18 Ups & 15 Downs For WWE In 2023

4. A Hall-Of-Fame Bad Feud

When fans reflect on the Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus feud, they will inevitably harken back to the excellent steel cage match that ended their rivalry, an over-delivery in every way.

But nearly everything that preceded that excellent match was trash, an awful five-month feud that dragged on and stunk up numerous segments on Raw. “Thank you Trish” didn’t quite resonate as a heel mantra the way fans thought it should, and the feud suffered throughout the summer with terrible patter from the Hall-of-Famer.

The only redeeming part of the program – other than the cage match – was giving Zoey Stark a platform to establish herself on the main roster opposing Lynch a few times. But that doesn’t excuse a disappointing and dismal feud that ate up nearly half the calendar year.

Lynch would recover by getting back to basics and challenging up-and-coming wrestlers, while Stratus disappeared and Stark turned face, but that doesn’t excuse the dire program.