Becky Lynch is the current WWE RAW Women’s Champion. On the July 15th edition of Monday Night RAW, Natalya earned a shot at Becky Lynch’s RAW Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Having held the title since WrestleMania XXXV, Becky has been on quite the run. Whilst no longer being Becky “Two Belts”, she has certainly established herself as Becky “One Belt”. She has brought prestige to the title, arguably elevating it to the number one championship in all of WWE.
Though Becky has established herself as a dominant champion, Nattie is no easy victory. A certified veteran of the ring, Natalya absolutely has a chance of causing the upset. Reasons why? First of all, the match is a submission match. Whereas Becky is something of a submission specialist, Nattie is a Hart. She has more submission manouveres in her arsenal than Brock Lesnar turns up for RAW. Speaking of Hart, SummerSlam is live from Toronto, Canada this year. Whereas Becky is universally popular and enjoys unanimous support in almost every arena she competes in, she won’t be winning the Canadian crowd from Bret Hart‘s Canadian niece. These two factors could well be the decider in a match with so much at stake.
Becky Lynch versus Natalya has become something of a long-term feud. Initially friends, The Man and the Queen of Harts have done battle many times over the past few years. Indeed, it was at the Money in the Bank pay per view way back in 2016 where Natalya turned on Lynch, her then tag team partner. This began the feud likely to end over three years later, this Sunday.
Since 2016, both have moved onto different things. Becky has since headlined WrestleMania – one of only three women to do so. She became “The Man”; the character which catapulted her to main event stardom. She has entered high profile feuds with the likes of Ronda Rousey and Stephanie McMahon. She has been in lower level feuds with the likes of Lacey Evans, Baron Corbin and boyfriend Seth Rollins, too. But the fact is, Becky is arguably the face of the company at the moment (as evidenced by her being on the cover of WWE 2K20, alongside Roman Reigns).
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1158390760191987713
Whilst Becky has moved onto superstardom, Nattie has transitioned into the role of grizzled veteran. Natalya captured her first (and only) Smackdown Women’s Championship at SummerSlam in 2017. Since then, she has acted as trainer and mentor to Ronda Rousey, who was later put over by the Queen of Harts. At WrestleMania XXXV, Natalya reunited the Divas of Doom tag team with long-time friend, Beth Phoenix, to make an unsuccessful challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Her most recent significant success was a Fatal-Four-Way victory on the July 15th edition of RAW. Her success in this bout would grant her the title shot against Lynch at SummerSlam.
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As mentioned, the two have met in the ring countless times since 2016. The match between the veterans set for this Sunday should act as a culmination to a years long feud. Whereas it is possible the feud extends past SummerSlam, it appears to be an unlikely scenario. If Lynch wins – which is very likely – she will probably move on to a feud with a returning Rousey, or even a feud with a returning Sasha Banks – a throwback to the two Horsewomen’s NXT days.
One thing is for certain: if Becky wins, the feud with Nattie ends. If Nattie claims her first RAW Women’s Championship, then don’t expect this feud to end anytime soon. Whereas Nattie is still very much an excellent worker and an absolute veteran of the ring, it’s not certain how many more years she wants to do this. If she wants to capture the RAW Women’s Championship, this might be her final opportunity to do so. WWE is bristling with young, female talent right now and it is only a matter of time before the next generation seize the moment. Nattie (just like her father) is a legend and whatever happens come Sunday, she will still be a legend.
This match is certain to be an entertaining submission match. This match type is quite rare these days and there are very few recent classics. If any two competitors can put on a great submission match, it’s Becky Lynch and Nattie Neidhart. Here’s to a great SummerSlam!
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. And make sure to watch SummerSlam this Sunday on the WWE Network.
