being so accomplished in judo, she’s going to take up everything so easily. So it’s just going to be a matter of seeing how she does in this business. I know she’s a huge wrestling fan so that’s always great, too. I think you learn better and you learn faster when you’re a fan because you know what it’s supposed to be and you’re able to emulate your heroes and stuff like that.”
Do you want to face off against her in a match?
“Of course, I would love to. There’s nobody that I wouldn’t want to either fight or wrestle. Any girl who comes in the door, I want to have a match with them and bring the best out of them and make a good, compelling story for our audience. There’s nobody I wouldn’t want to fight.”
You can read Lynch’s full interview with The Phoenix New Times by clicking this link here.
– After pinning Akira Tozawa on 205 Live on Tuesday night, Mark Andrews will be a regular in the cruiserweight division going forward.
On Thursday, WWE added Andrews to the 205 Live roster listed on WWE.com. This also means he’s an official WWE Superstar since he’s listed on the current roster as well. You can view his profile here.
Andrews pinned Tozawa to advance to the second round of the 16-man Cruiserweight Championship Tournament. There is no word yet on who he will be facing.
– Stephanie McMahon is getting ready for WrestleMania. On Thursday night, the WWE executive and performer posted her latest “Midnight Workout” video, which shows her doing mini hurdle hops with a box jump and double banded TKE goblet squats.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfPpAc7B8Eo/
– Becky Lynch is trying to bring more attention to her real name, Rebecca Quin. The WWE star recently changed the name listed on her Twitter account (@BeckyLynchWWE) to her real name, Rebecca Quin. She also goes under her real name on Instagram, although she’s had it listed for a few years.
– With some acting experience now under her belt as she co-starred in WWE Studios’ “The Marine 6: Close Quarters” last year, former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch wants in on the upcoming Disney Channel movie “Kim Possible.” The show was originally an animated series that ended back in 2007, however, Disney is now rebooting it for a live-action movie. Lynch, who looks a lot like the Kim Possible character, volunteered on Twitter for the role:
– WWE Superstar John Cena appeared NBC’s “Today” show yesterday and announced he’ll be crashing one lucky fan’s high school prom to promote his upcoming movie “Blockers.” Below is WWE’s official announcement on the promotion:
Find out how you could get John Cena at your school dance
Your senior prom is about to get an Attitude Adjustment thanks to John Cena.
The 16-time World Champion stopped by “TODAY” with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb to talk about his upcoming movie, “Blockers,” and revealed his wild plan to crash the school dance of a lucky high school senior.
Cena didn’t attend his senior prom, but he wants a second chance — and it could happen at your school dance.
If you are a high school senior, older than 17 and have a dance coming up, visit the Kathie Lee and Hoda Facebook page and submit a creative video inviting Cena to #CrashOurDance.
The submission cutoff is Friday, Feb. 23. “Blockers” premieres Friday, April 6.
Cena also revealed that he officiated a wedding for one lucky couple. Don’t miss the ceremony Friday on “TODAY” during the 10 a.m. hour.
– Much has been made over the pointing Ronda Rousey did towards the WrestleMania 34 sign during her WWE debut at the Royal Rumble. Rousey came out to the ring after the conclusion of the Women’s Royal Rumble match to confront SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, and Rumble winner Asuka. Becky Lynch recently took to Twitter to post a picture of herself pointing up at the WrestleMania sign, captioning the photo “This is how you point.”:
– This past weekend former WWE Superstar Emma wrestled her first match outside the company since being released in October. She worked with former IMPACT Knockout Angelina Love and used her real name, Tenille Dashwood, for the WrestlePro match. She would go on to win the match. Check it out here:
– Adam Cole put on an extraordinary Extreme Rules match with Aleister Black at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia over the weekend. He followed that up with making an appearance in the Men’s Royal Rumble match the following night. It turns out WWE originally had other plans for Cole at the Royal Rumble instead of being in the over-the-top-rope bout. Wrestling Observer Radio reports that the original pitch for Cole had him answering Bobby Roode’s United States Title Open Challenge.
That plan was cancelled, however, as WWE officials realized it wasn’t a good idea to have Cole lose an eight-minute match on the kickoff show. The United States Title Open Challenge saw a ton of last-second changes, as Dolph Ziggler was also planned to answer the call.
Instead Ziggler appeared in the Royal Rumble match at number 30 and Mojo Rawley wound up taking on Roode on the pre-show for the strap. Cole entered the Rumble at number 23 and was eliminated by Rey Mysterio.
– WWE posted the following video of Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch after their Mixed Match Challenge loss to the team of Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman. Sami blamed the WWE Universe for the loss and also contemplated if their loss was a result of having too much of Lynch’s birthday cake prior to the bout:
– During an interview at a Make-A-Wish event last Monday at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City, Stephanie McMahon said she would love to return to the ring.
“I would love to do it,” Stephanie said when asked if she would like to return to the ring. “I think anytime I have the opportunity to be physical in the ring, it’s a privilege for me. So if, you know, the storyline and our audience demands it, then, of course, I’m going to give it to them.”
The Commissioner of Monday Night Raw also discussed tonight’s Royal Rumble event, her match with Brie Bella at SummerSlam 2014, Raw 25, Ronda Rousey and more.
– Natalya, Carmella, and Bayley are guests on the latest edition of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia as they discuss the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match. Becky Lynch is also on the show as Lilian Garcia’s co-host. You can listen to the interview on PodcastOne or iTunes.
– Shane McMahon celebrates his birthday on Monday as the Commissioner of SmackDown Live turns 48 years old.
– Sami Zayn and Becky Lynch will compete for children across the globe with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), their charity in WWE Mixed Match Challenge. In the video below, Zayn and Lynch explain their support for UNICEF.
– As we’ve noted, The Miz will rematch Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship at RAW’s 25th Anniversary Show on January 22nd. The Miz closed out this past Monday’s episode of RAW by attacking Roman Reigns with The Miztourage. The assault didn’t stop there, however, as The Miz took to Twitter today to taunt “The Big Dog” even further:
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live Ruby Riott suffered a loss to Becky Lynch in singles competition. WWE posted the following video in which Riott challenges Lynch, Naomi, and SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair to a Six-Woman Tag match against The Riott Squad:
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw Becky Lynch return to action after being away to film WWE Studios’ “The Marine 6: Close Quarters” with The Miz and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. Becky has been away since November when she was attacked by The Riott Squad making their debuts.
Becky helped Naomi and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair beat down Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott after The Riott Squad defeated Natalya, Carmella and Tamina Snuka in six-woman action.
Below are videos from Becky’s return along with Twitter comments from Liv and Charlotte:
WWE held a live event tonight in Detroit, Michigan. During the event, Becky Lynch made her return to team up with Naomi against Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. Ruby Riott was ringside for the match.
Lynch has been off of WWE television to film The Marine 6: Close Quarters alongside The Miz and Shawn Michaels. The Miz is currently with Alicia Fox in the Middle East visiting troops during the USO Holiday tour.
Becky was written off of television when The Riott Squad made their main roster debut on the November 21st edition of WWE SmackDown. The trio attacked Naomi and Becky Lynch backstage and beat them down. Sarah Logan slammed a door onto Lynch several times and she hasn’t been on SmackDown since.
Here are some videos and photos from Becky Lynch’s return:
