In the simulated combat world of professional wrestling, you have a natural advantage over UFC, from an entertainment standpoint. You get to create characters and compelling stories, all the while putting on a choreographed fight in a ring.  The UFC can’t do that – they hire legit fighters and hope to be able to promote the ones who are good at that and have personality (see Conor McGregor). They don’t get to script the outcome, even if a certain fighter winning is financially best for their business.

Yet here we are, one day removed from WWE’s Hell in a Cell, and once again ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch is the Raw Women’s Champion, having successfully defended her championship against ‘The Boss’ Sasha Banks. Yes, the most forced, unearned push since the early days of Roman Reigns continues.

I would love to have access to the quarter hour ratings on WWE TV. There is no evidence that Becky Lynch is a draw otherwise. With her at the top of the WWE mountain, we’ve seen live event attendance decrease (Jinder Mahal drew better ratings as a champion than Becky Lynch has), merchandise decrease, and ratings decrease.  It’s true there was a period where Lynch had good merchandise sales compared to her peers, but when your company’s merchandise sales are declining is that really something to brag about? 

Becky Lynch simply isn’t ‘top guy’ material. It’s blatantly obvious to any honest person with an IQ above 90. Her current character is a complete cringe fest. She’s not even the best women’s pro wrestler on WWE’s roster, much less the best of any gender.

Give me the old Becky Lynch any day – she was humble but spunky, not an unlikable, try hard Conor McGregor-wannabe like we see today. It’s just not an act she can pull off. My message has struck a nerve of truth, or she wouldn’t have blocked me on Twitter after my article about her tone deaf praising of WWE creative (how has that aged after Hell in a Cell, by the way).

Regardless of what you think about Sasha Banks, and I’ve had an opinion or twenty on that, but she’s returned and was positioned strongly out of the gate. They put her into a feud with Lynch and have already killed her momentum from returning. Another victim of the modern day, early Roman Reigns.

The WWE machine is hellbent on doubling down on Lynch. She was on the cover of WWE 2K20 – and they knew she wouldn’t be a draw so they accounted for that by adding in Roman – and I predict if this continues, fans will eventually turn their back on Lynch.

The women’s evolution, which is responsible for the rise of Lynch (along with a botch from bad pro wrestler Nia Jax) is destroying professional wrestling. Women’s wrestling is an attraction, not the show itself. It doesn’t draw, it isn’t mainstream. They’re just not as good as the guys, as a rule – there are always exceptions (e.g. Chyna, Ronda Rousey) – but suddenly pushing women to align with a movement in society is only financially a good idea from a business standpoint if it equals profit.

A source in WWE told me around the time of WWE Evolution (a women’s only PPV) that the true test of its success would be whether they did a second Evolution show. I’m still waiting on the announcement for that second show.

Now, despite the evidence people will tell me how good women’s wrestling is (some fans truly believe it, some fans are just playing white knight on the internet), and tell me they’re just as good, or even better than their male counterparts. To that I say, which would you rather see, and which would draw a larger audience? I think you know the answer.

Ultimately, WWE is to blame for this, not Becky Lynch – a fictional TV character. Becky never should’ve pinned Ronda Rousey (remember the finish being botched in the often-touted first women’s WrestleMania main event in WWE history). She never should’ve been promoted as the face of the company. They would be wise to pull back on Becky Lynch, before the brakes come off the train. Sometimes, they just can’t help themselves.

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