When Charlotte Flair captured her seventh Women's Championship at last night's (August 19) WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view, many wondered just how long it would be before her friend Becky Lynch would get another chance at picking up the gold. She may have been the first ever SmackDown Women's Champion, but since that point her attempts at picking the belt up have been scuppered at every opportunity.
Charlotte Flair captured the SmackDown Women's Championship at SummerSlam 2018
At first, Becky looked disappointed but incredibly happy for her bestie. Then, she snapped, and Becky's heel turn was in full force. She slapped Charlotte across the face and proceeded to break the new champ down, throwing her across the announce table and leaving her utterly devastated. Thus begins one of the most interesting female feuds we've seen in the current era, and perhaps one of the most memorable of all time.
There's no denying the brilliance on display whenever Charlotte hits the ring. She is without a doubt one of the most talented wrestlers - be they male or female - to have graced WWE. Becky meanwhile has earned legions of fans thanks to her passion for the world of wrestling, and the underdog characterisation her in-ring persona has built in the past couple of years. It was only a matter of time before she let everything get to her.
The judgement of WWE writers in recent months has been rightfully questioned by plenty of fans within the WWE Universe, but in throwing this story together they've done something excellent. It was arguably the most shocking and exciting moment of the entire weekend.
We've seen some of Becky's heel work in the past, during her time in NXT. She's a beast both on the mic and in the ring, and honestly, this is the best move writers could have made to propel her character forward. Not only does she now remain in the title picture because of her friendship with Charlotte crashing down, but she helps the current SmackDown Women's Champion maintain a relevance with the WWE Universe. A strange thing to say about a new champion perhaps, but it's fair to say plenty of those who watch the product week-in, week-out aren't the biggest fans of how quickly Charlotte has matched Trish Stratus' amount of title reigns.
Thinking about that legacy left by Stratus got us looking back at some of the best match-ups and rivalries the Hall of Famer had been a part of, and of course the one that immediately jumps into the psyche of long-time fans is her friendship-turned-hatred with Lita.
Their collaboration is rightfully up amongst the all-time greatest feuds WWE fans have ever borne witness to, and for many it's a female rivalry that has never been matched. Plenty have come close, but Trish and Lita remains the most remarkable female bust-up wrestling audiences have seen.
Now, we finally have two women who could match the ferocity and raw human emotion that was on display all those years ago. Charlotte and Becky have already proven to be two extremely gifted stars, and we can't wait to see what's next for them. Hopefully, the writers continue to get it right for this pair.
WWE's Monday Night Raw continues tonight (August 20), with SmackDown Live continuing Tuesday night (August 21), which should see the next chapter in Charlotte and Becky's story kick-start.
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