Ex-WWE Champion Reveals Plans Changed During Becky Lynch Rivalry – “Nobody Knows This Story”
A former WWE superstar has revealed a story no one knows about regarding Becky Lynch and a high-profile feud.
There were many changes in WWE in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the company’s ability to host shows in front of live fans. Pro wrestling is all about performing in front of fans, but they couldn’t do it for over a year.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, former WWE superstar Shayna Baszler was on the receiving end of the biggest push she had on the main roster. Baszler had an impressive performance in the Royal Rumble and beat five women in the main event of Elimination Chamber 2020 to earn a shot against Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch.
Many people were comparing Baszler’s massive push as if she were the female version of Brock Lesnar, but Baszler doesn’t think that’s a fair comparison.
While speaking to Insight’s Chris Van Vliet, former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Shayna Baszler was told that she would take the Raw Women’s Title off Becky Lynch, but it didn’t turn out that way.
“I was originally told, and who knows in this business, but I was originally told, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna go into a feud with Becky and eventually win the title off her.’ COVID happens, and then we all get told, well, there’s gonna be no audience, so we want a title change like that to happen in front of a live crowd.
And remember, at that time, we didn’t know this was going to be like a year. So we’ll wait till we get back to live crowds, and we’ll just keep extending the thing, and then Becky gets pregnant, and they don’t want to just award a title to me.”
Becky Lynch Giving Asuka Raw Women’s Title Wasn’t Original Plan
After WrestleMania 36, which saw Becky Lynch beat Shayna Baszler in a match at the WWE Performance Center in front of no fans, Money in the Bank would be held. Asuka won that. Lynch went on Raw and said she was pregnant, so instead of Asuka cashing in Money in the Bank on Lynch, it was Lynch announcing that Asuka was the new Raw Women’s Champion. Lynch would go on to give birth to her daughter, Roux, with husband Seth Rollins in December 2020.
As Baszler continued reflecting on her storyline with Becky Lynch, she claimed that she was the one who was supposed to win Money in the Bank, but WWE changed it to Asuka instead.
“So then it was like, okay, Asuka, so maybe we’ll put you in a feud with Asuka. Funny story about that, by the way, I’ll tell this. Nobody knows this story. So COVID happens, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, in front of no audience. What we’re gonna do is we’re gonna shoot cinematic Money in the Bank. You’re gonna win that and then carry your feud on with Becky as the Money in the Bank winner.’ Okay, great, cool, whatever you need.
We fly in, which was really weird, because everything was shut down, so it was like a ghost town at the airport and everything. That was really weird. But we get there, and they’re reading us the general idea for Money in the Bank in Titan Towers. And we’re like, all right, and then Asuka climbs and wins.
But they had told me, ‘Oh, you’re gonna win Money in the Bank.’ And then so my newly called up NXT fresh meat is going, ‘Oh my god, they’ve lost faith in me. They hate me. They don’t want me to be in this. They’re taking me out of the thing. I don’t know, this is so bad.’ So I’m just beating myself up.
And then it was totally kayfabe to the locker room, and everyone, Becky comes out and announces this whole thing about being pregnant, the winner of the Money in the Bank won the title. And I was like, ‘You guys couldn’t have told me, because I’ve been thinking this whole time that I’m the worst and you guys hate me. But you couldn’t have been like, ‘Hey, it’s not you. We can’t tell you why. You’ll find out.” You were like, ‘And then you’re gonna win Money in the Bank.’ Come on, guys. So like, you have no idea I was beating myself up, like, oh crap, it’s the end of my career.”
While Shayna Baszler was a 3-time Women’s Tag Team Champion and a 2-time NXT Women’s Champion, Baszler failed to win a singles Women’s Title on the main roster.