5 Ups & 4 Downs from WWE Raw (12 May - Results & Review)

3. The Man Embraces Her Role

Fresh off losing at Backlash, Becky Lynch wasted little time Monday night in brushing off defeat and pointing out that she was still standing, while her opponent landed in the hospital Saturday night.

To hear Lynch tell it, Lyra Valkyria had never been more relevant than when she faced Becky, thus proving her point about being the most important figure on Raw.

The Man recounted her journey the past year, how she seemingly walked away from WWE for nearly a year, and she revealed that she heard the rumblings at the time: fans wanted her to leave because she was dominating the scene and beating everyone, winning world titles and holding people down. She’s a Man of the people, so she obliged.

But Monday, Lynch decided that she would be whatever fans said she was: selfish, greedy, cutthroat. Becky warned the women in the back that they were going to “finally find out what it’s like to be held down” by The Man.

This is how to do the “each and every one of you” promo. She turned what a subsection of WWE fans said about her (think the “Becky Hogan” dopes out there) into fuel for her heel turn, justification for her actions. Now Becky is going to relish trying to hold back talent (in storyline) because it turns fans’ worst takes about her into reality. Even if fans legitimately complain, it will automatically become part of the story (though Lynch has showed time and time again that the opposite is true).

A vindictive, megastar Lynch is a nice twist on the Big Time Becks character that descended into cartoonish parody. It’s more grounded in (perceived) reality.