10 Times WWE Stupidly Tried To Plug Gaps

4. Lacey Evans

Lacey Evans
WWE.com

Lacey Evans has already proved herself worthy of more than the false start WWE afforded her with the abysmal down-the-ramp-and-back patter following a shonky Royal Rumble debut, but a post-WrestleMania run against Becky Lynch was an audience acid test she was destined to suffer burns from.

In the absence of Ronda Rousey on Raw, WWE looked to Lacey instead of some of the flagship also-rans in desperate need of rehabilitation. Evans fitted one profile - Vince McMahon's vision of a Women's wrestler. Apparent to many, it was exposed in kayfabe by 'The Man' at her anti-authority peak thanks to the inclusion of Charlotte Flair in the 'Show Of Shows' headliner.

'The Queen' inadvertently also made Evans' job unnecessarily challenging. Set up to challenge Becky on the same night as Lacey's first shot, Charlotte's mere presence put unnecessary pressure on 'The Sassy Southern Belle' (and the match itself) to get over beyond even wildest expectations.

Evans, Lynch and Flair all put forth an admirable effort in crafting an angle that in actuality crowned Bayley the new blue brand Champion - Evans in particular didn't need the over-exposure she ultimatelt recieved.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett