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SummerSlam 2018 was truly supposed to be THE moment for Becky Lynch. After being on a winning streak since Money in the Bank 2018, The Irish Lass Kicker walked into the Biggest Party of the Summer as the favorite to win the SmackDown Women's Championship against Carmella and Charlotte Flair.
In the build-up of their match, she was constantly reminded of her shortcomings and how she lived in the shadow of her friend, Charlotte Flair. But she still maintained her cool and stood with her friend. But when Charlotte won the championship at SummerSlam, she had had enough.
While it is true that big victories on big stages make legends, it was different for Becky. After being on the losing side once again, Becky snapped and started attacking Charlotte with anything that she could find. It was one of the most satisfying beatdowns for Becky's fans. It led to a huge wave of support for her, which still hasn't faltered even today.
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She was now no longer that light-hearted, happy-go-lucky girl that was happy for her friend. She was The Man now. Let's take a look at the highlights from the year that made Becky who she is, and how it changed the wrestling world for good.
Since social media played a huge part in making her what she is today, I will also list here her tweets from those particular periods that kept people engaged to her.
#1 Beginning of The Man
After losing at SummerSlam 2018 to Charlotte Flair, Becky went on a path of redemption to get the SmackDown Women's Championship. In the build-up to their match at Hell in a Cell, she dominated the feud with her amazing promos and by often getting the upper hand over Charlotte in impromptu brawls.
She started out as a heel and insulted the crowds on many occasions, claiming that they never supported her. But the fans kept on cheering her and despite being the heel, she was cheered like the biggest babyface of the company. Some even started comparing her to Stone Cold Steve Austin because of her anti-hero character.
After defeating Charlotte at the pay-per-view, Becky Lynch established herself as one of the top Superstars of the company and started calling herself The Man. But she didn't limit herself to that as she was done living in the shadow of other Superstars. She started running down anyone and everyone she could find, and legends like Edge were also not safe from her insults.
She defeated Charlotte on a couple of other occasions, at the Super ShowDown and at Evolution to end her rivalry with The Queen. This was arguably the best feud of 2018, and determined Becky as the hottest thing in wrestling.
#2 Dream feud with Ronda which was not meant to be
At Survivor Series, as the reigning SmackDown Women's Champion, Becky was booked to face the Raw Women's Champion, Ronda Rousey, as part of the different inter-brand Champion vs Champion matches.
Usually, these matches do not get big builds because the opponents are on different brands. WWE often rely on the star power of the participants and their promos during the build-up to create hype for the event. But The Man wanted to do things differently.
She made the complete use of social media and the momentum she had gained since SummerSlam to talk down Rousey. She tweeted about how Rousey was not at her level and how she was just using her influence to get into big matches.
This generated a lot of hype as Becky and Ronda kept going at each other for weeks on social media. But it was not meant to be as Nia Jax accidentally injured Lynch on Raw during the SmackDown Women's invasion angle.
Due to the injury, she was replaced by Charlotte Flair in the match. It all happened for good as they were meant to fight on a bigger stage.
#3. Feud Against Asuka
Becky returned to in-ring competition at TLC, where she put her SmackDown Women's title on the line against Charlotte Flair and Asuka in a ladder match. She lost the match to Asuka after Ronda Rousey interfered in the match and pushed The Man and The Queen off the ladder to cost her the championship.
She again faced Asuka for the title at Royal Rumble 2019 but was unsuccessful in regaining the belt. She then entered the Royal Rumble on the same night, replacing an injured Lana to win the match by last eliminating Charlotte, and kick-starting her road to WrestleMania 35.
#4 Road to WrestleMania
Becky's road to WrestleMania 35 is the most important chapter of her memorable run as the top wrestler in the company. After winning the Royal Rumble, Becky challenged Ronda Rousey for the title at WrestleMania.
But it wasn't a smooth ride for her, as Vince McMahon soon took away her title shot and suspended her till WrestleMania, claiming that Becky had an 'attitude problem'.
To rub it more in her face, he replaced her with her arch-enemy, Charlotte Flair. But it was just another bump on the road for her, as she fought her way back into the match by defeating Charlotte Flair at Fastlane, with a little help from Ronda Rousey.
This rivalry was the biggest talking point going into the Grandest Stage Of Them All, and all three women did their best to keep the momentum heading into WrestleMania. They managed to do it for the most parts, and deservingly got their reward by getting an opportunity to become the first women to main event WrestleMania.
The triple threat match for the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championship went on last at the show, and Becky emerged victorious by pinning Ronda and becoming the first woman to hold both the belts at the same time in the process.
Her win was one of the most satisfying conclusions of all time, and all the credit goes to the WWE and Becky to let the story run its natural course and get to a gratifying ending.
#5 Raw Women's Championship reign
Becky wasn't the double champion for too long, as she lost the SmackDown Women's Championship to Charlotte Flair at the subsequent pay-per-view, Money in the Bank 2019. Hence, she started focusing just on her Raw Women's Championship.
The next few months were lackluster for her according to her standards, as people were not interested in her rivalry with Lacey Evans. The duo produced decent matches at Money in the Bank and again at Stomping Grounds, but the rivalry appeared uninspiring and monotonous.
As a result, Becky started losing steam. However, she soon started getting back on track. Her challenger for SummerSlam 2019 was Natalya. Even though fans were against this match initially, the promo work done by both women during the build-up was excellent and won the fans back as they recalled many things from their past, including their friendship from Japan and how Natalya was always supporting Becky's foe Ronda.
The duo opened SummerSlam and put on an excellent submission match to set the tone for the night.
Even after a year, Becky is one of the fan favorites. No matter what she does at the show and on social media, her fans are always there to support her.
Her salvation arc has been the best thing going on in WWE right now, and if The Man is to be believed, she is just getting started.
