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Becky Lynch has had a rollercoaster year. This summer, she got a push that saw her move toward the front of the pack of the SmackDown women’s roster, and a heel turn against Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam garnered her a huge face pop. Lynch only continued to gain momentum opposite Flair and then Ronda Rousey to quite suddenly emerge as--to say the least—one of the top five stars in WWE. When she won the Royal Rumble and punched her ticket for WrestleMania (despite her kayfabe injuries and suspensions threatening her spot), it signaled that WWE was giving her a real opportunity roll on top.
But is this a momentary push that we’ll have mostly forgotten about in another year’s time, as WWE moves on to other big things? Or will Lynch become not only a big star but the face of WWE? There are certainly points in between these extremes, but in a recent edition of the 83 Weeks podcast, former WCW head Eric Bischoff went so far as to suggest WWE should build around The Man. This article looks at five reasons why Bischoff was right.
#5 Taking the torch from Ronda Rousey
There are a number of wrestlers who can take credit for what WWE has termed the Women’s Revolution. Certainly, workers like Paige and AJ Lee with more advanced in-ring skills helped push WWE towards recognizing the possibility of taking women’s wrestling more seriously. The rivalry between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks helped push things on the main roster, including a PPV main event and a variety of gimmick matches. Prior to that, Flair, Banks, Bayley, and a cast of others worked excellent matches on the NXT level.
Ronda Rousey has escalated the division, though, via her star power, real-life credibility, and ability to transition to sports entertainment. While she’s not necessarily the darling of hardcore fans, she’s far more famous to non-wrestling fans than any other woman on the WWE roster and there’s little denying that she has put in the work to justify being featured by the company.
Rumors abound that Rousey may not hang around WWE forever, and may be eyeing an exit as soon as this spring. If that’s the case, WWE ought to be working on its transition plan so that, even if the women’s division loses its most recognizable star, it doesn’t skip a beat on the whole. Becky Lynch’s popularity, not to mention her hot issue with Rousey, situates her as the natural choice to take up the torch and carry on as the face of at least women’s wrestling in WWE, and quite arguably WWE on the whole.
#4 Merchandise
WWE has been good at merchandising for decades, with Vince McMahon’s move to power, the national expansion, and Hulkamania generally cited as the dawn of a new era in which t-shirts, action figures, and other gimmick products became huge revenue sources. With the advancement of the women’s division, we’ve seen a number of top female stars have reasonable success in inspiring merchandise sales, but none have come close to Becky Lynch.
Lynch’s very simple, straightforward shirt that proclaims her the man in bold white print against a black backdrop is a major piece of merchandise for WWE. It’s instantly recognizable, and connects her identity to that of Stone Cold Steve Austin for the similarities in design.
At the end of the day, pro wrestling has a bottom line. If Lynch can move merchandise more than those around her—with the potential to expand as she garners more longevity and successes—then WWE should absolutely take advantage of her as the centerpiece for the company.
#3 An organic connection to fans
It’s a part of WWE lore that while Steve Austin became one of the biggest stars wrestling has ever seen, he wasn’t necessarily earmarked for that kind of success. Rather, the conventional narrative goes that Austin was signed to be a mid-card mechanic, but he wound up figuring out a unique gimmick and connecting with fans on a level no one saw coming.
Somewhat similarly, John Cena has famously repeated in interviews that he wasn’t WWE’s first pick in his developmental class, falling behind at least Brock Lesnar, Batista, and Randy Orton. However, his work ethic and connection to younger fans, in particular, helped him move up to the top of his generation.
All indications are that WWE wanted for Charlotte Flair to be the face of its women’s division based on her talent, look, and family connection to Ric Flair. Moreover, Ronda Rousey’s celebrity status made her natural choice to book on top.
Becky Lynch has beaten the odds and subverted expectations in her meteoric rise to the top of the women’s division. When a star can develop that level of an organic connection to the fan base without having the advantage of planned push on top, that’s a situation WWE should make every effort to take advantage of.
#2 The Charlotte Flair rivalry
When we look back at the biggest stars in WWE history, one of the common traits is that they had great rivals to tell stories with. Hulk Hogan couldn’t have reached the peaks he did without Roddy Piper to play his antithesis, Andre the Giant to elevate his legacy, or Randy Savage to work a blood feud opposite. Steve Austin had Bret Hart, The Rock, and Mr. McMahon. John Cena worked long stretches opposite Edge and Randy Orton to help him get over as the face of the company.
While it’s possible for anyone to have a good feud, Becky Lynch has an issue with Charlotte Flair that already has history but has miles left in its tank, and that features two performers who can go at a high level in the ring. On top of all of that, the twosome openly acknowledged in the past that they consider each other best friends behind the scenes. While one could argue that public friendship is a detriment to selling an iconic rivalry, it also means the two know each other well and like working together, setting them up for a long rivalry on top.
#1 The Conor McGregor possibility
As Becky Lynch started to get over as The Man, she had some interactions with UFC star Conor McGregor over Twitter. It included a tease that the two Irish stars would have each other’s backs and specifically that McGregor would be happy to act as a corner man for Lynch.
Plenty of pundits peg McGregor as a potential future guest star, if not full-time wrestler for WWE, given his gift for gab and penchant for over the top comments and behaviors that lend themselves nicely to a sports entertainment context. If Lynch, who already has at least a social media connection to McGregor, can help facilitate such a crossover star coming over, it’s yet another reinforcement of Lynch’s value as a top player for WWE. The Man has a big mixed tag team appearance alongside John Cena on SmackDown this winter. Teaming up with McGregor down the road could take things to the next level for a PPV main event caliber spectacle.
