5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE SmackDown Live (July 26)
2. Becky Lynch
One of the night’s most obvious winners, Becky Lynch’s defeat of Natalya immediately positions her as the woman to beat on SmackDown. While the loss does considerable damage to Nattie’s own prospects, the Canadian had been tormenting Lynch for weeks, and Battleground seemingly did nothing but spur the Irish Lass Kicker on to bigger and better things.
Yes, the win would’ve meant a lot more had it come at SummerSlam, but it’s in the books now, and there’s every chance Becky and Nattie will still square-off on the pay-per-view. For now, Becky is clearly the brand’s number one female wrestler. Natalya’s been defeated, Naomi and Eva Marie have only just returned, while Carmella and Alexa Bliss made their debuts last night. Nobody can challenge her status at this point, and while this will likely change in the coming weeks, Becky looks very strong coming-out of SmackDown.
The post-match segment did little for any of the participants, but Becky managed to subvert most of the negativity by playing passenger throughout. The focus was on the other ladies, and after Bliss interrupted Lynch’s post-match interview, Becky now has a logical reason to face-off with recent NXT call-up at some point down the line. It’s a shame we won’t see her competing for the Women’s Championship any time soon, but for now, Becky is perfectly suited to her role as the queen of SmackDown.