The Four Horsewomen are often promoted by the WWE as being the four women most responsible for the “Women’s Evolution“; the abandonment of the Diva era and a return to the pre-Attitude Era of women’s wrestling. Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch, being the members of the Four Horsewomen, are therefore booked strongly – if not protected – by the powers-that-be and are considered by many as being four of the best female in-ring performers in the business today.
Charlotte is the clear favorite of management, having won the NXT Women’s Championship, the Divas Championship, the RAW Women’s Championship (four-times) and the Smackdown Women’s Championship within the past few years. Sasha Banks, too, has held the RAW Women’s Championship four-times, as well as having arguably the most memorable reign as NXT Women’s Champion. Bayley has held the NXT Women’s Championship, as well as the RAW Women’s Championship for just the one time, but it is worth considering she was the last of the Horsewomen to be called up to the main roster. Becky Lynch is the only member of the Horsewomen to have never held the NXT Women’s Championship and although she was the inaugural Smackdown Women’s Champion, she hasn’t come close to winning the championship back since losing it at the Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view in 2016.
What is perhaps more interesting is that, despite being one of the most naturally over stars (certainly among the women) on either brand, Becky Lynch is currently experiencing one of the worst pay-per-view losing streaks in the company. Becky’s last pay-per-view victory came over Mickie James way back in February of 2017, meaning she is fast approaching 15 months without a PPV victory. This should come as no surprise, given that one of the other massively popular stars – Rusev – has a similar ongoing losing streak of his own right now. So what gives? Why is someone so clearly likable and popular in this situation?
If you are reading this article, then you have probably read or heard the rumors that Kevin Dunn isn’t exactly the biggest fan of Becky’s accent (preposterous when you consider both Finn Balor and Sheamus have almost the exact same accent and are booked strongly). It would be an extremely childish and ignorant reason to not recognize the talent and potential of Becky Lynch but, honestly, I wouldn’t even be surprised at this point. There are also rumors that Becky is due a heel turn, something which, though would probably be a good thing, is completely unnecessary given that Lynch is already over with the crowd and hasn’t been given a proper chance as a baby face yet. Personally, the former does appear to be the more likely, but I am more inclined to go with the theory that they just don’t know what to do with Becky, or simply don’t know what they have – and there are many out there who know they have something special.
Her title run was for the sole purpose of getting Alexa Bliss over as a heel. Since then, she simply hasn’t been needed. She is never going to be the top babyface on Smackdown Live whilst Charlotte is there and – with the arrival of Asuka – she falls to number three in the Smackdown pecking order. A move to Monday Night RAW during the Superstar Shakeup might have been a good thing, but I don’t believe it would have made much difference. All we can do is wait and see what the coming weeks bring as she aligns more with Asuka against Absolution and enters a pretty enjoyable feud (with great matches) with the Empress of Tomorrow once either one of them turns on the other, as usually happens in these storylines.
What do you guys think: Is Becky Lynch being mishandled? Is it wrong to feel as though she deserves better than she is currently receiving?
