Why Becky Lynch's Win At WrestleMania 35 Was Botched, Explained
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In the lead up to WrestleMania 35, Becky Lynch became one of the biggest names in not only WWE, but in professional wrestling. She had skyrocketed in popularity and had tremendous crowd support behind her. Lynch was also putting on phenomenal matches. She became “The Man”, and fans could not get enough of her. Lynch’s storyline saw her become a part of the first-ever women’s main event of a WrestleMania at WrestleMania 35. It was a winner takes all match, with Lynch facing RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair for both titles. However, the end of the match did not go as it was planned.
"The Man" Becky Lynch Goes To WrestleMania
In 2018, Lynch had gone through a couple of different phases in her character. She turned on Charlotte Flair and became a heel. However, the support she had from fans saw being viewed more favorably than hated. Eventually, this led to the persona of “The Man”, an anti-hero character with the support of the people behind her. During this time, Lynch had become champion a couple of times. But, this was not the end goal of the story. At the Royal Rumble in 2019, Lynch challenged Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Title but was unsuccessful. She later entered the women’s Royal Rumble match and won, eliminating her longtime foe Charlotte Flair. Despite a number of hurtles being thrown in her way, Lynch made her way to WrestleMania 35 in the main event where she, Flair, and Rousey all fought for both the singles women’s championships.
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A Questionable Finish In The WrestleMania 35 Main Event
The match was tremendous, with a number of incredible spots throughout. All three wrestlers used their signature maneuvers. Weapons were brought into the mix. However, the most controversial part of the match came at the end of the bout. As Lynch reversed Rousey’s finisher, Piper’s Pit, into a pin, her shoulders were not flat on the mat. It confused fans and was even addressed in commentary. Nonetheless, Lynch was declared the winner of the match and became both the RAW Women’s Champion and SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Rousey, who also had her very first pinfall loss in WWE at WrestleMania 35, addressed the controversy on the Kurt Angle Show (h/t WrestleTalk). She said, “I didn't think my shoulder was down. I was trying to flatten out to put my shoulder more down. That's what was happening. I thought it was just the very tops of my shoulders, so I was trying to shimmy down so the actual back of my shoulders was down and I didn't know that he had already started counting, so I’m worried that my shoulder came up during the shimmy. So I was trying to help, but it ended up being awesome because now I have a gripe to revisit. That wasn’t on purpose. I apologized about that one. It wasn’t until later that I was like, ‘Oh sh*t, my bad.’”
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The Historic Impact Of Women Main Eventing WrestleMania 35
In professional wrestling, anything can happen. Just like anyone else, professional wrestlers can make mistakes and things don’t go exactly as planned. But, this happening at WrestleMania 35 does not take away at all from the historical significance of the match. For the very first time, women had main evented WWE’s biggest show of the year and delivered an incredible match. Furthermore, even though she had already been a champion on more than one occasion, this was Lynch’s biggest championship victory in her career. It was the culmination of Lynch’s journey to the top of WWE.
Becky Lynch Is One Of WWE's Biggest Stars
The win for “The Man” had also catapulted her career to the place where it has been ever since. While she did lose the SmackDown Women’s Title to Charlotte Flair at Money In The Bank 2019, she continued to hold onto the RAW Women’s Title, defeating numerous different challengers and opponents during this reign. In addition, she also never lost the title in a match due to pinfall or submission. On the RAW after Money In The Bank 2020, after an over year-long reign, Lynch relinquished the title to the winner of the women’s Money In The Bank match ladder match, Asuka. Lynch nnounced her pregnancy and took time off from WWE.
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After her return, Lynch faced off against numerous other names in WWE, such as Bianca Belair, Trish Stratus, and Zoey Stark. Lynch continues to be one of the very best wrestlers in WWE, with numerous accolades and classic matches to her name. Despite the controversy surrounding the victory, it was a major moment in the professional wrestling career of Lynch in WWE.
