10 Best Opening 60 Seconds Of Wrestling Matches Ever

3. Becky Lynch Vs. Bianca Belair - WWE WrestleMania 38

WWE WrestleMania Becky Lynch Bianca Belair
WWE.com

In which WWE faked a great long-term story because the outstanding work of the talent involved compensated entirely for the middling creative.

If it was a great and successful long-term story, the RAW after 'Mania crowd wouldn't have chanted "We want Becky" at Belair, even though she cut a great, heartfelt promo. From the start, the dynamic worked against it, and they burned through so many iterations of it on TV that it lost the elusive, premium feeling.

You'd never have thought that at WrestleMania. The storytelling was that strong.

At SummerSlam, in a shock tactic, Lynch squashed Belair by blindsiding her with a forearm to the face and hitting the Manhandle Slam.

At WrestleMania, Lynch and Belair orchestrated heart-pounding drama with a great callback. Again, Belair outstretched her hand. Again, Lynch launched the forearm. She attempted to hit the Manhandle, eliciting gasps from the audience, but in the first of two awesome twists, Belair leapt behind her and hoisted her on the shoulders for a K.O.D.

Lynch evaded it by landing on her feet and instantly hoisting Belair up for the Manhandle, leading to a breathtaking near-fall. She used Bianca's ponytail to drag her into the trap, too, which was such a neat and dramatically effective heel touch.

Lynch expressed shock, as nine out of 10 wrestlers do, but for once, it was earned.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!