Becky Lynch’s career trajectory was massively altered in the autumn of 2018.
Despite turning heel at SummerSlam, fans wanted to cheer Lynch more than ever as The Man was one of the most over acts on TV each week. At Hell in a Cell, Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair to become the new SmackDown Women’s Champion, setting up a dream match between herself and Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series.
However, plans were thrown up in the air following a segment that saw SmackDown invade Monday Night Raw as part of the yearly brand warfare storyline that took place in November of each year. As a brawl broke out in the ring, a right hand from Nia Jax connected with Lynch’s face, causing The Man to be a bloody mess. While the closing shot of a bleeding Lynch standing tall was loved by WWE fans at the time, the long-term complications would prove to be more problematic.
Diagnosed with a concussion, Lynch was not cleared to compete at the event and her spot in the match was taken by Flair. Many criticised Jax at the time for being an unsafe worker and robbing the fans of the match. According to Road Dogg, while the change in line-up was disappointing, the angle did wonders in the next few months.
Addressing the shot by Jax on the Oh… You Didn’t Know podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer noted that it was an accident and accidents happen in wrestling. Furthermore, wrestlers should not be mad if an unfortunate incident does occur:
So, that’s just what happens. And look, I don’t think it got real. I think it was an accident. But it was an accident that landed you know what I mean? That happens a lot of times, thank God and heaven above, it doesn’t happen to your nose every time sometimes it’s in the side of the head. Sometimes it’s in the jaw, it’s and in ribs, it’s in the you know what I mean?
Like, so, you play wrestle at 100 miles an hour, or as fast as this body will go and hit another body at that speed or whatever, you know what I mean? Like your things are gonna happen. So that’s to me, it’s part of the gig. And if you come back selling or come back mad, it don’t look good on you. You know what I mean? You got to come back and go, Hey, good stuff out there. Sorry about that. Whatever, you know. But you come back, you gloss it over. And you say no, that’s good for the business.
Road Dogg continued, referencing how the unintentional bloodshed elevated all involved, as Lynch became even more popular and Jax could lean into a more vicious heel persona:
And it sounds hokey. But how good for the business was it? You know what I mean? It was literally good for the business. Now having said that, I’m not climbing under a TV table and gigging myself. That just happened. You know what I mean? And then that made the moment more organic and real because it really just happened. We really saw what made it happen. You know what I mean? We could rewind it and like Holy mackerel, now Nia is a crippler you know what I mean? Like she’s put her out of business and busted her face open and holy mackerel, so it was great. It was great for business.
What Happened Next With Becky Lynch?
Losing the title at TLC to Asuka and failing to win it back at the Royal Rumble, Becky Lynch was entered into the Rumble match at the last minute when Lana could not compete. Going on to win the match, Lynch would main event WrestleMania 35 against Rousey and Flair, walking out of Metlife Stadium with both WWE championships in the winner-takes-all encounter.
Becky Lynch’s greatest triumph is expected to be recounted in her upcoming memoirs, which will be released in the spring of 2024.
If you use any quotes from this article please credit Oh… You Didn’t Know and leave a h/t to Inside The Ropes.