Becky Lynch Is The New Stone Cold Steve Austin

The best laid plans of the WWE often go awry. After a hard fought triple threat match at SummerSlam 2018, Charlotte Flair recaptured the SmackDown Women’s Championship, defeating Carmella and her on-screen (and perhaps off-screen) best friend Becky Lynch. The outcome seemed inevitable. Despite being the inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion, Lynch often played second, third, or even fourth fiddle to her fellow Four Horsewomen (the aforementioned Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley). At the end of their SummerSlam bout, the two competitors embraced, which was met with a chorus of apathetic boos from diehard fans at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. They weren’t disappointed with the match, they were frustrated with the WWE’s refusal to capsize the status quo.

For weeks it looked as if Lynch — an organically likable fan-favorite known for her offbeat sense of humor, never-say-die gumption, and underdog spirit — was about to once again ascend to the top of the WWE hierarchy. But as is often the case with the WWE, the more things change the more they stay the same.

Until, of course, they don’t.

Becky slapped Charlotte in the face sparking a post-match attack, but more importantly, a long overdue heel turn. The crowd let out a paroxysm of support, which due to the semi-unexpected nature of the beatdown was to be (somewhat) expected. But the WWE underestimated just how badly the fans wanted to cheer for Becky Lynch. One month later at Hell in the Cell, Lynch defeated Charlotte to become a two-time SmackDown Champion. As a show of respect, Flair, the humbled babyface, offered to raise Lynch’s hand in victory. Becky, in what the WWE believes to be the pinnacle of unscrupulous behavior, refused… and the crowd erupted with approval.

To the WWE, Lynch was the ultimate heel. To the fans, Becky’s newfound bravado, blistering authenticity, and captivating presence cemented her as a beloved antihero. The WWE wanted boos. What they got was the next Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Steve Austin is a hallowed name in professional wrestling, so I don’t make this comparison lightly. The old wrestling adage is that the best characters are enhanced extensions of the real person. Becky Lynch the person, Rebecca Quin, doesn’t seem even remotely villainous, but her character’s motivations struck a relatable chord. Not only was Lynch often overlooked by the aforementioned Horsewomen, but Quin often had to watch as other grapplers — Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Auska, and most notably Ronda Rousey — were given a more prominent spot on the card. During an October interview with TV Insider, Lynch opened up about her frustrations with being overlooked.

“It was built out of so much frustration as a human, character, just as a person,” Lynch said. “If you’re not in this to be the best and the top dog, then what’s the point? I think it’s the same for anything in life. There was a lot of times where I felt overlooked, and you questioned why.”

Becky’s new character resonates with fans because she’s not acting like a traditional (i.e. stale) WWE heel. She’s acting like… an actual person. There are few things more relatable than the feeling of being undervalued and overlooked by your employer. Lynch has turned those affronts into, pardon the pun, straight fire promos. Austin connected with fans by literally and metaphorically giving his boss the middle finger. Lynch has done it by embracing the very reality show ethos the WWE sporadically adopts: She stopped being polite and started getting real.

This was emphasized during an interview with WWE Hall of Famer Edge on the 1,000th episode of SmackDown. Known as “The Ultimate Oppurtunitist” before a spate of neck injuries forced him into early retirement, Edge kayfabe pleaded with Lynch to reconsider her nefarious ways. Becky feigned concern before eventually eviscerating the Rated-R Superstar in front of an appreciative crowd. “Stop being so condescending to the champ and get out of my ring,” Lynch ordered before pausing to add a scalding burn. “Careful you don’t hurt your neck again going through those ropes.”

She may not be a Texas Rattlesnake, but you can’t deny that Becky Lynch is full of venom. Every saunter, strut, and boast from her character crystalizes her defining message: “I deserve this, I’m better than you, and I’m going to kick your ass.” She may not be chugging beers or stunning announcers, but Lynch is embracing the spirit of the Stone Cold character. So much so that she had her own personal “beer truck moment” on Monday night.

Lynch added the defining moment to her growing mythology during this week’s Monday Night Raw. On the eve of her high-profile Survivor Series bout with Ronda Rousey, Becky, a SmackDown superstar, orchestrated a sneak attack on the Raw roster. That particular part of the story isn’t exactly fresh, the same melee happened last year, but professional wrestling is at its best when the line between scripted and reality becomes blurred. During the in-ring brawl, Lynch caught a legitimate shot from Nia Jax, resulting in so much blood that the WWE YouTube page reaired the footage in black and white.

It was a punch that irrevocably altered Becky Lynch’s career.

The iconography of the WWE is made up of moments and this one will live forever in highlight packages. Despite suffering what the WWE would later call a “broken face,” Lynch was emboldened by the injury as she finished decimating Rousey. Fans cheered Becky and chanted “one more time!” after Lynch struck Rousey, the obvious darling of the company, with a chair. When it was all said and done, a bloodied Lynch looked back at the wreckage, soaking in the adulation with a defiant smirk. It was a moment. Not a manufactured “moment” endlessly parroted by the WWE, but an authentic moment that conveyed a larger truth: Ronda Rousey may be the chosen one, but Becky Lynch is The Man.

On Tuesday’s SmackDown it was announced that Becky Lynch would no longer be battling Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series due to the very real injuries she sustained on Raw. Instead, the match rumored to potentially headline next year’s WrestleMania, Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair, will take its place. Time will tell if Nia Jax’s errant right was an unfortunate derailment or a fortuitous bit of luck. Lynch is scorching hot right now, but would the WWE have pulled the trigger on Lynch handing Rousey her first loss? The company doesn’t have the best history when it comes to using its high-profile talent to make new superstars.

The obvious path, and the one fans are clamoring for, is for Lynch and Rousey to meet at next year’s WrestleMania, perhaps becoming the first women to headline the WWE’s marquee event. If you’re looking to create a new superstar, Lynch tapping out Rousey on the biggest stage of them all is the way to do it. Then again, maybe Lynch doesn’t need the machine behind her. Daniel Bryan’s unlikely rise to WrestleMania 30 main eventer was a direct result of unforeseen reality (CM Punk’s departure) and vocal, inexorable fan support.

Even if the WWE wanted to relegate Becky to the mid-card, it would only serve to stoke the flames of support.

The WWE would be crazy not to capitalize on Lynch’s surging popularity. She has the talent to transform into a transcendent superstar. Hulk Hogan, The Rock, John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Becky Lynch? Oh hell yeah.