[04-02-2022] Becky Lynch vs Bianca Belair

There's this narrative, and it's not without merit, that WWE is some rudderless ship with no foresight or interest in the long-term. Certainly, there are times when things are dropped and forgotten, but watch any TV show, things like that happen there all the time too, but people choose to watch and enjoy TV shows, unlike wrestling where they watch it at gunpoint and rate it on some faux-objective scale and also follow the business metrics for 'fun'. It doesn't seem to be an enjoyable way to consume things, but that's just where we are. So when Becky Lynch beats Bianca Belair, the masses are up in arms, but when it comes time for Bianca to get revenge, the most obvious conclusion, there is this sense that somehow this wasn't always the intended direction, that somehow this match on this night was a matter of mostly coincidence. It wasn't. The bad guy showed up and beat the good guy. It took the good guy a while to another shot at the bad guy, but when they did things would be different. It was very basic pro wrestling, but it worked, and when these two were given their big shot on the big show they delivered. 

Becky Lynch, early on, was the best day-in/day-out wrestler of the Four Horsewomen, but she was probably the least pushed of the group during that time. As she has become more and more of a player, her good to great matches have become more sporadic, but when the time and her opponent call for it, she can still deliver. Her Hell in the Cell match with Sasha Banks is one of the best matches in recent memory, her WrestleMania main event, wonky finish aside, delivered in a big spot. Bianca Belair is new to the top of the card, but much in the same way as Becky, she delivers in the big spots, look no further than her only other WrestleMania match. Things start off by laying off the SummerSlam finish, the Man-handle Slam, and the threat of Lynch hitting that move hangs over the whole match. Belair kicks out at one but fights like hell to avoid it every time it comes close. Another neat wrinkle is Lynch using the Belair's hair to gain an advantage. Belair had previously used her hair as a weapon, so it is a nice twist on that idea to have it also be a weakness. Becky also busted out some big moves for the night, a nasty top-rope draped Guillotine leg drop looked great, what turned into a shoot Molly-Copter was an awesome visual, and a Man-handle Slam on the steps. After the slam on the steps, Belair sold like she was deal until 9.8 and sprinted into the ring. I thought it was a nice twist on the labored selling and groggy slidding into the ring that are typical with count-out fakes. From there, it's right into a hot finishing stretch, that ends in a great-looking KOD and Bianca getting her revenge on Becky some eight months later. Great stuff.