WWE Women’s World Heavyweight Champion Rhea Ripley has expressed her interest in facing Becky Lynch in a dream match at WrestleMania 40.
Last month, Lynch interrupted ‘Mami,’ and vowed to script history by becoming the first two-time winner of the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Lynch also made her intentions know that when she wins, she would challenge Ripley at WrestleMania 40. However, the Women’s Royal Rumble match was ultimately won by Damage CTRL leader, Bayley.
Ever since that confrontation, fans have been clamoring to witness a clash between Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch and they might get what they want.
Rhea Ripley to Becky Lynch: “Are you scared?”
Ahead of the 2024 Royal Rumble PLE, Denise Salcedo spoke with Rhea Ripley and asked her what she makes of a potential match against ‘The Man.’ It seems that ‘Mami’ loves the idea of the clash but also forewarned Becky Lynch. She said:
“I mean, obviously, it would mean the world, Becky’s one that I watched before I made it to WWE, and then even when I was in WWE. She’s one that I’ve paid close attention to, and she’s made so much history herself. I would love to step in the ring with her. But also, on the other hand, Becky, how does it feel stepping in the ring with Rhea Ripley? Are you excited? Are you nervous? Are you scared? Are you doubting yourself? Because maybe you should.”
We are closing in on WWE’s first Premium Live Event in Australia in over five years, Elimination Chamber: Perth on February 24. The show will emanate from The Optus Stadium. There have been reports that Ripley would defend her title inside the steel structure and the superstar herself addressed the possibility.
Becky Lynch may be ‘The Man’ in WWE, but the former Women’s Champion was encouraged to move like a girl early into her career.
Lynch joined WWE as part of NXT in 2013 and made her TV debut in June of 2014. Lynch’s arrival is infamous for her character that leaned heavily into her Irish nationality, complete with green attire and ‘Irish jig’ in her entrance. Lynch would later drop the Irish character and became one of NXT’s top women before her call-up to the main roster in 2015.
Moving Like a Girl
Lynch’s arrival in WWE came at an interesting time for women in the promotion. After years of the Divas era, 2013, 2014, and most notably 2015, would see WWE shift away from its previous portrayal of women and focus more of stories and wrestling than sex appeal. Speaking on her new “Never Before Told” series with Seth Rollins, Lynch recalled the awkward advice she was given early on in her WWE career.
“Coming into WWE, I had one very specific goal and that was to main event WrestleMania and make women’s wrestling the coolest thing on TV, and to change the game and to be seen as equal. Even in my early stages in NXT, it was weird and confusing because you were told that women can’t punch and you can’t use things like steps and you can’t use the post. Are we supposed to just hair pull and slap each other? It’s very confusing. I even remember being told, ‘Move like a girl.’ What, I am a girl, what do you mean? It was all so very confusing.”
What Came Next?
By 2016, WWE had significantly changed its portrayal of women. At that year’s WrestleMania, Lynch would compete for the new WWE Women’s Championship, which marked the end of the Divas Title. The match also saw the Divas moniker be dropped when describing women, who have been called Superstars alongside their male counterparts ever since.
Fans shouldn’t expect to see Becky Lynch in AEW or TNA anytime soon…
Becky Lynch is going around to make towns for her forthcoming book.
With her autobiography, “Becky Lynch: The Man” coming out on March 26, Lynch. revealed that she’ll be hitting several book stores to sign copies of the book in person with fans. Lynch posted the following on social media.
“I can’t wait to share my story, in person, when The Man’s book tour comes around starting March 26th!”
Lynch is set to appear at the following book stores starting on March 26, the day the book hits stores.
Becky Lynch Book Tour Dates & Cities
March 26 at 123:00 PM ET: Barnes & Noble, Fifth Ave., New York, NY
March 27 at 6:00 PM ET: Bookends, Ridgewood, NJ
March 28 at 7:00 PM ET: Washington, DC
March 29 at 12:00 PM ET: RJ Julia Booksellers, Madison, CT
April 2 at 6:00 PM ET: Barnes & Noble, Philadelphia, PA
April 13 at 2:00 PM PT: Barnes & Noble, The Grove, Los Angeles, CA
I can't wait to share my story, in person, when The Man's book tour comes around starting March 26th! pic.twitter.com/th7atUuHOr
Lynch was one of the few favorites to win the Royal Rumble and “The Man” made her run-in at #21 and lasted over 20 minutes in the bout before being eliminated by a returning Naomi and a debuting Jade Cargill. The winner ended up being Lynch’s fellow Four Horsewoman, Bayley who entered the match at #3.
Where Lynch may land for WrestleMania is currently undetermined, but with Bayley likely challenging her current Damage CTRL teammate Iyo Sky for her title, Rhea Ripley still needs an opponent.
Becky Lynch plans on making history at the upcoming Royal Rumble PLE and has her sights set on a WrestleMania showdown with Rhea Ripley.
On this week’s Raw, Rhea Ripley spoke about the upcoming Women’s Royal Rumble match. Ripley said that whichever woman wins the match shouldn’t waste their opportunity by challenging her for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 40.
This brought out Lynch, who was declared for the Women’s Rumble match during the WWE 2024 Preview Special earlier this month. Lynch vowed to make history by becoming the first two-time winner of the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Lynch also made it clear that if when she wins, she’ll challenge Ripley at WrestleMania 40. Ripley seemed amused by the idea and said she’s rooting for Lynch to win.
Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley
Arguably WWE’s two most popular women on the roster at this time, Lynch and Ripley have shared the ring as adversaries on five occasions. Their first match was on the November 20, 2019, edition of WWE NXT and ended in a no-contest. The most recent match between the two was at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames 2022. In the titular structure, Lynch, alongside Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Bianca Belair, defeated Ripley, Nikki Cross, Bayley, Dakota Kai, and IYO SKY.
WWE has made history in Madison Square Garden many times in the past. They ran the famous venue on December 26th, and their trend of historic moments continued. The event was already set to be memorable for many reasons, but they also broke a financial record.
According to Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, the December 26th Madison Square Garden live event set a massive record. It was the highest-grossing non-televised domestic WWE event ever.
Internal WWE live events reports claim that WWE’s live event in Madison Square Garden was sold out. The event was said to be the highest grossing domestic non-televised event of all-time for WWE.
WWE MSG 12/26 Results:
The event included four championship matches, concluding with the main event between Drew McIntyre and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
In the opening match of the night, Becky Lynch defeated Zoey Stark. Then, Kofi Kingston beat Ludwig Kaiser, and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships match saw Kayden Carter & Katana Chance successfully defend against Chelsea Green & Piper Niven.
Omos, accompanied by MVP, and he beat against R-Truth. In the WWE Women’s World Championship Triple Threat Match, Rhea Ripley defended her title by defeating Ivy Nile & Shayna Baszler.
The Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships remained with Judgment Day after they defeated Jey Uso & Sami Zayn. That match marked Sami’s return to in-ring action after a short hiatus.
CM Punk secured a win against Dominik Mysterio. Rhea Ripley was with Dirty Dominik during the match, and it also marked Punk’s first WWE match since 2014.
Ricochet beat Bronson Reed. Then, Cody Rhodes beat Shinsuke Nakamura in a bull rope match. The final match of the night was for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a No-DQ Match, where Seth Rollins successfully defended his title against Drew McIntyre.
Becky Lynch has never been one to hold her opinion back, and that is one of the qualities that helped establish her as The Man. Lynch has big goals in WWE, and she just staked her claim with a big WrestleMania match for herself against Rhea Ripley.
While speaking to Strutting From Gorilla, Becky Lynch was asked about her next targets in WWE. She made it very clear that Nia Jax is a match that she wants to happen. Then she is off to take down Rhea Ripley and strip her of that WWE Women’s World Title.
The way Becky Lynch sees things, she doesn’t appreciate how Rhea Ripley has been representing that women’s title, or lack thereof. With WrestleMania season coming up, Becky Lynch sees a big match in her future.
“I think there’s so many talented up and comers. One match we haven’t gotten to is I’ve got to shut up Nia Jax first. It’s strange to think that Nia Jax haven’t gone one on one in a WWE ring yet, but it’s true.”
“Then there’s the next stop, and that’s taking that title off Rhea Ripley. Because that title, when I hold that title is the main event of every show. Now, her title has been seen in many main events, but not because she’s been defending it, but because she’s been the accompaniment to the main event, and I can’t have that. I’m sick of that. I can’t have that and I am going to take that title off of her, preferably at WrestleMania.”
What’s Next For Becky Lynch In WWE
Becky Lynch will get a chance to cross that Nia Jax match off her list soon enough. WWE officially booked Becky Lynch vs Nia Jax in a first-time ever match during that January 1st episode of the Day One RAW.
Rhea Ripley is still holding the WWE Women’s World Title, no matter what Becky Lynch thinks of things. It would be interesting to see The Man come around to challenge The Nightmare, and WrestleMania 40 may be a great landing pad for that match to go down.
Becky Lynch’s’ WWE contract is running up in 2024. The next few months are going to be crucial for her, and it could also include a huge WrestleMania moment.
Becky Lynch wants to retire with WWE and “The Man” makes that clear in a new interview.
Speaking with “Strutting From Gorilla,” Lynch was asked if she’d ultimately like to leave her wrestling boots in a WWE ring when it’s all said and done.
“I love that I get to continue to drive that and that my voice matters in WWE. I feel listened to, and I feel we’ve been able to change the landscape of women’s wrestling forever. That feels very special to me. It’s my home. It’s where I was born as a professional wrestler in many ways in terms of my influence, and it’s where I’ll retire.”
Lynch is a well-traveled main eventer in WWE as she clearly established herself as a top star for the company, but she recently had a fun run down in NXT as the Women’s Champion, a belt that eluded her during her first run with the black and gold brand.
Even though Lynch expressed a desire to retire with WWE, her current contract is set to expire in 2024. She currently have a full decade under her belt with WWE.
Lynch remains as three of the four remaining “Four Horsewomen” with the company. While Sasha Banks notoriously walked out on the company in May of 2022, Bayley, Lynch and Charlotte Flair still are with WWE.
Funny enough, Charlotte Flair has reportedly signed a new deal with WWE giving her one of the highest-paid deals for a woman in company history.
WWE is closing out 2023 with some big headlines, and a ton of momentum as they race toward the Royal Rumble on January 27th. This next calendar year will also include some notable moments with WWE’s business, and they want to make sure a big roster shake-up isn’t a part of that.
2024 Will Be A Big Year For WWE
WWE faces significant changes as they navigate new television deals in 2024. There are indications that WWE RAW might depart from the USA Network, and it’s confirmed that NXT will transition from the USA to the CW Network, while SmackDown is set to leave FOX for a return to the USA. Superstar contracts are also a big matter of concern for the company in 2024.
Expiring WWE Talent Contracts in 2024
The upcoming year brings the expiration of contracts for notable stars like Becky Lynch, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre.
Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio have secured new deals with WWE, with Dominik’s contract reportedly spanning five years. While the length of Rey’s deal remains unconfirmed, there’s a belief that it’s a substantial, long-term commitment.
While going over all of these subjects during Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer highlighted WWE’s strategy to prevent talent from entering the free-agent market by securing them with substantial, extended contracts, a practice they’ve adhered to for decades.
“They’re [WWE] obviously very happy because they signed both of them. Both of them could have waited until free agency, and at that point, they could have gotten probably a giant offer from AEW and a giant offer from WWE. But obviously, WWE really made it worth their while, which was what I was told is that they are going to they were looking at longtime deals with, greatly increased compensation for the guys because they don’t want free agents right now,”
It was also noted that WWE is planning to pick up those contract talks once again in 2024. They may wait until the Holidays are behind them, but there is no doubt that they don’t want to lose those top Superstars.
AEW could be in the market to offer big money to any of those top Superstar with expiring deals. WWE realizes that, and they also do not want to lose people who they used to promote those new blockbuster television deals before they start in October, either.
WWE is closing out 2023 with a huge boost in business. Live events are selling well, and CM Punk’s return also provided a huge boost in interest, more than they already had. That being said, 2024 is set to be a very interesting year in terms of contracts, and now we know another Superstar whose deal is set to expire next year.
Sean Ross Sapp reported on Fightful Select during the Backstage report that Seth Rollins’ WWE deal is currently slated to be up in June, as is Becky Lynch’s. Their contracts are added to a growing list of WWE Superstars whose deals are expiring next year.
There have been rumors about Seth Rollins’ WWE contract situation, but nothing has been confirmed until now. As of this writing, there is no report about inking a new deal. One would expect that WWE will want to do everything they can to keep Seth Rollins and his wife, Becky Lynch, on the roster.
The outlet noted that they reached out to confirm this news with WWE, and the company would not deny the information. It appears that WWE has two big contracts ending in June, but Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch are only two big deals expiring next year.
WWE has a few big contracts expiring in 2024, including Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins’ deals also running up adds even higher stakes. The company is seeing several top stars’ deals tick down because they signed so many to extensions prior to the pandemic.
For more on this story, keep checking out SE Scoops. WWE has a lot of things that they need to accomplish in 2024, including keeping the stars that they want under contracts.
Seth Rollins has not watched Becky Lynch’s Celebrity Jeopardy appearance because he’s a loyal husband, and also because she wouldn’t let him.
The Man is no stranger to making headlines and being in the center of social media trends. She recently found herself going viral for an unlikely reason, however, as she became the worst contender to ever compete in Celebrity Jeopardy. The former Women’s Champion became the first contestant to not give a single correct answer through 60 clues.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, Seth Rollins was asked about his wife’s Jeopardy appearance. Rollins defended Becky mentioning that she never watched the show growing up. He also touted the huge rating Becky Lynch pulled for the show after the WWE superstar went viral:
“She never watched it. She’s from Ireland. She didn’t have Jeopardy growing up. I don’t think she fully grasps it. When we were younger especially, it’s just massive. Our parents, grandparents everybody watched it. The buzzer’s tricky, the way you have to answer the questions is tricky,
But hey! top rated episode of season. The repeat actually did more viewers, we found out yesterday, than the original airing of the episode. So the buzz that she got, Celebrity Jeopardy people gotta be thrilled.”
Seth Rollins Is A Loyal Husband
Seth Rollins was then asked what he was feeling while going through the appearance. The World Champion revealed that he never actually watched the episode featuring Lynch because she wouldn’t allow it:
“I didn’t watch the episode. She wouldn’t allow me to watch the episode. She said ‘You can’t watch the episode. No way. Can’t do it. Don’t watch it.’ [So] I didn’t do it. I’m a loyal man. I wouldn’t do that to her. If she didn’t want me to watch something. I wouldn’t watch it.”
Though when prompted about potentially making an appearance on the show himself, Seth Rollins claimed that he would make an excellent contestant:
“Absolutely. I would crush some bodies on Celebrity Jeopardy. I am the king of, not useless information, but I do a lot of crossword puzzles. So I know lots of weird stuff. I know lots of stuff that I got no business knowing. I think that would come quite in handy on Jeopardy. I’m pretty decent at trivia.”
The dream team of WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch and Lita, and Trish Stratus, are looking to shut Damage CTRL up for good at WrestleMania 39.
Last month, Lita made her return to WWE to aid Lynch in a steel cage match against Bayley, which had originally been scheduled for the Raw is XXX event.
On last week’s Raw, Lynch and Lita dethroned Dakota Kai and IYO SKY to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, the first title for Lita since 2006.
While Bayley tried to interfere in that match, the returning Trish Stratus (who had been scheduled for the previous week’s Raw but didn’t appear) neutralized the Role Model.
WrestleMania 39
On this week’s Raw, the new champions and Stratus celebrated the victory but were quickly interrupted by Damage CTRL
Stratus then challenged Damage CTRL to a six-woman-tag team match and made it clear that she wanted to shut Bayley up once and for all.
Bayley accepted the challenge on behalf of her team.
The WrestleMania match will mark Stratus’ first match since SummerSlam 2019, when she lost to Charlotte Flair in Canada.
Surprisingly, this will mark the second in-ring WrestleMania appearance for Lita, after she challenged for the WWF Women’s Championship at WrestleMania X8.
Double-Booked?
The announcement of Lynch, Lita and Stratus against Damage CTRL at WrestleMania is an interesting one, given that this isn’t the match many expected.
It has been reported that WWE’s plan initially was for Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at the two-night event in April.
Despite Rousey aggravating an injury (which is why she was in a sling on last Friday’s SmackDown,) she is expected to be fully healed in time for WrestleMania.
There is the possibility that the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions could compete on both nights, a feat Tamina Snuka and Natalya achieved at WrestleMania 37 in 2021.
Trish Stratus is back and she is already causing waves in the WWE world.
WWE had announced that Lita and Becky Lynch will be teaming up to challenge Damage CTRL for the Women’s Tag Team Titles on this week’s episode of Raw.
This came after Lita made her return to the WWE programming recently and helped The Man win a cage match against Bayley.
The bout was the main event of this week’s episode of the red-branded show, which also featured a Cody Rhodes match and the announcement of WrestleMania 39 host.
The tag champs were up to their usual shenanigans during this bout. At one point Bayley used one of the title belts to distract the referee and pulled Lita from the apron to stop her from tagging in.
Bayley continued distracting the challengers. This was until Trish Stratus made her surprise return to WWE TV and laid out the Damage CTRL leader.
This allowed the team of Becky Lynch and Lita to get the upper hand. The ending of the bout saw Becky locking Dakota Kai in Dis-Arm-Her on the ring apron.
The wrestling legend then delivered a Lita-sault to IYO SKY and pinned the young star to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships.
It seems WWE may have a new match in mind for WrestleMania 39 in April.
As we get closer to WrestleMania, WWE is making clear decisions on what matches will be on the card. The company has confirmed three matches for WrestleMania 39, including the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.
They have also started teasing potential matchups like Brock Lesnar vs. Omos and Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins. However, it also seems like WWE could be changing their minds on one particular match.
WrestleMania 39 Match Change
On Feb. 6, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler would challenge Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and IYO Sky) for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 39. Since Rousey’s return, WWE has started to have her and Baszler team up more instead of positioning her as a singles competitor.
Fans may remember that she lost her Smackdown Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair on the Dec. 31, 2022 episode of Friday Night Smackdown. WWE has moved on to Flair defending her title against Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, instead of a rematch with Rousey.
However, a new report from WON claims that Rousey will in fact have a marquee match at WrestleMania 39.
Ronda Rousey’s WrestleMania Match
“Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey will challenge for the women’s tag titles. It was originally against Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai, the champions, said the report. It continues, “… Lita & Becky Lynch face Sky & Kai, and WrestleMania is about marquee matches, and Lita & Lynch as a team against Baszler & Rousey is a bigger match.”
Lita and Becky Lynch will face Damage CTRL on the Feb. 27 episode of Monday Night Raw for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. If the report is accurate, Lita and Lynch may defeat Damage CTRL to win the tag titles, and WWE could start to build toward Lita and Lynch against Rousey and Baszler. It’s also unclear what the entire Damage CTRL (including Bayley) group will do for WrestleMania 39 if the WON report is accurate.
It’s important to note that WWE has yet to share the entire card, and while it’s reported, it has yet to happen. Fans must see how this upcoming Monday Night Raw episode will play out for the women’s tag titles.
A major match has been set for the 2/27/23 episode of WWE RAW.
During the 2/20/23 edition of WWE RAW, Bayley hosted the latest episode of ‘Ding Dong, Hello!’. During the segment, which featured Bayley’s Damage CTRL stablemates, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, Becky Lynch interrupted the champions ramblings. Becky pondered the possibility of her becoming tag champion, a thought that was laughed off by Damage CTRL, who claimed Becky didn’t have any friends and would need her toddler daughter, Roux, to team up with her.
Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins have shown off their acting chops for the first movie parody trailer to promote WrestleMania 39.
This year’s two-night event will take place in Los Angeles, which previously hosted WrestleMania in 2005 and 1991, and was one of three host cities in 1986.
For WrestleMania 21 in 2005, the show’s tagline ‘WrestleMania Goes Hollywood’ resulted in the stars of the time parodying films including Braveheart, Taxi Driver, and Forrest Gump.
Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins
With WWE returning to Hollywood, this year’s WrestleMania has leaned heavily into the glitz and glamor of the silver screen.
During last night’s WWE Elimination Chamber event, a parody of Joker (2019) was aired, featuring Seth Rollins in the titular role.
Recreating one of the most iconic scenes in the film, Rollins could be seen dancing down steps to a remix of his WWE entrance theme.
Unfortunately for Seth, his dance is cut short by Lynch, doing her best impression of the gravelly voice used by Christian Bale for the Dark Knight trilogy by director Christopher Nolan.
Lynch confirmed that she is parodying Batman by speaking about going to her ‘Man-Cave.’
WrestleMania Plans
As two of WWE’s biggest stars in years, it should come as no surprise that Rollins and Lynch are expected to compete at WrestleMania 39.
For Rollins, it has been reported that he will face Logan Paul this April, who eliminated Seth from last month’s Men’s Rumble match and helped eliminate the Architect during last night’s Men’s Elimination Chamber match.
As for Lynch, her WrestleMania future is far less certain, though her current feud with Damage CTRL has led to rumors of a six-woman tag in which Lynch would team with Lita and Trish Stratus.
Two WWE Superstars are to be referred to as some of the “all-time greats” in an edict from WWE’s Head of Creative and Head of Talent Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.
The Game entered both roles in July 2022, replacing his father-in-law Vince McMahon in Creative, and WWE veteran John Lauriniatis in the Talent Relations department.
Triple H’s work thus far has been widely praised by fans, who have appreciated the rehiring of big names and talent being given more opportunities to showcase their characters.
All-Time Greats
WWE’s current roster is home to legends in the making, but two names have already reached the status of being ‘all-time greats.’
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is reported that Becky Lynch and Bayley will be referred to by the monikers going forward.
The Man and the Role Model have been feuding ever since the Raw after Summerslam 2022, when Damage CTRL attacked Lynch.
Returning to in-ring competition at Survivor Series: WarGames, the pair have continued feuding for months.
After Bayley and Damage CTRL once again got the upper hand at Raw is 30, Lynch bested her nemesis in a Steel Cage match this week, with an assist by the returning Lita.
Great Careers
Though some may find the label as ‘all-time great’ a tad premature for talent still wrestling today, Bayley and Lynch have some impressive claims to the moniker.
Lynch is a six-time Women’s Champion (two Raw, four SmackDown,) the winner of the 2019 Women’s Rumble match, and won the first-ever Women’s main event at WrestleMania.
Bayley is a four-time Women’s Champion (one Raw, one NXT, two SmackDown,) a two-time WWE Women’s Tag Champion, a Miss Money in the Bank winner, and was the first-ever WWE Women’s Triple Crown winner and WWE Women’s Grand Slam.
Fans were left extremely disappointed with this week’s Steel Cage match on Monday Night Raw, which did not go as planned.
The match, pitting Damage CTRL’s Bayley against Becky Lynch, had been promoted all week long, and had been as one of the main attractions for Raw’s 30th-anniversary episode.
Instead of a match, Lynch was attacked by WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO SKY and Dakota Kai during her entrance and thrown into the ring.
Locking the cage door, the SKY, Kai, and Bayley beat down on Lynch, and left only after Adam Pearce had broken the lock on the cage door.
Original Plans
The Steel Cage match WWE had planned had to be scrapped due to segments earlier in the episode going long.
It has been reported that the Trial of Sami Zayn that opened up this week’s Raw went much longer than expected.
PW Insider reports that the plan for the cage match was for Lynch to win, and then be attacked post-match by Damage CTRL.
There has been no confirmation yet as to whether this match will be used in full down the line.
Backlash
WWE felt it was the right call to scrap the Steel Cage match, as the alternative was having the actual match go for approximately two minutes.
However, the decision to scrap the match has led to backlash by fans, who have called into question WWE’s treatment of their women for the Raw is 30 event.
WWE loaded up the Raw 30 anniversary show on Monday night with several big matches and legends.
One of the matches promoted for the show was a Steel Cage match between Bayley and Becky Lynch. WWE had a lot more planned, but the company had to call an audible, according to a new report.
The Original Plan
Fightful Select reports that the entrances and the match were scheduled for two segments. Instead, they had to cut things short because of the opening segment with The Bloodline running long.
The Trial of Sami Zayn opened the show with Roman Reigns telling Zayn that he would have to pass his final test this Saturday at the Royal Rumble when “The Tribal Chief” defended his Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Kevin Owens.
The report also noted that several segments had to be trimmed, but the most affected thing on Raw was Bayley vs. Lynch.
As noted, WWE nixed a Bloodline Acknowledgement Ceremony on this show because Afa and Sika weren’t ready to make the trip, and Rikishi was sick, so WWE nixed the entire segment.
Becky Lynch is returning to Young Rock to portray the role of Cyndi Lauper.
The former Raw Women’s Champion previously appeared in the role of Lauper on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s show which is currently airing every Friday night on NBC last November.
That episode included a young Rock meeting Lauper at a party she threw around WrestleMania I in 1985.
Reprise
Lynch posted a tweet on Monday revealing that she’s back filming on the “Young Rock” set. She wrote the following about the news:
“She’s baaaaaaaack! Delighted to be back on set with the incredible #YoungRock cast and crew playing the iconic Cyndi Lauper! Stay tuned.”
In a tweet after the season three premiere, Johnson thanked Lynch and gave her props for the job she did playing Lauper on the show.
The show is based on Johnson’s life and tells the story of how he was shaped into the person he is today as he went from being a football player to being one of the biggest wrestlers in the history of the business to a top movie star.
After being sidelined with a shoulder injury at SummerSlam last July, the top star returned to in-ring action in November at Survivor Series by working the Women’s WarGames Match.
The card for WWE WrestleMania 39 continues to come together as Ronda Rousey’s opponent at the upcoming event has been revealed, and it’s not Becky Lynch.
WrestlingNews.co reports plans for the match between Lynch and Rousey have been scrapped. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio today that he was told the match is “not likely,” while another source told him that plans for it are “dead.”
Rousey’s Opponent
WrestlingNews.co’s report noted that Rousey is scheduled to defend the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39. It’s unclear who Lynch will be facing at the show.
According to WrestlingNews.co, the other planned matches for WrestleMania 39 include Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes or Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defending against The Rock or Cody Rhodes, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, and Logan Paul vs. John Cena.
Rousey and Lynch headlined WrestleMania 35 in 2019 alongside Charlotte Flair, marking the first-ever female WrestleMania main event, before Rousey went on hiatus until she returned to the company earlier this year.
WWE had reportedly been planning to do the match at WrestleMania 39 since shortly after WrestleMania 38.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were once closer than sisters, but that was a very long time ago.
The two highly decorated female Superstars have had real-life problems for years now, and are often kept on separate shows.
In 2021, Lynch and Flair were both drafted to each other’s brands to keep them apart.
Success
Plenty has been said about the fallout between the two, and now a new perspective has been given by Lynch’s ex-boyfriend Jeff Dye.
On the Wrestling with Freddie podcast, Dye spoke about how things in 2018 became too personal when Flair and Lynch feuded over the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
“They would take it really personal. Like when she and Charlotte were feuding, I would listen to her be like, ‘I can’t believe Charlotte’s actually getting mad at me.’ I was like, ‘You guys do know this is a storyline, right? You guys don’t have to actually be upset with each other for this to work.’”
“I would listen to her be like, ‘I can’t believe Charlotte’s actually getting mad at me.’”
Jeff Dye.
“I think it’s like comedy or show business or maybe even if you work at a warehouse or you work at Target or you work at Best Buy, you get competitive. You want the promotion or you want the raise or you want some position, and so that’s just part of it for them.”
Due added that Charlotte struggled to accept that Lynch was becoming the new face of women’s wrestling after her transformation into ‘The Man’ in late 2018.
On-Screen
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair have had issues for years, which have often played out on WWE Television.
Flair was reportedly deeply hurt by a promo Lynch made in which she referred to her former friend as “plastic.”
When Lynch and Flair were drafted last year, the two were set to exchange the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships, in a segment that did not go to plan.
Flair reportedly went off-script by dropping her title, forcing Lynch to pick it up off the mat, and earned considerable heat backstage.
Becky Lynch is one of the top Superstars in WWE, but she’s already starting to feel the pull from Hollywood.
Lynch is coming up on a decade with WWE. She joined NXT is 2013 and has been a member of the main roster since 2015. With six Women’s Championship reigns, her WWE career really took off in 2018 when she evolved into The Man, a no-nonsense character that allowed her true personality to shine through.
She became a mother in December 2020 and married fellow WWE star Seth Rollins the following summer. More recently, Lynch has been branching out into the world of acting.
She got rave reviews for her role on NBC’s Young Rock sitcom, where she portrayed inevitable WWE Hall of Famer, Cyndi Lauper. According to Rollins, Lynch’s acting career may take them both in an entirely new direction.
Becky Lynch’s Acting Career
During a recent interview with Iowa’s WQAD News, Rollins discussed Lynch’s burgeoning acting career and stated, “that’s where she wants to go.”
He added that their family may have to move ‘out west’ if she continues to land projects in the entertainment business, whether it’s television or movies.
“Her acting career is starting to perk up a little bit and that’s where she wants to go. So, if we end up in that direction and that takes us out west, so be it. If not, then here we are.”
– Seth Rollins
Young Rock was not Lynch’s first taste of being on a set. According to IMDB, her acting credits include roles on the television show Billions (2020) and the movie Rumble (2021).
Lynch one of several WWE performers who is looking ahead to life after pro wrestling, with a strong interest in acting. Earlier this week, Liv Morgan named acting as part of her future plans.
Catch Seth Rollins’ full interview with Iowa ABC affiliate WQAD:
Becky Lynch has high expectations for The Judgment Day’s Rhea Ripley, declaring the Australian Superstar the “future of the business.”
Ripley signed with WWE in 2017 and would become the first NXT UK Women’s Champion the following year, as well as the first female Australian champion in WWE history.
After moving to WWE NXT and capturing that brand’s Women’s Championship, Ripley would find similar success after being called up to Raw in early 2021.
The Future
Like Ripley, Becky Lynch is no stranger to success, having held the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships on multiple occasions.
In an interview with Verge, Lynch praised Ripley’s success so far and said she considers her the future of the business.
“I think Rhea is one of the greatest female athletes that we’ve ever seen. I think she’s incredible. She is so young, so full of potential. I look at her and I go ‘well, that’s the future of the business and the business is in good hands.”
Becky Lynch.
Lynch added that while Ripley may indeed be the future, there’s only room for one top star to be called ‘The Man.’
“She’s the future but I’m still the present. There can only be one Man around the place. If I have to put her in her place then I’ll put her in her place.”
Becky Lynch.
Finn Balor
As a member of The Judgment Day, Ripley is working with a Superstar that Lynch has been very familiar with over the years: Finn Balor.
It was Balor who trained Lynch when The Man was starting her wrestling career, and Lynch said it is wise of Ripley to work closely with the inaugural Universal Champion.
“she’s hanging around with somebody that I know pretty well. In fact, somebody that taught me nearly everything that I know. There’s an interesting dynamic there because she’s got Finn Bálor in her corner. I’ve known Finn for over 20 years, so it would be interesting to see what side he would take, you know, if push came to shove.”
Becky Lynch.
Ripley and Lynch did face off during a 2019 episode of WWE NXT but the two are yet to go one-on-one on the main roster.
Becky Lynch made her return to the ring at WWE Survivor Series, competing in the WarGames match, which marked her first bout since WWE SummerSlam when she suffered a separated shoulder against Bianca Belair.
At Survivor Series, Lynch scored the pinfall for her team (Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, & Mia Yim) against Bayley, Dakota Kai, IYO SKY, Rhea Ripley, & Nikki Cross. The finish saw her jump off the top of the cage and hit a leg drop onto SKY & Kai through a table.
Just because Lynch is back doesn’t mean she’s 100%. While speaking with The Verge, Lynch discussed her return to the ring.
Wrestling Through It
“Truth be told, my shoulder still isn’t feeling right. So to say I was nervous is probably a bit of an understatement. But once you get out there, once you get in front of the crowd and you feel that energy, then you forget everything else. There’s not another feeling like it.”
Lynch admitted the table spot was terrifying and painful, but she wanted something that fans could remember from the match.
“If I come back then I’ve got to put my body on the line and I can’t half-ass it because then I’m not The Man and I’m not the Becky Lynch that people paid to see. I had in my head that I wanted to flatten somebody, flatten some fools with the leg drop through the table. When the opportunity came up and it was time to go, well, then there’s nothing left to do but do it.”
Lynch wrestled earlier this week on Monday’s WWE Raw by competing in a triple threat match against Bliss and Cross.
Becky Lynch delivered an emotional address to the live crowd after Monday’s edition of WWE Raw went off the air.
Lynch is one of the most popular pro wrestlers in the world. She’s risen to the top of WWE and that doesn’t happen without the fans. Throughout her journey, including some disappointing setbacks and injuries, the WWE Universe has kept her motivated and hopeful.
‘The Man’ competed on Raw against Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in a triple threat match. Just as she was about to score the win, Damage CTRL interfered and cost her the win.
After USA Network’s broadcast of Raw concluded, Lynch took a moment to speak from the heart and tell the people how much they mean to her.
“I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you for supporting me on my journey,” said Lynch. “I missed you guys so much, and there is no limit to what I would do to prove my love for you, for everything that you’ve shown me.”
Based on the events that transpired on the show, it appears Lynch will continue feuding with Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky as the year closes out and we head into the Royal Rumble.
Here’s video of Becky Lynch speaking to fans after the December 5 edition of Monday Night Raw, courtesy of Twitter user @Beckyonly:
